Part II: Rigour in qualitative research: complexities and solutions

Anthony G Tuckett outlines the strategies and operational techniques he used to attain rigour in a qualitative research study through relying on Guba and Lincoln's trustworthiness criterion. Research strategies such as personal journals, audio recording and transcript editing, and operational techniques including triangulation strategies and peer review are examined

Qualitative research sampling: the very real complexities

In this article Anthony Tuckett discusses the complexities of qualitative research sampling. He analyses a research experience, together with the rationales for and limitations of qualitative research sampling. Further, he examines the reality of establishing and maintaining a purposeful/theoretical sample and how data saturation symbiotically interacts with constant comparison to guide sampling. Additionally, sample limitations are countered. This paper is aimed at novice and experienced researchers in nursing interested in the practical reality of research, who are also mindful of the necessity for rigour

Exploring registered nurses’ attitudes towards postgraduate education in Australia: an overview of literature

Background: Nursing education is designed to prepare competent nurses to meet the current and future health care needs of society. Changes to nursing education, especially at post graduate level, will therefore likely be influenced by the on-going developments in healthcare and socio-economic factors. Objective: The main purpose of this study is to develop and validate an instrument that explores the beliefs of Registered Nurses about Postgraduate education in the context of specialist nursing practice in Australia (specialty education). Methods: The Nurses Attitudes Towards Post Graduate Education (NATPGE) instrument was sent to an expert panel to undertake judgment-quantification (content validity testing). Content Validity Index (CVI) based on expert ratings of relevance was used as a method of quantifying content validity for the NATPGE instrument. A convenience sample of 25 Registered Nurses (RN) was selected from four major Queensland tertiary hospitals to assess the face validity of the instrument. A random sample of 100 RN from the Nurses and Midwives e-Cohort Study (NMeS) were invited to participate in a test-retest pilot as part of the process of assessing the reliability of the online NATPGE. To gauge the test-retest reliability, the instrument was administered at two different time points, 3 weeks apart, under similar conditions. Results: The content and face validity was assessed using descriptive statistics. For the test-retest reliability, the NATPGE instrument were analysed on an item by item basis to calculate the intra rater reliability using the weighted kappa (kw) statistic. The NATPGE instrument attained moderate test-retest reliability. 80% of the items on the instrument reached a fair to moderate agreement between the test and retest. Conclusions: There is a need for development of a robust psychometric instrument to explore Registered Nurses’ Attitudes Towards Post Graduate Education (NATPGE)

Stepping across the line: Information sharing, truth-telling and the role of the personal carer in the Australian Nursing Home

The author draws on an Australian study using multiple qualitative methods to investigate truth telling in aged care. Thematic analysis of data from five nursing homes involving 23 personal care assistants revealed participants’ role understanding as influencing their perceptions about truth telling in practice. Five themes emerged: role as the happy comfort carer, division of labor, division of disclosure, role tension and frustration, and managing the division of disclosure. Role emphasis on comfort and happiness and a dominant perception that telling the truth can cause harm mean that disclosure will be withheld, edited, or partial. Participants’ role understanding divides labor and disclosure responsibility between the personal carer and registered nurse. Personal carers’ strategies for managing the division of disclosure include game playing, obfuscation, lying (denial), and the use of nonverbals. These perceptions about personal carer role, information sharing, and truth telling are paramount for understanding and improving nursing home eldercare

The meaning of nursing-home: `Waiting to go up to St. Peter, OK! Waiting house, sad but true´ — An Australian perspective

Background: This article is derived from a larger Australian research study using multiple qualitative methods to investigate truth-telling in aged-care

Sarc-F and muscle function in community dwelling adults with aged care service needs: baseline and post-training relationship.

Background. This study sought to better understand the psychometric properties of the SARC-F, by examining the baseline and training-related relationships between the five SARC-F items and objective measures of muscle function. Each of the five items of the SARC-F are scored from 0 to 2, with total score of four or more indicative of likely sarcopenia. Methods. This manuscript describes a sub-study of a larger step-wedge, randomised controlled 24-week progressive resistance and balance training (PRBT) program trial for Australian community dwelling older adults accessing government supported aged care. Muscle function was assessed using handgrip strength, isometric knee extension, 5-time repeated chair stand and walking speed over 4 m. Associations within and between SARC-F categories and muscle function were assessed using multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and multinomial regression, respectively. Results. Significant associations were identified at baseline between SARC-F total score and measures of lower-body muscle function (r = −0.62 to 0.57; p ≤ 0.002) in 245 older adults. MCA analysis indicated the first three dimensions of the SARC-F data explained 48.5% of the cumulative variance. The initial dimension represented overall sarcopenia diagnosis, Dimension 2 the ability to displace the body vertically, and Dimension 3 walking ability and falls status. The majority of the 168 older adults who completed the PRBT program reported no change in their SARC-F diagnosis or individual item scores (56.5–79.2%). However, significant associations were obtained between training-related changes in SARC-F total and item scores and changes in walking speed and chair stand test performance (r = −0.30 to 0.33; p < 0.001 and relative risk ratio = 0.40–2.24; p < 0.05, respectively). MCA analysis of the change score data indicated that the first two dimensions explained 32.2% of the cumulative variance, with these dimensions representing whether a change occurred and the direction of change, respectively. Discussion. The results advance our comprehension of the psychometric properties on the SARC-F, particularly its potential use in assessing changes in muscle function. Older adults’ perception of their baseline and training-related changes in their function, as self-reported by the SARC-F, closely matched objectively measured muscle function tests. This is important as there may be a lack of concordance between self-reported and clinician-measured assessments of older adults’ muscle function. However, the SARC-F has a relative lack of sensitivity to detecting training-related changes, even over a period of 24 weeks. Conclusions. Results of this study may provide clinicians and researchers a greater understanding of how they may use the SARC-F and its potential limitations. Future studies may wish to further examine the SARC-F’s sensitivity of change, perhaps by adding a few additional items or an additional category of performance to each item