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RUNNING HEAD: DISCUSSION

[Discussion]

[Student Name]

[Instructor’s Name]

[Course Code]

[Date]
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DISCUSSION

Discussion 1

Provide examples of experimental and non-experimental research design. Contrast the levels

of control applied to each.

A method to wisely plan experiments in advance in order to produce results that are

both valid and objective is called experimental design. For example, does smoking throughout

pregnancy leads to a lower birth weight? To randomly give one group of mother’s packets of

cigarettes to smoke would be unethical. Instead, the researcher asks the mothers if they smoked

throughout pregnancy and allots them to groups afterwards the fact. Another example states that

do software designed thoughtfully enhance learning outcomes for pupils? This study used several

classrooms to demonstrate how technology can be effectively applied in schools (Andale, 2015).

The label given to a study when a researcher is unable to control, handle or change the analyst

variable or subjects, but as an alternative, depends on interpretation, interactions or observations

in order to come to a conclusion is known as non-experimental design. Survey studies are

examples of such research designs. They are investigations in which self-report facts are

gathered from samples for the purpose of describing populations on certain variables of concern.

Correlational studies are another example of these designs. In this study the researcher observes

the strong point of relations between variables by firming up how alterations in one variable are

linked with alterations in another variable. A true-experimental plan is thought to be the

strongest or most rigorous with respect to forming fundamental effects and inner validity. Inner

soundness is the control of aspects within the study that might affect the results besides the

experimental treatment or intervention. A non-experimental design is generally considered to be

the weakest in this regard. However, these designs are not weak completely. They are feeble only
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in measuring cause and effect relations and the formation of inner validity. The simplest method

of non-experiment design is the one-time survey that contains of one particular observation.

Discussion 2

What is sampling theory? Describe it and provide examples to illustrate your definition.

Discuss generalizability as it applies to nursing research.

The field of statistics that is related to the gathering, analysis and understanding of data

collected from random samples of inhabitants under study is known as sampling theory. The

application of sampling theory is not only concerned with the appropriate choice of observations

from the population that will establish the random sample, it also includes the usage of

probability theory, along with earlier knowledge regarding the population limits, to study the

data and facts from the random sample and develop deductions from the study. The normal

distribution, accompanied by associated probability distributions, is most greatly used in

developing the speculative background for sampling theory. For Example: We might want to

figure out conclusions regarding the ratio of faulty bolts manufactured in a factory throughout a

specified 6-day week by inspecting 20 bolts each day manufactured at different times during the

entire day (Muhammad Imdadullah, 2015).

The generalizability of a the results of a study depends on the ability of the researcher to distinct

the relevant facts from the facts that are irrelevant of the study, and then convey a result about

the appropriate facts, it would be much easier if one at all times knew what might ultimately turn

out to be appropriate. After all, one generalizes conclusions from human studies to animals, if the

mutual biologic procedure or mechanism of disease is relevant and species is comparatively

irrelevant. Generalization, in other words, is the main explanation of the results of a study as

soon as they are firm to be valid internally (Walter A. Kukull, 2012).

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References

Andale, (2015). Experimental Design Definition and Examples. Retrieved from:

http://www.statisticshowto.com/experimental-design/

Muhammad Imdadullah, (2015). Sampling theory, Introduction and Reasons to Sample.

Retrieved from: http://itfeature.com/statistics/sampling-theory-introduction-and-reasons-to-

sample

Walter A. Kukull, (2012). Generalizability. Retrieved from:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3369519/