Goal: You will critically appraise a research design Content Requirements:  You will select one research report with a qualitative design and one with quantitative design and answer the following questions regarding the following categories: Discuss what is meant by the term Qualitative Research Briefly, describe the characteristics of qualitative research and identify nursing issues/phenomena that lend themselves to a qualitative research approach. Compare and contrast three different qualitative research methodologies. Briefly, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of qualitative research evidence for informing nursing practice. Communicate how this research design used in research. The study, sampling, data collection, analysis, rigor, findings and limitations Identify the purpose of the study. Briefly, describe the design of the study and explain why you think it is either appropriate or inappropriate to meet the purpose. Identify ethical issues related to the study and how they were/were not addressed. Identify the sampling method and recruitment strategy that was used. Discuss whether sampling and recruitment were appropriate to the aims of the research. Identify the data collection method(s) and discuss whether the method(s) is/are appropriate to the aims of the study. Identify how the data was analyzed and discuss whether the method(s) of analysis is/are appropriate to the aims of the study. Identify four (4) criteria by which the rigor of a qualitative project can be judged. Discuss the rigor of this study using the four criteria.  Briefly, describe the findings of the study and identify any limitations. Use the information that you have gained from your critique of the study to discuss the trustworthiness and applicability of the study. Include in your discussion any implications for the discipline of nursing. Discuss what you understand by the term Quantitative Research - Use the following dot points to guide your discussion (give reasons for your argument and support with references): Describe the characteristics of quantitative research. Identify nursing issues/phenomena that lend themselves to a quantitative research approach Differentiate between observational and interventional research designs and also between experimental and quasi-experimental designs. Briefly, outline the difference between inferential and descriptive statistics and their relationship to levels of measurement. Communicate how this research design used in research. Critique the Quantitative Research Report - Use the following headings to guide your critique (in all discussions and explanations give reasons for your argument and support with references): The study Identify the purpose and design of the study. Explain what is meant by ‘blinding’ and ‘randomization’ and discuss how these were addressed in the design of the study. Identify ethical issues related to the study and how they were/were not addressed. Sampling Explain the sampling method and recruitment strategy that was used. Discuss how the sample size was determined – include in your discussion an explanation of terms used. Data collection Briefly, outline how the data was collected and identify any data collection instrument(s). Define the terms validity and reliability and discuss how the validity & reliability of the instruments were/were not addressed in this study and why this is important. Data analysis Outline how the data were analyzed. Identify the statistics used and the level of measurement of the data described by each statistical test – include in your discussion an explanation of terms used. Findings and limitations Briefly, outline the findings and identify any limitations of the study Use the information that you have gained from your critique of the study to briefly discuss the trustworthiness and applicability of the study. Include in your discussion an explanation of the term statistical significance and name the tests of statistical significance used in this study.

For this assessment, you can use a supplied template to conduct a root-cause analysis. The completed assessment will be a scholarly paper focusing on a quality or safety issue pertaining to medication administration in a health care setting of your choice as well as a safety improvement plan.As patient safety concerns continue to be addressed in the health care settings, nurses can play an active role in implementing safety improvement measures and plans. Often root-cause analyses are conducted and safety improvement plans are created to address sentinel or adverse events such as medication errors, patient falls, wrong-site surgery events, and hospital-acquired infections. Performing a root-cause analysis offers a systematic approach for identifying causes of problems, including process and system-check failures. Once the causes of failures have been determined, a safety improvement plan can be developed to prevent recurrences. The baccalaureate nurse's role as a leader is to create safety improvement plans as well as disseminate vital information to staff nurses and other health care professionals to protect patients and improve outcomes.As you prepare for this assessment, it would be an excellent choice to complete the Quality and Safety Improvement Plan Knowledge Base activity and to review the various assessment resources, all of which will help you build your knowledge of key concepts and terms related to quality and safety improvement. The terms and concepts will be helpful as you prepare your Root-Cause Analysis and Safety Improvement Plan. Activities are not graded and demonstrate course engagement.Demonstration of ProficiencyBy successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:Competency 1: Analyze the elements of a successful quality improvement initiative. Apply evidence-based and best-practice strategies to address a safety issue or sentinel event pertaining to medication administration. ;Create a viable, evidence-based safety improvement plan for safe medication administration. Competency 2: Analyze factors that lead to patient safety risks. Analyze the root cause of a patient safety issue or a specific sentinel event pertaining to medication administration in an organization.Competency 3: Identify organizational interventions to promote patient safety. Identify existing organizational resources that could be leveraged to improve a safety improvement plan for safe medication administration.Competency 5: Apply professional, scholarly, evidence-based strategies to communicate in a manner that supports safe and effective patient care. Communicate in writing that is clear, logical, and professional, with correct grammar and spelling, using current APA style.Professional ContextNursing practice is governed by health care policies and procedures as well as state and national regulations developed to prevent problems. It is critical for nurses to participate in gathering and analyzing data to determine causes of patient safety issues, in solving problems, and in implementing quality improvements.ScenarioFor this assessment, you may choose from the following options as the subject of a root-cause analysis and safety improvement plan:The specific safety concern identified in your previous assessment pertaining to medication administration safety concerns.The readings, case studies, or a personal experience in which a sentinel event occurred surrounding an issue or concern with medication administration.InstructionsThe purpose of this assessment is to demonstrate your understanding of and ability to analyze a root cause of a specific safety concern in a health care setting. You will create a plan to improve the safety of patients related to the concern of medication administration safety based on the results of your analysis, using the literature and professional best practices as well as the existing resources at your chosen health care setting to provide a rationale for your plan.Use the Root-Cause Analysis and Improvement Plan Template [DOCX] to help you to stay organized and concise. This will guide you step-by-step through the root cause analysis process.Additionally, be sure that your plan addresses the following, which corresponds to the grading criteria in the scoring guide. Please study the scoring guide carefully so you understand ;what is needed for a distinguished score.Analyze the root cause of a patient safety issue or a specific sentinel event pertaining to medication administration in an organization.Apply evidence-based and best-practice strategies to address the safety issue or sentinel event pertaining to medication administration. Create a feasible, evidence-based safety improvement plan for safe medication administration.Identify organizational resources that could be leveraged to improve your plan for safe medication administration.Communicate in writing that is clear, logical, and professional, with correct grammar and spelling, using current APA style.Example Assessment: You may use the following to give you an idea of what a Proficient or higher rating on the scoring guide would look like but keep in mind that your Assessment 2 will focus on safe medication administration.Assessment 2 ;Example [PDF]. Additional RequirementsLength of submission: Use the provided Root-Cause Analysis and Improvement Plan template to create a 4-6 page root cause analysis and safety improvement plan pertaining to medication administration.Number of references: Cite a minimum of 3 sources of scholarly or professional evidence that support your findings and considerations. Resources should be no more than 5 years old.APA formatting: Format references and citations according to current APA style.Portfolio Prompt: Remember to save the final assessment to your ePortfolio so that you may refer to it as you complete the final Capstone course.