Research Designs

Research Designs

The non-experimental study refers to a research design in which an investigator observes phenomenon as it is without altering or controlling any of the available variables in the study. On the other hand,experimental research refers to a type of research design in which the investigation is carried out in a controlled environment. This means that the researcher has the freedom to alter any of the variables to assess their effect on other variables present in the study. Quasi-experimental studies give a researcher the freedom to carefully select study subjects. Quasi-experimental studies encompass a broad range of non randomized intervention studies as they are frequently used when it is not logistically feasible or ethical to conduct a randomized controlled trial. (Harris et al., 2006). Several differences exist between the above types of research designs.

One main distinction in these three types of research designs is the freedom of an investigator to alter the study variables. A researcher is usually allowed to modify the variables in experimental and quasi research designs while in non-experimental study design, a researcher can only observe the phenomenon as it is without manipulating any variables. Experimental and quasi-experimental designs have an intervention, so they involve questions about differences, while non-experimental models have no interventions and look at associations (Baker, 2017). Both non-experimental and quasi-experimental studies do not necessarily use control groups in experiments, while experimental studies require a control group.

Another difference lies in style used to select research subjects or groups to be investigated in the study. Experimental research designs apply the random assignment of subjects while non-experimental and quasi-experimental designs do not use random assignment of research subjects. This means that in experimental studies, each item or participant has the same or equal chance as other participants to be allocated into any experimental group. On the other hand, in non-experimental and quasi-experimental studies, a researcher assigns the participants he/she thinks will be most suited to the research. Finally, another significant difference lies in the establishment of a cause and effect relationship between the variables; dependent and independent. In experimental studies, the existence of a cause and effect relationship between variables is very likely. In quasi-experimental studies, a cause and effect relationship is also quite likely to be established. However, the relationship lacks as much assurance as in the case of an experimental study. On the contrary, in non-experimental studies, a cause and effect relationship is not established because the investigator’s main priority is the provision of detailed results.

Clinical research is quite invaluable to nursing practice. As advanced practice nurses (APNs), NPs are uniquely positioned to lead and participate in a study that is meaningful to their complex practice environments (Lambart et al., 2017). This is where all the above research designs come in.Each type of research design has its advantages and disadvantages, and it is up to a researcher to choose the model that suits their research. Non-experimental studies can be used for observational purposes to give descriptive results. For instance, APNs can use this type of research design to determine the prevalence rates of a specific disease. Since experimental designs are used for determining the relationship between two variables, they can be used to assess the effectiveness of a particular type of treatment. Finally, since quasi-experimental designs are similar to experimental designs except for random assignment, they can be used to study and identify risk factors that nurses can include for patient assessments or the effect of the introduction of new interventions such as new order-entry systems.

References

Baker, C. (2017). Quantitative research designs: Experimental, quasi-experimental, and descriptive.

Harris, A. D., McGregor, J. C., Perencevich, E. N., Furuno, J. P., Zhu, J., Peterson, D. E., & Finkelstein, J. (2006). The use and interpretation of quasi-experimental studies in medical informatics. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 13(1), 16-23.

Lambert, L. K., &Housden, L. M. (2017). Nurse practitioner engagement in research. Canadian OnCOlOgy nursing JOurnal, 27(1), 107.