a probing question
Respond in one or more of the following ways:
Ask a probing question, substantiated with additional background information, and evidence.
Share an insight from having read your colleagues’ postings, synthesizing the information to provide new perspectives.
Offer and support an alternative perspective using readings from the classroom or from your own review of the literature in the Walden Library.
Make a suggestion based on additional evidence drawn from readings or after synthesizing multiple postings.
Main Post
Because evidence-based practice (EBP) stems from scientific research, it is imperative that nurses not only be able to read and interpret the results of research studies; they must also have a sound understanding of the various methodologies utilized to gather, analyze, and interpret the data used within those studies. The design of the study, the number of participants, the data collection methods, all help to determine the relevancy of the research for nursing practice. For example, a large-scale, randomized control trial would more accurately measure the impact of hand-washing on infection control. But, a descriptive qualitative analysis would likely be a more effective research design to determine motivators or deterrents of hand-washing behavior. Polit and Beck (2017) maintain that quantitative nursing research studies primarily aim to establish causality. Philosophically speaking, causality is highly complex because most phenomena cannot be contributed to a single causative factor; rather, they are attributable to multiple, sometimes convoluting variables. Correlation while often compelling, does not equal causation, and a sound research design will be able to distinguish the difference (Polit & Beck, 2017).
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
