The vast majority of scholarly studies in the medical field require observing the target population in order to draw tangible conclusions about further treatment and interventions. The fundamental theory in terms of such observations is the sampling theory. Essentially, sampling theory claims that by choosing an appropriate sampling set, the findings of the study may be applicable to either the general population or specific patient groups.
The sampling set stands for the choice of particular population groups for the intervention. There are various types of sampling, namely, random sampling, systematic, and stratified sampling (Upadhyay, 2020). Systematic sampling means organizing the randomly gathered sample, whereas stratified sampling stands for organizing the sample into groups (strata) and then choosing random participants from each stratum in order to provide the most realistic outcomes for the general population.
For example, in a study conducted by Romero-Blanco et al. (2020), the researchers made an attempt to define the changes in sleep patterns among nursing students during the COVID-19 lockdown. The random sample of 207 nursing students was then divided into strata, and the outcomes of the study demonstrated the differences in sleep patterns according to gender, year of study, and alcohol use (Romero-Blanco et al., 2020). Hence, it may be concluded that sampling theory, although presenting an exceptional value for medical research, should be more specific in order to produce beneficial results for the actual medical practice.
The phenomenon closely correlated with the sampling theory is the notion of generalizability. The term stands for the extent to which the findings of certain studies may be applicable to broad population groups (American Psychological Association, n.d.). Essentially, higher rates of diversity and inclusion in the study sample lead to higher generalizability rates. When it comes to the nursing practice, the primary issue with this phenomenon is that higher generalizability rates pay limited attention to individual cases. For this reason, nurses should take into account generalizability during the intervention while not abandoning patient-centered approaches to the treatment.
References
American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Generalizability. Web.
Romero-Blanco, C., Rodríguez-Almagro, J., Onieva-Zafra, M. D., Parra-Fernández, M. L., Prado-Laguna, M. D. C., & Hernández-Martínez, A. (2020). Sleep pattern changes in nursing students during the COVID-19 lockdown. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(14), 5222.
Upadhyay, I. (2020). Sampling theory: Process, types, and ST methods. Web.