Evaluating Research Methods and Design

The assignment focuses on critically assessing various research methods and designs. It requires students to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches, considering factors like validity, reliability, bias, and generalizability. Students are expected to demonstrate an understanding of evidence-based practice principles and apply them to evaluate the quality and impact of research findings.

Running Head: DO VACCINES REDUCE THE RISK OF INFECTIONS? 1
Do Vaccines Reduce the Risk of Infections?
Name
Institution

DO VACCINES REDUCE THE RISK OF INFECTIONS? 2
1.1 Research Topic
Do Vaccines Reduce the Risk of Infection?
An alternative hypothesis for this subject would be: Most infections are eliminated or reduced by
the use the right vaccines recommended by a doctor or a certified medical professional.
2.1 Definition of Key Terms
3 Research Questions/hypothesis and its purpose
The research question or hypothesis is of importance to the nursing practice and development as
it provides crucial information to the stakeholders involved.
3.1 Research question
The research question is: Do Vaccines Reduce the Risk of Infection?
3.2 Steps of the Evidence based process (EBP)
The steps of evidence based process are asses, ask, acquire, appraise, apply and self-evaluation
respectively. The first thing to do is to get a patient or participant to the study and take a close
observation on them then ask a clinical question that relates to the topic (Melnyk et.al 2010). The
next procedure is to acquire evidence from reliable sources to help in the implementation of the
study goals. The researcher now has a crucial role to appraise the evidence acquired and test for
its validity, reliability and applicability. The fifth step is to apply the knowledge and talk to the
patient about their situation according to the information relevant to the study (Slavin, 2008).
Finally self evaluation will be important for the researcher as it determines the performance with
the specific participant and establish the strengths and weaknesses to make the next encounter
more productive.

DO VACCINES REDUCE THE RISK OF INFECTIONS? 3
3.3 Contribution of future results to evidence based practice
The study aims to gain information on the factors that influence the clinical aspect in question
and the way participants view it. These details will make the EBP more informative and detailed
since new findings might be discovered related to the patient or topic in question (Kaminsky et.al
2011). Therefore if an EBP is conducted after the research is concluded, then it will be more
educative.
3.4 Contribution of the research to nursing practice
The study will influence the audience to seek vaccine care and use them only with a doctor’s
prescription which will in turn reduce the number of infections and also deal with the existing
ones (Rerks-Ngarm et.al 2009).
3.5 Participation of a Member
A community health activist will form part of the research team to play a major role of
influencing members of the public to participate in the study as it helps them realize important
details concerned with their health.
4 Literature review
The researcher is obliged to present accurate, reliable and applicable data about the subject
matter which the audience can apply in their health related lives. The kind of data that can be
trusted for the success of this study are health articles published in professional journals. The
information from these sources is usually peer reviewed to ensure that all the facts obtained are
trustworthy and unbiased. The researcher will make use of three main articles for the study with

DO VACCINES REDUCE THE RISK OF INFECTIONS? 4
a main aim of getting the right information to answer the research question and also fill in the
literature gaps.
4.1 Article 1
Andre et. Al (2008) describes the issue of reduced diseases, disabilities and to an extent death.
The article’s main hypothesis is that vaccination is the best way of preventing future illnesses for
an individual and has less associated side effects. Although there has been studies and campaigns
focusing on the safety of vaccines, research proves that therapeutic medicines have more
negative impacts compared to vaccines Andre et. Al (2008). The authors add that getting
vaccines the right way and time might reduces the risks of disabilities like in the cases of polio
and death as well. The study will focus on establishing the occasions where a vaccine might not
be able to prevent diseases, disability or death.
4.2 Article 2
Bawankule et.al (2017) establish a study of the effect of measles vaccination to the respiratory
infection (RI) and diarrhea in children. An analysis of the participants shows that the individuals
who were vaccinated against measles had a less chance of getting RI and diarrhea complications.
The injections worked well in children and from the results, it is clear that vaccines are a good
way of preventing health complications. The study aims at establishing an observation of
participants of varying ages and the types of advantages or disadvantages they face when
fighting diseases depending on whether they were vaccinated or not.
4.3 Article 3

DO VACCINES REDUCE THE RISK OF INFECTIONS? 5
Carlin et.al (2013) compares the negative impacts of vaccines observed among patients with the
benefits in terms of preventing infections. The risk of intussusception (IS), usually found in
children is associated with measles vaccines. The IS occurs a specified time after vaccination
with individuals who have not gone through vaccines showing a low rate of contracting this
condition. However the measles injections were shown to reduce gastroenteritis hospitalizations
with most cases associated with those had not vaccinated against measles. The research targets
the aspect of the comparison between the advantages and limitations of vaccines and the need to
adopt or discourage their usage.
5 Methodology
A research process is usually determined by the viability of the methods used to collect, assess
and
5.1 Data collected
Some of the data to be collected will include vaccinations blood tests, diagnosis of serious
diseases like polio, diarrhea, blood pressure and heart problems. The aim of the study is to
establish the relationship between vaccines and infections or diseases in different people and
come up with a conclusion. It will therefore involve vaccines then later blood test samples to
detect the resistance of an individual towards diseases.
5.2 Appropriate research method
The research will take up quantitative method as it allows for the collection of data as it gives a
chance for the team to use the acquired data to predict and implement the subject matter (Harris
et.al 2009). Due to the number of participants involved, the method will ensure that the

DO VACCINES REDUCE THE RISK OF INFECTIONS? 6
researcher can collect data in various methods like surveys, interviews, questionnaires and many
others that ensure for a credible result.
5.3 Study Population
The study aims at getting varying results and will therefore focus on a vast population of 100
people of mixed groups to establish the impacts of vaccine for different ages. However most of
the participants will be young children as the effect of the vaccine might still be strong since it is
taken at this period. The adult and older generations would prove if there is still any effect and
difference between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.
5.4 Methods of Data collection
The investigation will make use interviews, surveys, questionnaires and surveys to conduct the
study due to their involving nature. Through these methods, one can be sure of getting as close
and interactive with the participants as possible hence obtaining most of the information (Harris
et.al 2009).
5.5 Interview questions
Some of the questions that would be easily understood by participants and still give good results
include:
i. Have you ever been vaccinated?
ii. Which diseases were you vaccinated against?
iii. Did you ever contract these specific diseases after getting the vaccines?

DO VACCINES REDUCE THE RISK OF INFECTIONS? 7
iv. Are you vulnerable to diseases like heart problems, high blood pressure, diarrhea etc?. if
any please specify which
v. What is your take on vaccines towards human health?
5.6 Data Analysis
Once the data is collected, the analysis process will be based on statistics in that data collected
from the field will be used to draw conclusions. The statistical analysis will lay down
information in pie charts, line and bar graphs and tables to compare between variables and make
conclusions based on the objectives of the study.
5.7 Uses of the Data
The statistics obtained can be used by health activists to advice people in the society to either
undertake or avoid vaccinations due to their benefits or limitations. Data will also be used to
advance further studies on the same topic and predict future outcomes.
5.8 Document studied
The research will make use of the article by (Harris et.al 2009) to get the basics about data
collection and documentation which is an appropriate activity in the study.
6 Validity of the Study
6.1 Dependant and independent variables of the study
A study must use both variables to establish successful results with participants involved. The
independent variable is giving of vaccines to different subjects since it can be controlled and
monitored by the researcher (Dewaele 2012). The depended variable is the resulting action from
the conducted research and in this case is disease resistance.

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6.2 Obstacles of the study and solutions
The study faces a challenge of unresponsive and uncooperative audience who are usually hard to
deal with during data collection. The solution to this will be getting a member of the team with
good communication skills to deal with participants and also give them the privacy and
consideration they require to respond.
Another challenge will be possibilities of wrong data that can end up misleading the audience on
their perception of the topic in general. The best solution for this situation is to ensure that the
researcher gets reliable information from sources like peer reviewed article, health magazines
and websites written by recognized professionals (Podsakoff, MacKenzie & Podsakoff 2012).
6.3 Strengths of the research tools
The research tools to be used in the research have one strength of getting large sample data since
they involve many participants and methods of obtaining data.
6.4 Weakness of the research tools
A weakness more likely to face the study is the possibility of getting the wrong data either from
literature sources or the participants who might not see any significance of the research
(Vermeeren et.al, 2010).
6.5 Strategy to strengthen validity
The best way to be sure of validity of data obtained on the topic is to make use of reliable and
updated materials to avoid the cases of wrong and unreliable data.

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6.6 Questions to evaluate the quality of the study
The following questions can be used to establish the quality of the study can be as follows:
Was the literature obtained from current, reliable and descriptive sources?
Did the analysis follow the right procedures to come up with a conclusion on the subject matter?
7 Ethical, cultural and religious considerations
While conducting a research, it is beneficial to consider the cultural, religious and ethical
consideration of the activities as they might hinder or favor the study.
7.1 Effects of the study on participants
Physical need: The participants might face particular challenges on their bodies due to
undertaking tests made to complete the study like blood tests or vaccines
Solution: The best way to ensure that there are less or no negative impacts on the physical being
of the participants is to perform tests that cannot harm the specific individual by conducting a
laboratory observation of the person (Ludvigsson et.al 2009)
Emotional need: The questions in the interviews or questionnaires might be so involving such
that they remind participants of the their prior experiences with illnesses which might cause
emotional disabilities.
Solution: The best thing while administering questionnaires or conducting interviews is by
ensuring that the researcher inquires about past medical events to establish whether they would
affect the respondent.

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7.2 Cultural or religious considerations
When it comes to vaccines, some cultures or religions have varying views about their
applicability and safety on human beings. It is therefore important to phrase the questions well
for considering that some participants might have that specific religion or cultural background so
that they do not violate anyone’s believes (Rossi et.al 2009).
7.3 Policies of conducting research
Some of the procedures to put into consideration while conducting the study include record
management and clinical reports.
7.4 Ethical approval
The institution responsible for providing ethical approval is a branch of the Australian medical
law which will ensure that all the laws are followed throughout the research process.
7.5 Responsibility of the research team
The researcher would involve all the members by giving them guidelines to ensure that they
follow the right procedures in the implementation of the healthcare strategies during the study.
7.6 Confidentiality and confidence of the participants
It is also important to maintain confidentiality of the participants by not revealing their identities
like leaving out personal information like names, locations etc (Ludvigsson et.al 2009).
8 Schedule, funding and dissemination of research

DO VACCINES REDUCE THE RISK OF INFECTIONS? 11
A good research must first consider the timeline and resources that might be used throughout the
whole process to ensure planning in advance.
8.1 Timeline
The timeline will be two months so as to ensure that all activities are conducted with the right
allocation of time. The plan is illustrated in table 1
8.2 Budget
Budgeting is crucial to regulate spending on the research and ensure that all activities are
conducted appropriately. The breakdown of resources can be shown in table 2 below
8.3 Methods of dissemination of findings
Once the process is complete, the researcher has to find ways of sharing this information to the
board or the organization in context. Newsletters, emails and articles will be appropriate to
ensure that other members get to learn about the subject matter from the findings of the study.
9 Reflection
After the research is complete, it will be helpful for the team to reflect upon their experiences
throughout execution of members and their associations into a successful procedure.
9.1 Process of executing a good team
The team will be selected in such a way that it accommodates individuals from different
departments including human resource, nursing, laboratory investigation, communication and
psychology. These individuals will play an important role in the field by taking medical tests,
samples, giving advice to participants and engaging them in the questions required for the study.

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With a capable team, the researcher expects good results that can provide future input on medical
activities and research as well.

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Appendix A-Timeline
Time Research Stage Action Taken
WEEK 1 Proposal Planning Budgeting, identifying the research procedure
and time limit
WEEK 2 Selecting of research
team
Running investigations within the organization
of the people who can make a good team
following their qualifications.
WEEK 3 Permission and consent Getting permission from the right institutions to
undertake the research.
WEEK 4 Selection of literature Library visits and online reviews to ensure that
the research has the reliable sources to undertake
the research
WEEK 5 Identification of
participants and area of
study
Getting field data about the area of the research
and asking participants to help in the
development of the study
WEEK 6 Data collection . Visiting the field and interacting with
participants trying to attain as much information
as possible from the clients
WEEK 7 Data Analysis Tabulating and statistically discussing the data to
arrive at conclusions
WEEK 8 Presentation and closing
of study
Presenting findings in front of the board or
organization, publishing the results and declaring
the end of the research process.

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DO VACCINES REDUCE THE RISK OF INFECTIONS? 15
Appendix B- Budget
Activity Cost
Overheads
(rent of office space, maintenance, etc.)
$5500
Research meeting expenses $5000
Office equipment and supplies
(printing &photocopying)
$6000
Communications costs
(phone/fax/internet/postage)
$5300
Staff time
(professional and support, including benefits)
$50,000
Travel and transportation $5100
Dissemination
(how will it be published or distributed, e.g.
rent for conference room)
$5000
Estimated total $81900

DO VACCINES REDUCE THE RISK OF INFECTIONS? 16
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