Questions
Was our staff friendly?
Did you get the assistance that you needed?
Were all your questions answered?
Were you satisfied with your overall experience today?
Would you recommend our service to your family and friends?
(Smith, 2014; Physician Practice Resource Center, n.d.)
Method or Instrument for Gathering Data
A Likert-scale survey will be used for gathering data. A Likert scale uses “fixed choice response formats and are designed to measure attitudes or opinions” (McLeod, 2008). They measure the levels of disagreement or agreement under the assumption that it is possible for attitudes to be measured. The survey will be distributed in print format, which is preferred to an online or electronic survey since not all patients would have Internet access or would be computer literate.
Participants and Sample Size
The participants will involve patients of both in-patient and out-patient services who have just received a medical service, be it a medical procedure or a consultation with a physician. They will be asked to respond to the survey right after they complete their procedure or consultation and before they go home. This way, it can be ensured that they don’t forget to fill in the survey and to submit it. This also ensures that their experience is still fresh in their minds.
As suggested by Keough and Tanabe (2011), the sample size should be based on the response rates experienced by previous researches. In this regard, previous studies (Spooner, 2003, Siegrist, 2013) show that patient satisfaction surveys have an average response rate of 34%. Power analysis would be placed at 1000 to ensure the generalizeability of the findings. In this regard, the sample size would be around 2,941 participants.
Reliability and Validity of the Data Gathered
Having a large sample size ensures that the sample is representative of the population, making the results generalizeable. However, it should also be ensured that the instrument measures construct validity and face validity (Keough and Tanabe, 2011). Construct validity ensures that the instrument conforms to a criterion while face validity ensures that the participants understand what the questions are asking (Keough and Tanabe. 2011).
References
Keough, V. A. and Tanabe, P. (2011). Survey research: An effective design for conducting
nursing research. Journal of Nursing Regulation, 1(4), 37-44.
McLeod, S. (2008). Likert scale. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/likert-
scale.html
Patient Practice Resource Center. (n.d.). Patient satisfaction surveys. Retrieved from
http://www.massmed.org/physicians/practice-management/patient-satisfaction-surveys-
%28pdf%29/
Siegrist, R. B. Jr. (2013, November). Patient satisfaction: History, myths, and misperceptions.
AMA Journal of Ethics, 15(11), 982-987.
Smith, J. (2014, March 19). How you can use patient satisfaction surveys to improve
Performance. Retrieved from http://profitable-practice.softwareadvice.com/use-patient-
satisfaction-surveys-to-improve-performance-0314/
Spooner, S. H. (2003, Jul-Sep). Survey response rates and overall patient satisfaction scores:
what do they mean? Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 18(3), 162-74.
