Essential Skills for Researchers †Free Sample for Students

Question: What is the Essential Skills for Researchers? Answer: Introduction Across the world, over 20 million preterm, low birth weight (LBW) and very low birth weight (VLBW) are born each year. One out of 3 children born with low birth weight (less than 2,500g) die even before they attain 1 year, especially in developing countries (Were and Bwibo, 2009). In Australia, there were approximately 23.2% incidences of low birth weight infants among Aboriginals, which attributed to the relatively high rates of neonatal and prenatal mortality (Gogna, Smiley, Walker and Fullerton, 1986).Preterm birth is therefore a serious health concern and problem for infants and prenatal healthcare providers. Statistics by the World Health Organization suggests that preterm birth is a global health challenge and it is a leading cause of infant death in both low and high-income settings across the world (Blencowe, Cousens, Chou, Oestergaard, Say, Moller, Kinney and Lawn, 2013). It is desirable to develop interventions that are applicable and feasible to the problem of preterm birt h both in the low and high-income settings. Over the years, advancement in neonatal medicine, prenatal care, therapeutic and diagnostic treatments, and pediatric surgery have contributed significantly to the improvement in survival rates and subsequently reducing the mortality rates of the infants with low or very low birth weight (Reddy and Mclnerney, 2007). Kangaroo mothers care (KMC) is a scientifically tested and evidence-based approach first utilized by doctors in 1979 in a maternal-infant institute in Bogota, Columbia with the aim of reducing maternal death rates (Arivabene and Tyrrell, 2010). KMC has been adopted and applied in reducing morbidity and mortality rates in preterm children (Seidman, Unnikrishnan, Kenny, Myslinski, Cairns-Smith, Mulligan and Engmann, 2015). According to the World Health Organization, KMC comprise lengthened skin to skin (STS) contact between the infant and the mother, including breastfeeding, early release from the hospital, adequate support and follow-up, commencement of the practice at the hospital and continuation in the home setting (World Health Organization, 2003). The use of KMC has significantly improved preterm child outcomes, which include reduction in infant stress and pain, improvement in breastfeeding, preterm infant growth and development in the various neonatal intensive care units (Thomas, 2013; Lawn, Mwansa-Kambafwile, Horta, Barros and Cousens, 2010). Recent studies indicate that KMC also improves maternal health outcomes, fosters satisfaction and motivation of the parents to offer care to the infant and significantly reduces the risk of the mother experiencing postpartum depression (de Alencar, Arraes, de Albuquerque and Alves, 2009; Heinemann, Hellstrm?Westas and Hedberg Nyqvist, 2013). Problem Statement Although KMC is increasingly becoming popular across the world, because of its human nature of care and close contact with the mothers body, some countries are yet to adopt it fully (Suman Rao, Udani and Nanavati, 2008; Eichel, 2001). According to Lawn et at. (2010) KMC is unavailable to most low income and developing countries. Moreover, a few studies have investigated the effectiveness of KMC, especially regarding its flexibility and safety for use in different care settings, such as home, and for the different therapeutic objectives (Charpak, Gabriel Ruiz, Zupan, Cattaneo, Figueroa, Tessier, Cristo, Anderson, Ludington, Mendoza and Mokhachane, 2005). While the mother is integral in the effectiveness and success of KMC, a few studies have investigated their experiences while giving Kangaroo care for their infants. More importantly, no study has specifically addressed the experience of mothers in the provision of Kangaroo care for infants in the Australian context. The aim of this study is to examine the experiences of mothers in providing Kangaroo care low and very low birth weight infants in Australia. The main research question is, what are the experiences of mothers giving Kangaroo care? The study will seek to address the following objectives: To determine the perceptions of the mothers while preparing for Kangaroo care To determine the experiences of mothers following the implementation of Kangaroo care To determine the nature and quality of support given to mothers during the implementation of Kangaroo care Hypothesis This being a qualitative investigation, the researcher will not endeavor to formulate and test a research hypothesis. Since the purpose of the research is to investigate the experiences of mothers giving Kangaroo care. The researcher does not have prior knowledge of the feelings and experiences of the mothers, hence it is not possible to formulate meaningful hypothesis for testing. For the purpose of clinical practice, the researcher is interested in subjective experiences of mothers giving Kangaroo care. Hypothesis testing requires numerical variables, which fail to which fail to address and reflect the subjective experiences of mothers regarding the Kangaroo care nursing practice. Consequently, the use of the qualitative approach provides the researcher with the opportunity to have a broader perspective where the research goes through the entire research process, and then begins to narrow down to the themes and trends in the study that then guide the formulation of hypothesis (Blankenship, 2010). The hypothesis for the proposed study will be formulated at the end following a process of data collection and analysis. For the purpose of this investigation, the researcher shall employ the grounded theory to generate hypothesis from the data, findings and responses received from the study participants. According to Corbin and Strauss (1990) grounded theory enables researchers to begin an investigation without the need of formulating a testable hypothesis and generate the hypothesis or theories as they emerge from the data, findings and participant responses. Grounded theory uses two principles, namely, questioning instead of measuring and using theoretical coding to generate hypothesis (Corbin Strauss, 1990). Research Methodology There are different approaches for achieving the purpose of the proposed study. A research approach is important in determining the size of the research sample, the data that is relevant and appropriate to the study, and the relevant methods for collecting, analyzing and presenting the data and research findings (Caulley, 2007). Qualitative research allows the research to incorporate inspirations, motives, meanings, attitudes, values, beliefs, and human perspective in investigating the social reality and daily life experiences of people (Holloway and Galvin, 2016). Moreover, the qualitative design allows the researcher to investigate subjects, cases, phenomenon in their real and natural environment and settings thus generating appropriate meaning and insights from the experiences of the participants. With qualitative research design, the researcher is able to use different methodologies, approaches and methods of data collection, analysis and presentation. This allows the researcher to achieve flexibility, freedom and adaptability while investigating the research question and attaining the purpose of the study (Marshall and Rossman, 2011). The qualitative research approach is therefore appropriate, relevant and important in providing an understanding of the experiences of mothers giving Kangaroo care and the support they receive during the implementation of the nursing practice. Research Design The exploratory research design is important when investigating a phenomenon, research question or problem limited prior knowledge or research on the topic or subject. The aim is to gain clarity of the research problem, prioritize areas that need investigation, establish and operational definition of concepts and develop improvements on the final research design. Employing the exploratory research design also enables the researcher to establish the best methods of collecting data and selecting the participants in the study. Since a few studies have investigated the effectiveness of KMC and the experiences of the mothers who implement it, it would be prudent and appropriate to use the exploratory design to examine the experiences of mothers in providing Kangaroo care low and very low birth weight infants in Australia. The researcher will use semi-structured interviews to address the research problem and question. Semi-structured interviews work very well in gathering, relevant, qualitative and focused textual data from the research participants. The use of semi-structured interviews offers the researcher flexibility and balance of the open ended interviews and highly structured ethnographic research (Bernard and Bernard, 2012). Semi-structured interviews are effective when analyzing, developing and refining a research question. It is also useful when researcher is seeking to uncover descriptive data concerning the experiences of the research participants. Using semi-structured interviews enables the research to move from a general topic to specific variables and factors in the study (Galletta, 2013). Moreover, semi-structured interviews offer the researcher an opportunity to identify and describe existing relationships and develop theoretical background for further research. Semi-structured interv iews enable the research to examine and explore the lived experiences of research participants (Galletta, 2013). Participants and Procedures Population Study population shall comprise mothers who had babies below 2,500 g and who had delivered at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, Grattan St, Parkville VIC 3050, Australia between January and May 2017. Sampling Technique Sampling allows the researcher to select participants from the entire population for the purpose of the study (Privitera, 2013). A good sampling technique enables the researcher to identify a representative sample from the population that aids in attaining the purpose of the study while remaining cost-effective and appropriate to the available resources, both people, time and money (Privitera, 2013). This study will use purposive sampling technique. Purposive sampling is one of the non-probability techniques useful for conducting qualitative studies and enables the researcher to gain a deeper understanding of the problem, phenomenon or issues under investigation. The researcher deliberately makes choices and selections of the research participants based on the predetermined qualities that they have (Tongco, 2007). The researcher determines the information he/she wants to collect and goes out to identify and select people who are able and willing to provide the desired information based on their personal experiences and knowledge (Tongco, 2007). The purposive sampling technique would be very effective in achieving the purpose of the proposed study. Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria The sample for this study will be drawn from mothers with preterm babies admitted to the intensive neonatal unit and who subsequently utilized the Kangaroo care. For the mothers to be eligible to participate in the research, they will be required to demonstrate a recent memory of their experience. Only those who had stopped KMC practice in the last three weeks will be included in the study. The condition of the baby shall also be considered in deciding which mother to include and exclude from the study. Only parents with stable infants shall be included, and the stability shall comprise normal vital signs, no abnormality or malformation and lack of dependence on intravenous fluids or oxygen support. Moreover, the mother should have implemented Kangaroo care for a minimum of two weeks and should be able to speak and understand English. The researcher will conduct sampling until the right participants and the required sample size has been attained. Sample Size For the purpose of the research, given the limited time and financial resources, the researcher shall target to recruit a sample size of n=25 mothers giving Kangaroo care and who met the above stated inclusion and exclusion criteria. Procedures and Informed Consent A nursing staff in the intensive neonatal unit will be tasked to approach each of the mothers and request for their participation in the proposed study. Informed consent is critical to ensuring attainment of the research objectives while safeguarding and protecting the interests of the participants in the study (Shrivastava, Shrivastava and Ramasamy, 2015). Therefore, the staff will inform the mothers the nature and importance of the study. The mothers shall be granted an opportunity to accept or reject the invitation to partake in the study. Their decision will be reached without force, or undue influence. The names of those who agree to participate in the study will be forwarded to the researcher who will educate the mothers on the purpose of the study, nature of activities they would be involved and the use of the information and results generated from the investigation. They will be expected to read, understand and sign an informed consent sheet, which will be assessed by the Eth ics Committee for accuracy, completeness and relevance for the proposed study. Data Collection The proposed study will use both primary and secondary data to attain its purpose and objectives. Secondary data shall comprise books, journals and other scholarly publications that the researcher will use to establish the context, theoretical background, explain the concepts, refine the research topic and identify gaps in the existing literature on the topic for future research (Rabianski, 2004). The qualitative design offers variety regarding the methods of collecting primary data for the purpose of the study. Ethnographic approaches to primary data collection use different methods, including face-to-face interviews, primary and secondary data, case studies, observations and discussions within focused groups (Rabianski, 2004). The choice of the preferred method depends on the objective and purpose of the investigation and the kind of data that the researcher seeks to collect (Rabianski, 2004). For the purpose of the proposed investigation, primary data will be collected through face-to-face interviews conducted by the researcher over a period of 4 months. Face to face interviews provides an opportunity for the researcher to ensure the completeness of the semi-structured interviews, ask other emerging or probing questions and observe the non-verbal cues from the participants to compliment their stated feelings, perceptions and experiences concerning the research question (DiCicco?Bloom and Crabtree, 2006). For the purpose of the proposed study, all the interviews will be conducted in English language. The researcher will conduct each interview with mothers implementing Kangaroo care in their specific rooms used to provide their nursing care. The interview shall comprise asking mothers with infants to describe their experiences while practicing and implementing Kangaroo care. The researcher will use probing questions to guide the mothers in delving deeper and offering more information and detail concerning their perceptions and experience of Kangaroo care. The researcher will use instruments such as notebooks and electronic recorders to document and preserve the interviews for reviewing later during the data analysis phase. At the end of the interviewing process the researcher will recap and summarize every key point provided by the mothers, and then verify with the mother to determine the correctness and accuracy of the data collected. After agreeing with the mother, that the informati on is accurate and correct the mother will grant the researcher approval to proceed with the information to the data analysis phase. Data Analysis Data analysis is critical to understanding the collected data, and deriving relevant insights, conclusions and recommendations. After completing all the interviews, the researcher will listen to the recorded tapes and engage in verbatim transcription of the recorded interviews. An independent observer will be used to check the content of the recorded tapes and compare it with the non-verbal behavior noted during the interviews. The researcher and independent observer shall engage in careful reading and re-reading of the transcripts to establish actual meanings and trends emerging from the data, and the non-verbal cues observed among the research participants. Following Morse (1994) framework, line-by-line reading of the narrative will be conducted and the arising text divided into categories. This shall comprise level 1 coding where unique words or codes will be assigned to every category to convey specific meaning of the category (Graneheim and Lundman, 2004). The level 2 coding shall involve grouping all the coded data to common meaning, generating categories and subthemes from the information (Graneheim and Lundman, 2004). Level 3 coding will include grouping the subthemes together to achieve emerging trends or themes constituting the Basic Social Psychological Process (Graneheim and Lundman, 2004). Three independent coders and assessors will review the entire coding process, the codes assigned and categories formulated in order to determine the trustworthiness, validity and accuracy of the codes and ensure easier and effective interpretations of the information and findings gleaned from the study. Rigor, Reliability and Validity Rigor It is very difficult to establish rigor in qualitative investigations due to the subjective and theoretical nature of data collected and findings established from the study. rigor is best investigated in quantitative studies through reliability and validity tests because it is possible to apply statistical measures to test the findings. Nevertheless, it is still possible to test the trustworthiness of the research data, findings, and conclusions from a study through investigating credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability variables (Lincoln and Guba, 1985). Reliability and validity Although reliability and validity are research concepts commonly utilized in quantitative investigations, they also have a role in qualitative studies, especially while designing, analyzing data and ensuring the overall quality of the study (Patton, 1990). Hence, researchers tend to use terms such as credibility, comfirmability, neutrality, trustworthiness, dependability, consistency, transferability and applicability to assess the quality of qualitative studies (Lincoln and Guba, 1985). Trustworthiness is a critical measure of reliability in qualitative studies (Seale, 1999). Lincoln and Guba (1985) further note that the measure of trustworthiness replaces validity and reliability measures while conducting qualitative research. Research rigor or trustworthiness is achieved through researchers attention and confirmation of information gathered to represent the actual experiences of the participants (Thomas and Magilvy, 2011). Credibility will be attained by tape recording the interviews, conducting participants debriefing, member checks and comparing notes and summaries with the participants to verify their experiences. The researcher will assess transferability by sharing the findings with an independent colleague to offer constructive critique and sharing the findings from nurses and mothers that did not participate in the study. An independent reviewer will also check the findings, analysis, interpretations and the recommendations to confirm that they are supported by the available data. The researcher will assess dependability by using a more experienced independent person to check and review the coding and analysis process. Finally, confirmability will be achieved by using the actual words of the participants to explain and describe their experiences of Kangaroo care. Ethical Issues While conducting an investigation, the researcher has ethical obligations to ensure and protect the rights of the participants (Munhall, 2012). It will be important to establish trust between the researcher and the participants. Hence, ethical considerations will be very important in the proposed study. Three ethical considerations will be utilized while conducting the study. Firstly, before conducting the study, the researcher will seek informed consent and written approval the university ethics committee (Munhall, 2012). Permission will also be sought from the management of the hospital where the study will be conducted. Finally, informed consent will be sought from mothers, who will participate in the actual study. Secondly, the researcher will ensure confidentiality and anonymity by using codes instead of the actual names of the participants to avoid divulging personal information to the public (Munhall, 2012). Lastly, the participants will be informed of their right to withdraw from the study at any given point without any punishment. Limitation The proposed study will however experience a few challenges that will affect the quality of the research findings and applications to the general population. The collection and analysis of qualitative data is time consuming, and expensive, which will hinder the researcher from exploring a larger sample size (Anderson, 2010). The use of a small sample size reduces credibility and reliability of the research findings, which will create a problem in generalizing the findings to the entire study population (Taylor, Bogdan and DeVault, 2015). This being a qualitative research, it is very difficult to assess rigor through reliability and validity tests, forcing the researcher to use trustworthiness measure (Green and Thorogood, 2013). Conclusion In conclusion, this paper has presented a proposal for investigating the experiences of mothers giving Kangaroo care for preterm infants in Australia. This research proposal is significant to my overall academic performance since it will culminate into an academic enquiry that is relevant and appropriate for my program. while the advantages, value and benefits of Kangaroo care for low and very low birth weight infants and mothers, especially in enhancing weight gain, reducing hospital stay and supporting breastfeeding, are well documented in literature, there is very little information on the application and implementation of the nursing practice in Australia. Being a relatively new concept in Australia, there is little or no information concerning the experiences of mothers implementing the Kangaroo care practice. This study will contribute to a body of literature on the subject and topic by identifying existing research gaps, and developing knowledge, recommendations, and research based evidence concerning the experiences of mothers. Mothers, nurses, caregivers and future students will find this study important in their practice and application of the Kangaroo care approach to nursing. Nurses will understand how to best care for mothers to ensure better outcomes of the Kangaroo care approach. References Anderson, C., 2010. Presenting and evaluating qualitative research.American journal of pharmaceutical education,74(8), p.141- 145 Arivabene, J.C. and Tyrrell, M.A.R., 2010. Kangaroo mother method: mothers' experiences and contributions to nursing.Revista latino-americana de enfermagem,18(2): 262-268 Bernard, H.R. and Bernard, H.R., 2012.Social research methods: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Sage Blankenship, D., 2010.Applied research and evaluation methods in recreation. Human Kinetics Blencowe, H., Cousens, S., Chou, D., Oestergaard, M., Say, L., Moller, A.B., Kinney, M. and Lawn, J., 2013. Born too soon: the global epidemiology of 15 million preterm births.Reproductive health,10(1), p.S2. Caulley, D.N., 2007. Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theories and methods.Qualitative Research Journal,7(2), pp.106-108 Charpak, N., Gabriel Ruiz, J., Zupan, J., Cattaneo, A., Figueroa, Z., Tessier, R., Cristo, M., Anderson, G., Ludington, S., Mendoza, S. and Mokhachane, M., 2005. Kangaroo mother care: 25 years after.Acta Paediatrica,94(5), pp.514-522. Corbin, J. M., Strauss, A. (1990). Grounded theory research: Procedures, canons, and evaluative criteria. Qualitative sociology, 13(1): 3-21. de Alencar, A.E.M.A., Arraes, L.C., de Albuquerque, E.C. and Alves, J.G.B., 2009. Effect of kangaroo mother care on postpartum depression.Journal of tropical pediatrics,55(1), pp.36-38 DiCicco?Bloom, B. and Crabtree, B.F., 2006. The qualitative research interview.Medical education,40(4), pp.314-321 Eichel, P., 2001. Kangaroo care: expanding our practice to critically ill neonates.Newborn and Infant Nursing Reviews,1(4), pp.224-228 Galletta, A., 2013.Mastering the semi-structured interview and beyond: From research design to analysis and publication. NYU Press Gogna, N.K., Smiley, M., Walker, A.C. and Fullerton, P., 1986. Low birthweight and mortality in Australian Aboriginal babies at the Royal Darwin Hospital: a 15 year study.Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health,22(4): 281-284 Graneheim, U.H. and Lundman, B., 2004. Qualitative content analysis in nursing research: concepts, procedures and measures to achieve trustworthiness.Nurse education today,24(2), pp.105-112. Green, J. and Thorogood, N., 2013.Qualitative methods for health research. Sage. Heinemann, A.B., Hellstrm?Westas, L. and Hedberg Nyqvist, K., 2013. Factors affecting parents' presence with their extremely preterm infants in a neonatal intensive care room.Acta Paediatrica,102(7), pp.695-702 Holloway, I. and Galvin, K., 2016.Qualitative research in nursing and healthcare. John Wiley Sons Lawn, J.E., Mwansa-Kambafwile, J., Horta, B.L., Barros, F.C. and Cousens, S., 2010. Kangaroo mother careto prevent neonatal deaths due to preterm birth complications.International journal of epidemiology,39(suppl 1), pp.i144-i154 Lemmen, D., Fristedt, P. and Lundqvist, A., 2013. Kangaroo care in a neonatal context: parents experiences of information and communication of nurse-parents.The open nursing journal,7(1):41-48 Lewis, S., 2015. Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches.Health promotion practice, 16(4):10-25 Lincoln, Y.S. and Guba, E.G., 1985.Naturalistic inquiry(Vol. 75). Sage Marshall, C. and Rossman, G.B., 2011.Designing qualitative research. Sage Morse, J.M., 1994. Emerging from the data: the cognitive process of analysis in qualitative enquiry. IN: Morse, JM.Critical Issues in Qualitative Research Methods Munhall, P.L., 2012.Nursing research. Jones Bartlett Learning Patton, M.Q., 1990.Qualitative evaluation and research methods. SAGE Publications, inc Privitera, G.J., 2013.Research methods for the behavioral sciences. Sage Publications Rabianski, J., 2004. Primary and secondary data: concepts, concerns, errors and issues.Australian Property Journal,38(4), p.306- 313 Reddy, J. and Mclnerney, P.A., 2007. The experiences of mothers who were implementing kangaroo mother care (KMC) at a regional hospital in KwaZulu-Natal.Curationis,30(3), pp.62-67. Roberts, K., Paynter, C. and McEwan, B., 2000. A comparison of kangaroo mother care and conventional cuddling care.Neonatal Network,19(4), pp.31-35 Roller, C.G., 2005. Getting to know you: mothers experiences of kangaroo care.Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, Neonatal Nursing,34(2):210-217 Seale, C., 1999. Quality in qualitative research.Qualitative inquiry,5(4), pp.465-478 Seidman, G., Unnikrishnan, S., Kenny, E., Myslinski, S., Cairns-Smith, S., Mulligan, B. and Engmann, C., 2015. Barriers and enablers of kangaroo mother care practice: a systematic review.PloS one,10(5), p.e0125643. Shrivastava, S.R., Shrivastava, P. and Ramasamy, J., 2015. Informed consent in clinical research.CHRISMED Journal of Health and Research,2(2), p.183-185 Suman Rao, P.N., Udani, R. and Nanavati, R., 2008. Kangaroo mother care for low birth weight infants: a randomized controlled trial.Indian pediatrics,45(1), p.17-23 Tarus, T.K., 2008.Mothersexperiences Of Kangaroo Mother Care During Hospitalization Of Their Preterm Babies In An Academic Hospital In Johannesburg(Doctoral dissertation, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg). Taylor, S.J., Bogdan, R. and DeVault, M., 2015.Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guidebook and resource. John Wiley Sons Thomas, E., 2013. Kangaroo mother care to reduce morbidity and mortality in low birth-weight infants.Breastfeeding Review,21(2), pp.54-56 Thomas, E. and Magilvy, J.K., 2011. Qualitative rigor or research validity in qualitative research.Journal for specialists in pediatric nursing,16(2), pp.151-155 Tongco, M.D.C., 2007. Purposive sampling as a tool for informant selection.Ethnobotany Research and applications,5, pp.147-158 Were, F.N. and Bwibo, N.O., 2009. The contribution of very low birth weight death to infant mortality.East African medical journal,86(8):374-377 World Health Organization, 2003.Kangaroo mother care: A practical guide. World Health Organization