Learning Goal: I’m working on a health & medical question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.

For this assessment, you will craft a quantitative research question based on the hospital-acquired condition you selected for the Research Problem and Purpose Statements, as well as examine quantitative methodologies and data collection strategies that would enable you to answer your research question.

There is no length requirement for this assessment. Most submissions that fully address all scoring guide criteria will be two to five pages in length.

INTRODUCTION

Note: The assessments in this course build upon each other. Therefore, you are strongly encouraged to complete them in the order in which they are presented.

The quantitative method is the original scientific method. Quantitative research methods can be subdivided by various designs that researchers use to answer their research questions. In fact, the wording of the research question must match the methodology and may contain the words that indicate the design. Quantitative research identifies what happened, but not why it happened. It identifies causation or relationships.

The relationships in a quantitative research study are similar to those used for a qualitative design. There is still a relationship between the theory, problem, purpose and, now, the research questions, hypotheses, and design. This week, you will continue to expand your understanding of this framework by analyzing and evaluating research questions and hypotheses in quantitative studies. You will also learn about various quantitative research designs that researchers use to answer their research questions.

In addition, you will continue to analyze the interrelated elements of a research study, making the connection among theory, problem, and purpose, and research questions, hypotheses, and design.

INSTRUCTIONS

For this assessment it is suggested that you build upon the work that you did in the Research Problem and Purpose Statements assessment.

The assessment has two distinct parts:

Part 1: Quantitative Research Question

Relevant Scoring Guide Criteria:

• Formulate a quantitative research question and associated hypothesis.
• Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and respectful of the diversity, dignity, and integrity of others and is consistent with expectations for health care professionals.

For this section, you will formulate a research question that is appropriate for a research project that will use quantitative methodologies.

Remember the HAC that you used in your Research Problem and Purpose Statements assessment. Additionally, your research question should align to the problem and purpose statements that you developed at that time.

Keep in mind that a well-written research question should be a single statement.

When examining or creating quantitative research questions, the following checklist may be useful:

Quantitative Research Question Checklist

• Does the purpose statement fit logically with the problem statement? Are there similar words, or does it seem to address a different topic?
• Based on the problem statement, do the research questions align with the method and design of the study? Do questions seek to describe responses to the variables described in the study?
• Do the questions include words like compare, correlate, or other words that indicate a quantitative study?
• Do the questions include identification of the independent and dependent variables?
• Does the hypothesis fit with the research questions?
• Do the questions and hypothesis identify the participants for the research study?
• Do the questions and hypothesis specify the participants and the research site?

Part 2: Quantitative Methods and Data Collection

Relevant Scoring Guide Criteria:

• Identify relevant quantitative methodologies that will support answering a research question.
• Describe quantitative data collection tools or strategies that are appropriate for answering a research question.
• Explain the importance of methodologically relevant data collection to a research plan as a whole.
• Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and respectful of the diversity, dignity, and integrity of others and is consistent with expectations for health care professionals.

For this section, you will draw upon your readings about quantitative methods and data collection to first identify specific quantitative methodologies that will enable you to answer your research questions. You will also discuss specific quantitative data collection tools or strategies that are appropriate for this purpose. Questions to consider when looking for strategies and tools include:

• What is your research question specifically trying to answer?
• How does the specific HAC impact the types of tools and strategies that would work best?
• How does the health care setting that the research project will be occurring in impact the types of tools and strategies that would work best?

Lastly, this section should include a review of why it is important to a potential research plan as a whole to ensure that your data collection plan is relevant to your chosen methodology.

This section should be 2–5 pages in length, depending on the level of detail required to fully present your methodologies and data collection tools and strategies.

ADDITIONAL SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

• Structure: Include a title page, table of contents, and reference page.
• Length: There is not length requirement for this assessment. Most submissions that fully address all scoring guide criteria will be 2–5 pages in length.
• References: Cite at least five current scholarly or professional resources. You may find the Search by Methodology guide helpful.
• Format: Use APA style for references and citations.
  • You may wish to refer to the following APA resources to help with your structure, formatting, and style:
    • Evidence and APA.
    • APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX].
• Font: Times New Roman font, 12 point, double-spaced for narrative portions only.

• COMPETENCIES MEASURED

  By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:

  • Competency 1: Explain the different types of health care research methodologies.
    • Identify relevant quantitative methodologies that will support answering a research question.
    • Describe quantitative data collection tools or strategies that are appropriate for answering a research question.
    • Explain the importance of methodologically relevant data collection to a research plan as a whole.
  • Competency 2: Develop a research question based on a hospital-acquired condition.
    • Formulate a quantitative research question and associated hypothesis.
  • Competency 4: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and respectful of the diversity, dignity, and integrity of others and is consistent with the expectations of health care professionals.
    • Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and respectful of the diversity, dignity, and integrity of others and is consistent with expectations for health care professionals.

    • METHODOLOGY BASICS

      Every research project uses a methodology. Once the researcher has chosen a specific research question, the methodology provides the rules and actions for the actual investigation and analysis of results. A researcher may use a Quantitative, Qualitative or Mixed methodology.This page contains a tutorial and knowledge quizzes about methodology. Use the left navigation menu to find the following pages:Qualitative: Resources and search strategies to find research articles that use qualitative methodology.Quantitative: Resources and search strategies to find research articles that use quantitative methodology.Mixed Method: Resources and search strategies to find research articles that use mixed methods.Ebook List: Directs you to our list of library books that will help you better understand the various methodologies, including how to conduct original research for a doctoral dissertation or capstone project.

    • Quantitative Research Questions and Methods Scoring Guide

      CRITERIA	NON-PERFORMANCE	BASIC	PROFICIENT	DISTINGUISHED
      Formulate a quantitative research question and associated hypothesis.	Does not describe a quantitative research question and associated hypothesis.	Describes a quantitative research question and associated hypothesis.	Formulates a quantitative research question and associated hypothesis.	Formulates a quantitative research question and associated hypothesis, providing specific examples.
      Identify relevant quantitative methodologies that will support answering a research question.	Does not list quantitative research methodologies.	Lists quantitative research methodologies, but their relevance to a specific research question is incorrect or unclear.	Identifies relevant quantitative methodologies that will support answering a research question.	Identifies relevant quantitative methodologies that will support answering a research question and offers a brief rationale for why the identified quantitative methodologies are relevant.
      Describe quantitative data collection tools or strategies that are appropriate for answering a research question.	Does not identify quantitative data collection tools or strategies.	Identifies quantitative data collection tools or strategies, but their relevance for answering a research question is unclear or inappropriate.	Describes quantitative data collection tools or strategies that are appropriate for answering a research question.	Describes quantitative data collection tools or strategies that are appropriate for answering a research question and offers a brief rationale for why the data collection tools or strategies are appropriate.
      Explain the importance of methodologically relevant data collection to a research plan as a whole.	Does not describe targeted data collection.	Describes targeted data collection, but does not offer a full or clear explanation as to its importance to a research plan as a whole.	Explains the importance of targeted data collection to a research plan as a whole.	Explains the importance of targeted data collection to a research plan as a whole. Notes areas related to a research question where targeted data collection will be valuable or potentially challenging.
      Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and respectful of the diversity, dignity, and integrity of others and is consistent with expectations for health care professionals.	Does not communicate in a manner that is consistent with expectations for the health care profession.	Communicates in a manner that is consistent with expectations for the health care profession.	Communicates in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and respectful of the diversity, dignity, and integrity of others and is consistent with expectations for health care professionals.	Communicates with exceptional clarity in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and respectful of the diversity, dignity, and integrity of others and is consistent with expectations for health care professionals.