Qualitative Research Proposal Sample

The Problem

A research problem is an area of concern where there is a gap in the knowledge base needed for practice (Burns & Grove, 2011). The problem is identified clearly in the introduction section mentioned in last paragraph (p. 712). The problem is researchable as there was limited study on psychosocial wellbeing of childhood cancer survivor in New Zealand and researcher could easily collect and analyzed the data as cancer survivor are available in New Zealand. The problem is significant to nursing profession. According to Burns & Groves (2012)” the significance of research problem indicated the importance of the problem to nursing and health care and to the health of individuals, families and communities”. The researchers did not mention

712) and clearly identified the plan of researchers they wanted to describe self-reported psychosocial wellbeing in adolescent childhood cancer survivors aged between 12 and 18 years and to compare this with a control group of their peers. But the researchers have missed to mention the setting where the study has been conducted. According to Burns & Grove (2007, p100) the purpose of research identify the variables, population and setting of study. The study does not explicitly indicate any research questions or hypothesis for the research. However, it could be inferred from the problem statement which is given at the end of the “Introduction” section (p.712). Neither the conceptual nor the operational definitions of the variables are shared by the researchers. Terms that could be defined by the researchers include; psychosocial wellbeing, adolescent, CCS, anxiety, depression, emotional wellbeing, and behavioral difficulty. The adolescent age is used as operational variable; according to WHO adolescent age is 10-19years.

Study design

The study design is non-interventional case control study design, since it has clearly mentioned under heading of “Design” (p. 712). According to Polit and Beck (2011) case-control design is a non-experimental research design involving the comparison of a “case” (i.e., a person with the condition under scrutiny, such as childhood cancer survivor) and a matched control (a similar

“Procedure” and also shared in the design section. The procedure is appropriate to the study considering the inclusion criteria of the participants. However, no detail of the data collection process is given. The researchers have required two approvals from two ethical committees and ensure the protection of human rights through verbal consent. The questionnaires were with no name of the participants and codes were used during the data collection. Head phones were provided for the participants to ensure privacy and appropriate facilitation was granted. The limitation of the study is highlighted under heading of strengths and limitations of the study (p.717) and clearly explained. The use of self-reported way of data collection and the small sample size were the main limitations of the study. Furthermore, some age groups and some of the participants were excluded from the study due to some physical and cognitive inability which is considered another limitation for this study. The study could easily be replicated in other contexts. Assumptions are statements that are taken for granted or are considered through even though they have not been scientifically tested. Since assumptions influence the development and implementation of research process. Therefore, recognition of assumption by researcher is strength. (Burns and Grove, 2011).The researchers did not identify assumptions for their