A Comprehensive Methodology for Sleep Quality Research Thesis

This report critically analyzes different research methodologies to determine an appropriate methodology for a research thesis on sleep quality. It addresses the significance of sleep quality and its impact on health, reorganizing research problems based on collected literature. The report compares qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, justifying the selection of qualitative research for the thesis project. It reviews existing methodologies in collected literature, focusing on the impact of sleep on quality of life and daytime functioning. Finally, it proposes a suitable methodology, discussing its benefits, limitations, and framework, aiming to provide insights into the differences in health between individuals with good sleep and those with sleep disorders.

Running head: ASSIGNMENT 3- METHODOLOGY
Assignment 3- Methodology
Name of the student:
Name of the University:
Author’s note

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction..............................................................................................................................2
2. Research problems and collected literatures...........................................................................2
2.1 Research problem statement..................................................................................................2
2.2 Organization of collected literature.......................................................................................3
3. Determine the types of methodology (qualitative or quantitative):.........................................4
3.1 Compare and contrast of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies:...................4
3.2 Method selected for thesis project.........................................................................................6
4. Review, analyse and summarize the existing methodologies reported in the collected
literatures.........................................................................................................................................6
4.1 Selection of subproblem........................................................................................................6
4.2 Analysis of selected methodology.........................................................................................7
5. Propose own methodology for research problem...................................................................10
5.1 Benefits and limitations of methodology.............................................................................10
5.2 Framework of methodology................................................................................................11
Reference.......................................................................................................................................12

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1. Introduction
The main purpose of this paper is to critically analyze different research methodology
and find out an appropriate methodology for the research thesis on the topic of sleep quality
study. Research on this topic is significant because it is a unique topic area which is focusing on
variations in the quality of sleep and its impact on health. Hence, this research can also give an
insight into factors that disrupts good quality of sleep. The first assignment was related to
literature review on the selected topic and this assignment is concerned with working out
appropriate methodology for the research topic. The paper provides an idea about the research
problems and then reorganizes the research problem according to collected literature. In the
second section, analysis of different types of research methodology is presented. The third deals
with analysis of existing methodologies in collected literature. The final sections provide an
insight into the methodology chosen for our research thesis.
2. Research problems and collected literatures
2.1 Research problem statement
My research thesis is on the topic of sleep quality study. Sleep quality is a term that describes
a person’s satisfaction with sleep patterns. It is a complex phenomenon that deals not only with
quantity of sleep, but also with other sleep related experience such as sleep initiation, disruptions
in sleep and refreshment after waking from sleep (1). A good quality of sleep is essential for
healthy mind and body, however disruptions in sleep is associated with fatigue, tension and other
issues for affected people (2). However, there are many issues that come in the way of good
sleep quality. One such issue in the topic of sleep quality is the high incidence of sleep disorder
and insomnia and its impact on health of people. Hence, incidence of insomnia and its impact on
health is one of the research problems. Research literature has given insight into the risk of

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infectious and inflammatory disease and all-cause mortality due to sleep disturbance. Such
evidence needs to be examined by public health staffs because 25% of the US population suffers
from insomnia and 10% of them are diagnosed with chronic insomnia (3). Therefore, high
incidence of sleep disturbance and risk for adverse health consequences may increase the health
burden. Hence, this research problem needed to addressed in the research for the topic sleep
quality study.
Sleep quality of an individual is also affected due to poor routine or environment. Sleep
timing and quality is also affected due to inappropriate shift timing. Hence, shift work is one of
the research problem related to the topic of quality sleep. A study done on shift workers has
revealed large incidence of sleep difficulties or lack of sleep in people doing night shifts. It
affects their circardian clock and inability to synchronize with internal clock of the body creates
problem for students (4). Other sub-problems seen in the research topic is that certain medical
conditions, use of chemical and environment around people also act as a barrier in good sleep.
Hence, in relation to the problem of adverse impact of sleep on health, the research thesis will
help in designing appropriate methodology to understand differences in health of individuals
with good sleep and those having sleeping disorders or other problem.
2.2 Organization of collected literature
Research problem Sub problem Collected Literature
High incidence of sleep
disorder and insomnia in
people
 Difference in
subjective meaning of
sleep quality in
different individual
 Adverse impact on
 (1)
 (3)
 (4)
 (5, 6)
 (7)

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health
 Role of shift work on
sleep problems
 Light as a disruptor in
sleep
 Impact on daytime
functioning and quality
of life
Sleep disorder due to effect of
medical condition
 Role of chemical
substance
 Role of medical
condition in sleep
quality
 (9)
 (9, 10)
3. Determine the types of methodology (qualitative or quantitative):
3.1 Compare and contrast of quantitative and qualitative research methodologies:
The methodology chosen for research differs on the basis of research objective and core
purpose of research. Qualitative research methodology is selected when the main purpose of
research is to uncover thoughts, opinions and motivation of people in relation to specific social
phenomenon. It is a form of exploratory research that favors researchers to get in-depth idea
about research problem and get clear idea about the problem. Such research mainly deals with
non-numerical data to interpret meaning from participant’s response to a phenomenon.

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Qualitative research methodology can be conducted by different methods such as interviews,
survey, focus groups, open-ended questionnaires and content analysis. As this method requires
researchers to collect in-depth perception about any event, it is done with small sample size (11).
In contrast to qualitative research, quantitative research is done when the main purpose is to
quantify attitudes, opinion or behavior of participants related to phenomenon. It mainly deals
with number or objective stance to determine the relationship between independent and
dependent variable. The main advantage of quantitative research methodology is that it favors
doing research with large sample size and using measurable data to analyze facts and opinion.
This kind of research can be done by means of surveys, face-to-face interviews, longitudinal
studies and systematic observation (12).
The main difference between quantitative and qualitative research methodology is that
quantitative methodology is based on objective stance whereas qualitative research methodology
is based on subjective stance. Hence, qualitative research favors interpreting subjective
experience of participants, whereas quantitative methodology facilitates collecting objective data
from participants. With respect to sample size, quantitative research method favors taking large
samples compared to qualitative methodology. Another strength of quantitative research
methodology is that the research can be conducted in short time frame, however qualitative
research is a time consuming process (13). In terms of analysis, qualitative methods rely on
inductive process to formulate hypothesis, whereas quantitative method relies on deductive
process to test hypothesis. As quantitative method provides observed effects of a condition, it is
more generalizable compared to qualitative methods which provide opinion-based result. In the
context of validity and reliability, it can be said that for both research methods, this is dependent
on the rigor used in research (14).

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3.2 Method selected for thesis project
As my research is mainly concerned with exploring different aspects of sleep quality in
insomniac and good sleeper, I plan to adopt qualitative research methodology for my research
project. Qualitative research methods favor in-depth exploration of opinions. Hence, qualitative
research methodology will help me to collect data from different groups of participants regarding
sleep quality, impact of sleep quality and factors affecting sleep. The advantage of taking two
groups of good sleepers and insomniac is that it will help in to differentiate between sleep quality
and health impact in healthy people and those with sleep problems. It will help me to collect
enough data for each group of participants. I can do cross sectional survey with two groups of
participant and my formulation of survey questionnaire and analysis of the data will determine
the quality of my research. Cross-sectional study is useful to study health characteristics in a
population at a given time. This method is proposed to address the core objective of my research.
4. Review, analyze and summarize the existing methodologies reported in the collected
literatures
4.1 Selection of sub-problem
There are many problems related to sleep quality such high incidence of sleep disorder,
adverse impact on health, impact on quality of life and impact on circardian cycle. However, I
would like to conduct research with the issue of impact of sleep on quality of life and daytime
functioning. Working on this sub-problem is relevant to my research objective, as reviewing
research literature in this area will help me to determine all factors that disrupts sleep in good
sleepers and insomniacs.

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4.2 Analysis of selected methodology
Literature 1: The Subjective Meaning of Sleep Quality: A Comparison of Individuals with
and without Insomnia
My main aim of my first research literature was to determine the subjective meaning of
sleep quality among people with insomnia and normal sleepers. Although lot of research has
been done on sleep quality among good sleepers, however understanding the perception of sleep
among insomnia patient is crucial to promote recovery of insomniacs. To conduct the research,
qualitative approach was used by following ‘Speak Freely’ procedure and ‘Sleep Quality
Interview’ procedure to collect data. ‘Speak Freely’ procedure helped in getting data related to
participant’s description of good and poor quality sleep. Sleep quality interview questioned
participants regarding different sleep variables. Sleep diary was also maintained where
participants had to answer questions related to sleep quality on seven consecutive nights. The
results mainly showed that similar sleep quality variables defined by both groups and insomnia
group judged sleep mainly on quality of sleep (1). The key weakness in the methodology was
completion of multiple comparisons due to qualitative approach. However, the replicability of
such research is low because of large data on sleep quality.
Literature 2: Evening exposure to a light-emitting diodes (LED)-backlit computer screen
affects circadian physiology and cognitive performance
My second study focused on examining effect of evening exposure to LED-backlit
computer screen on circadian physiology and cognitive performance. Research in this area was
important because many people sit for longer time in front of computer screen in their office.
Hence, investigating its impact of alertness, cognitive performance and melatonin level was
important. This study was done by taking balanced crossover design. Young male volunteers

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between 19-35 years age had to fill out questionnaires related to health, sleep quality and sleep
behaviors. The study protocol was to carry out experiment study with participants for two week
where the focus was to expose participants to computer screen light. All participants had to
report 6 hours prior to bedtime and they had to complete cognitive task as well as 5 hour screen
exposure episode before (5). The study was based mainly on quantitative approach, however the
main limitation in this methodology is that the researcher has made research process very
complex by taking lot of exercise after exposure. It is hard to replicate such studies considering
technical complexity of the research.
Literature 3:
The main aim of the third literature was to assess the impact of disease, pain and
psychological factors on self-reported sleep disturbance in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Quantitative approach was used to collect data related to medication use, disease activity and
pain, psychological functioning and sleep disturbance. Data was analyzed using SPSS 19.0 and
sleep disturbance variable was examined using multiple regression approach (9). The use of
quantitative research approach was useful in predicting that pain and depressive symptoms are
more important predictors of sleep disturbance. It established clear links between sleep
disturbance variables and participants.
a. Relevance of the reviewed methodologies
Among the methodologies reviewed in research literature, literature 1 is most relevant to my
study because it focused on evaluating sleep perceptions in normal sleepers and people with
insomnia. My research objective is very close to this aim too. Literature 2 is found partly
relevant to my research as it gives an insight into role of light exposure on sleep problems. It is
found partly relevant because although it gives idea about factors affecting sleep, however

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quality of life parameter is not closely addressed. I find literature 3 not to be relevant to my study
because it focused on evaluating sleep disturbance in people with rheumatoid arthritis, however
my research sample does not include this group.
Literature Research
problem
Methodology Subproblem Relevance
Literature 1 High incidence
of sleep disorder
and insomnia in
people
Qualitative Difference in
subjective
meaning of sleep
quality in different
individual
Strongly
Relevant
Literature 2 High incidence
of sleep disorder
and insomnia in
people
Quantitative Light as a
disruptor in sleep
Partly
relevant
Literature 3 Sleep disorder
due to effect of
medical
condition
Role of medical
condition on sleep
quality
Not relevant
5. Propose own methodology for research problem
I propose to use cross-sectional qualitative research methodology by use of survey
questionnaires to collect data from two groups of participants. I want to use a survey

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questionnaire which is very specific to my research objectives and I aim to see how factors
related to sleep disturbance differs in both group.
5.1 Benefits and limitations of methodology
Benefits:
 Ability to direct explore opinion of people with insomnia
 Reliable source as realistic opinion can be provided
 High reliability
 Easy to administer surveys
Limitations
 Chances of biasness due to different opinions of different people
 Influence of culture and background on study results
 Chances of error in data
5.2 Framework of methodology

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Research question
Understanding factors affecting sleep quality
Research participants
Good
sleepers
People with
insomnia
Research methodology
Cross sectional qualitative
research
Survey based questionnaires on
sleep quality variables
Open ended and close
ended questionnaire
Comparison of data obtained from two
participant groups
Thematic analysis of data
Categorization of factors affecting
sleep in terms of severity and harm
to patient