Conference Proceedings - School of Nursing & Midwifery - Trinity ...

School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin: 8 th Annual Interdisciplinary Research Conference
Transforming Healthcare Through Research, Education & Technology: 7 th – 9 th November 2007
Conference Proceedings
connection to God, not being in chronic pain, health is visiting
friends, health is feeling healthy. Responses were assessed by
means of Likert scale (1-5) and the Cronbach’s alpha was .94,
which is satisfactory for studies of this type (Oppenheim 1986).
After respondents had completed the questionnaire they were asked
if they would be interested in being part of a focus group to explore
findings from the survey and a general interest was expressed. A
focus group of eight respondents was subsequently formed lasting
65 minutes. Themes explored included spiritual, physical,
psychological, social and well-being as components of health. Data
from the focus group were transcribed and themes identified. Both
analyses will be used in the discussion that follows below.
Participants
A purposive sample of 53 participants (age x = 24.7 yrs, sd=7.4
yrs) who attended a year 4 research class agreed to take part in the
study. These participants were within 8 weeks of completing their
final exams having been on clinical placement for one calendar year
prior to their involvement in this research. Given that they have
been exposed to almost four years of teaching from the Bord
Altranis approved nursing curriculum the assumption was that they
would have a more differentiated view of health than might be
expected from a lay population. Respondents were asked to
indicate their willingness to partake in a focus group to be arranged
at a future date. Those interested were asked to write down their
name on a sheet of paper (n=29) and the focus group was formed
from this list of names based on availability. In this way an element
of randomness was introduced, as the researchers had no method,
or way of knowing who would be available on the day of either the
questionnaire survey or the focus group.
Data collection
Participants were asked to take part in a study of their views of
health at a time scheduled for a research class. They were told that
participation was entirely voluntary though by its very nature
survey research needed as large a sample as possible. They were
asked to read the items in the questionnaire quickly, but to ensure
that they answered all questions. They were informed that what
was important in survey research was their ‘instinctive’ or ‘gut’
reaction. The problem of non-response in survey research was
discussed and respondents were requested to respond to all items
in the questionnaire. This resulted in an almost complete data set.
Afterwards students were encouraged to ask questions about the
nature of questionnaire research and its efficacy vis a vis a
qualitative approach. A lively discussion then ensured which
demonstrated a high level of both interest in, and knowledge of, the
benefits and shortcomings of survey research. Some comments
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