A Review of Research Design
The clinical research question for the proposed study may be stated in the PICOT-guided statement: “Social behavior and engagement outcomes from animal assisted therapy of at least a year among elderly patients with dementia in long-term care facilities”. The research design essentially flows from this research question, whether qualitative, quantitative, or even mixed design. The qualitative-quantitative typology must not be perceived as dichotomous, but as a continuum with mixed design research located in the middle of such a continuum (Creswell, 2008). Unlike in the earlier decades, this continuum are no longer viewed in terms of words (qualitative) or numbers (quantitative). Even in quantitative designs, there is always a place for qualitative methodology. Thus, their essential differences are a matter of divergence in their fundamental philosophical assumptions. Qualitative research, for instance, is a design for the exploration and understanding of meanings that people ascribe to specific problems, using thematic approaches along an inductive style of data analysis (Creswell, 2008). Meanwhile, quantitative research is a design for testing hypothesis or objective theories through variable analysis through a largely deductive approach.
The proposed study is expected to utilize a qualitative grounded theory design, which allows for a more comprehensive thematic development of available findings on the various social behavior and engagement outcomes observed in the use of animal assisted therapy among geriatric patients with dementia in long-term facilities (Houser, 2015). The research question does not have a general or abstract theory to begin with but two distinct themes: “social behavior” and “engagement outcomes”. The details of these two general themes will be increasingly more defined into specific themes as different sources are reviewed and outcomes identified and evaluated (Creswell, 2008). At the end of the literature review, specific themes will emerge from which a final comprehensive theory is defined.
References
Creswell, J.W. (2008). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approach. New York: Sage Publication.
Houser, J. (2015). Nursing research: Reading, using, and creating evidence (3rd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett.
