As you have explored this week, there are various methods a researcher may use to engage in quantitative research design. While the methods presented this week are not exhaustive, they do introduce numerous features that you will likely encounter when reviewing, accessing, and researching the nursing practice literature. Whether you are creating new research or searching the literature to add support for a research question you are interested in, understanding the quantitative research designs that may be used for nursing practice will likely inform how you will conduct research for your health care setting. As you continue to build upon your research skills as a nursing researcher and professional, understanding how to engage in quantitative research design is a valuable asset.

For this Assignment, pay close attention to its content on the basic elements of research methods (e.g., sample, data collection, measurement, analysis). Then, be sure to review the research study by Sand-Jekline and Sherman (2014), included in this week’s resources.

Note: While not a required resource, you might find the definitions in the Encyclopedia of Nursing Research helpful for this assignment.

This assignment involves identifying and describing the strengths and weaknesses of the research method used in the Sand-Jecklin and Sherman (2014) 

• Focus on the research design, sample data collection methods, tools used for data collection, and the plan for data analysis as discussed in the Sand-Jecklin and Sherman (2014) article.
• Identify at least two strengths and two weaknesses of the study based on reliability
• Use the copy of the Journal Club Template for Quantitative Research located in this week’s resources. The template includes an area for each element discussed in the study.
• Be brief, paraphrase and summarize each of the elements clearly on the form.
• Provide the full citation of the article used for this Assignment on the template

Writing: Be succinct, paraphrase and summarize each of the elements clearly on the form. Provide a description of the major concepts from research methods listed on the template in your words and cite resource correctly if needed.

Clearly identify at least 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses of the research methods related to the study design, sampling, data collection/methods, and data analysis) that you summarized on the template.  Note that this is a total of 2 weakness and 2 strengths, rather than 2 strengths and weakness of each method.  

For each strength and weakness, include brief rationale related to validity and support with an outside resource.  Write the content in essay style with complete sentences and punctuation. Avoid listing and bullet points