Validity in Quantitative Research Designs Term Paper

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Validity in research is a term that refers to the extent with which researchers are confident that they have determined causal relationships through the cause and effect they identify in their study. As a result, validity is an important aspect of research since it helps in determining whether the research design is flawed and the credibility of research findings. There are various kinds of validity that are utilized in determining the validity of quantitative studies including internal validity, external validity, statistical conclusion validity, and constructs validity. Polit & Beck (2012) suggests that researchers attempt to ensure validity of their studies through maintaining adequate control over confounding variables.

The Study

Padula, Hughes & Baumhover (2009) conducted a study in which they examined the effect of nurse-driven mobility protocol on functional deterioration in hospitalized older adults. This quasi-experimental study was carried out on the premise that functional status is an important aspect of the health, wellbeing, and quality of life of older adults. The researcher utilized a non-equivalent control group design in which dependent variables were hospital length of stay and functional status whereas mobility control was the independent variable.

Potential Concerns Regarding the Study’s Internal Validity

One of the potential concerns that could be raised regarding the study’s internal validity is the selection of subjects and placement in the treatment and control groups.

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This is a potential concern since the researchers selected the subjects in a non-random manner i.e. through convenience sampling. In this regard, the study’s findings are likely to be biased when comparing the treatment and control group during data analysis. Secondly, instrumentation could also be a potential concern regarding the study’s internal validity. The researchers utilized GENESIS program as the intervention, which implies that the use of another intervention could generate different results. Changes in the instrumentation would impact what is being measured in the study and how the evaluation is carried out. The third potential concern that could be raised regarding the study’s internal validity is experimental mortality given that a significant number of eligible subjects who were enrolled for the study withdrew. These subjects dropped for several reasons including illness-associated anxiety, which implies that loss of participants could have impact on the study’s findings.

Recommendations to Strengthen Internal Validity

Given these potential concerns regarding the study’s internal concerns and their potential impact on the study’s findings, it’s important to strengthen the….....

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"Validity In Quantitative Research Designs", 03 January 2018, Accessed.13 May. 2024,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/validity-quantitative-research-designs-2166850