Research Exam
Anne Zimnicki
Exam 2
November 19, 2012
1. To determine if CARING, Inc. is effectively providing services to the community, I would use a quasi-experimental evaluation. This will allow me to assess the differences that result from CARING’s supported medication safety activity and the result that would have occurred without the intervention. For example, for a 2 hour medication safety program, the comparison may be between an intervention group that receives the benefits of a program and a comparison group that does not. The control group will not be randomly assigned. Instead, it will be formed based on my judgment as to how to minimize any differences between the two groups. Before any surveys can be administered, I would need to get IRB approval. This is not very difficult. I would need to provide a project description, assess the risks, and create a consent form for participants. I would run pre-test and post-test surveys. The respondents from the two groups will be asked a set of structured questions and their responses/scores are tabulated with an ID number and their test scores, ranging from 0 to 10. The test scores would be considered interval data; the ID numbers are nominal. Since a big sample of data will be collected, I would input the data into SPSS. This way, I can easily compare the post test scores with the two groups, the ones who went through the program and the ones who did not by means of charts, cross-tables, etc. This study will require minimal funding. The agency will need to print the surveys and consent forms, provide pens or pencils to use to write, and pay the presenter for the two hours or provide them a gift.
2. Research should go beyond a person’s personal experience, thoughts, feelings and opinions that do not refer to other sources of information. The methodology used in this example would be historical research. This involves systematic and objective location, evaluation and synthesis evidence in order to
Exam 2
November 19, 2012
1. To determine if CARING, Inc. is effectively providing services to the community, I would use a quasi-experimental evaluation. This will allow me to assess the differences that result from CARING’s supported medication safety activity and the result that would have occurred without the intervention. For example, for a 2 hour medication safety program, the comparison may be between an intervention group that receives the benefits of a program and a comparison group that does not. The control group will not be randomly assigned. Instead, it will be formed based on my judgment as to how to minimize any differences between the two groups. Before any surveys can be administered, I would need to get IRB approval. This is not very difficult. I would need to provide a project description, assess the risks, and create a consent form for participants. I would run pre-test and post-test surveys. The respondents from the two groups will be asked a set of structured questions and their responses/scores are tabulated with an ID number and their test scores, ranging from 0 to 10. The test scores would be considered interval data; the ID numbers are nominal. Since a big sample of data will be collected, I would input the data into SPSS. This way, I can easily compare the post test scores with the two groups, the ones who went through the program and the ones who did not by means of charts, cross-tables, etc. This study will require minimal funding. The agency will need to print the surveys and consent forms, provide pens or pencils to use to write, and pay the presenter for the two hours or provide them a gift.
2. Research should go beyond a person’s personal experience, thoughts, feelings and opinions that do not refer to other sources of information. The methodology used in this example would be historical research. This involves systematic and objective location, evaluation and synthesis evidence in order to