Borrowed and Shared Theories
Borrowed theories come from fields such as philosophy, psychology, and sociology.
They play a critical role in nursing research. These theories have concepts and propositions which provide strong foundations for the synthesis of nursing theories (Fawcett, 2005). Borrowed theories create a framework for multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary relationships which improves comprehension and interpretation of human phenomena.
Shared theories belong to two or more disciplines. Shared theories are important in nursing research because they help researchers to use innovations from other disciplines (King, 2004). Shared theories provide researchers with a wide body of knowledge. They can be used to solve nursing problems and challenging situations (Fawcett, 2005). Solutions applied to related problems in other fields can be extended to nursing through shared theories.
Using theories non-nursing theories in nursing research is important because it enriches the practice. Additional knowledge, ideas and solutions from other fields help the field of nursing to address several unresolved problems and complex challenges. Using borrowed and shared theories improves the quality of nursing research (Fawcett, 2005). However, not all outside theories add quality to nursing research.
Sample Size, Validity and Generalizability
A sample is a group of objects included in a research study. Sample size determines the validity of any generalization. There are different ways of choosing a sample size. One of them is expedience. This entails using items that the researcher can access conveniently. Expedience allows researchers to use readily available items. The second method is target variance. This method derives a certain estimate from a sample.
Validity can be defined as the ability of a researcher or a study to answer relevant questions correctly. There are three types of validity. Construct validity is the ability of a construct to measure relevant variables (Kothari, 2004). Content validity is the ability of the contents of a research study to relate with the contents of a certain construct. Criterion validity is the ability of a test to correlate with criterion variables that represent a construct.
Generalizability refers to the ability to describe a larger population using findings derived from a small sample (Herzog, 1996). It refers to how research findings and conclusions from a smaller population can be used to define or characterize a larger population. A researcher can ensure an adequate and a diverse sample by using sampling methods that target a wide range of views and subjects. For example a researcher can identify all the ethnic groups living in a city and derive a sample from each.
Patient Care Issue and Qualitative Research
Effects of Family Presence during Paediatric Resuscitation on Family Members
The presence of family members during paediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation is a controversial issue in emergency health operations. There are concerns that the presence of family members during paediatric cardiopulmonary resuscitation could traumatize them (Bauchner & Waring, 2002). There are several elements of this patient care issue that can be studied using qualitative inquiry. One of them is medical risk involved due to the presence of family members during the process. Others include the legal risk exposed to a health facility, estimated level of sympathy for the family members present during the process, and the level of concern by the health care providers (McGahey, 2002). There are several characteristics of this issue which are amenable to a qualitative study. The issue has descriptive characteristics which require qualitative data. Furthermore, the issue revolves around conflicting perceptions which require descriptive solutions.
References
Bauchner, H., & Waring, C. (2002). Parental presence during procedures in an emergency room: Paediatrics, 87(1), 544-547.
Fawcett, J. (2005). Contemporary nursing knowledge: analysis and evaluation of nursing models and theories. Philadelphia: F. A. Davis.
Herzog, T. (1996). Research methods and data analysis. New York: Harper Collins College Publishers.
King, M. (2004). Toward a theory for nursing: general concepts of human behavior. New York: Wiley.
Kothari, C.R. (2004). Research methodology. ND: New Age International Publishers.
McGahey, P.R. (2002). Family presence during paediatric resuscitation. Crit Care Nursing, 22(1), 29-36.