Nurses’ perceptions of teamwork and workplace bullying

Answer

• For the instructor assigned article this week, what research approach (basic vs. applied) is used in the study?

In the article by Logan & Malone (2018), the authors deployed applied research. In specific, applied research is a practical approach designed to solve specific practical problems and answer certain questions. As such, it is research which encompasses real life application of natural science. The research entails the study of a particular set of real-life situations and circumstances and hence relate the results of the study to its corresponding circumstances (Grove, Gray, & Burns, 2015). The reason as to why the authors used applied research is based on their objective of the research which is to explore the various perceptions and attitudes towards teamwork and workplace bullying and use the findings to define the skills which can be used to ensure the occurrence of fewer incidences of workplace bullying.

• What is the specific type of research method, qualitative or quantitative? Why do you think the author(s) choose this method? What is the specific research design for this study? Give a rationale for why you think the author(s) chose this design.

Logan & Malone (2018) used a qualitative research methodology in the study. In specific, a qualitative methodology is an exploratory research which seeks to provide an in-depth understanding of reasons, opinions, and motivations. I think the authors chose this method became they wanted to get insights into the problem of workplace bullying and hence help them develop ideas or hypothesis which could be used for potential qualitative research. Additionally, qualitative research is less costly and less time consuming as it involved a simple online survey. The specific research design used is correlational research design. A correlational research design seeks to understand whether two or more variables are related and in what ways (Grove, Gray, & Burns, 2015). The authors chose this design because they wanted to explore the relationship between nurses’ perceptions and attitudes of teamwork and workplace bullying.

• What other type of research design could be used for a study about this topic? Why would you choose to study the topic this way?

An exploratory design could be used for a study on this topic. In specific, exploratory research allows the researcher to gain an in-depth understanding of a problem and situation. Although Logan & Malone (2018) used an exploratory design to gain a better understanding of the problem of workplace bullying, I could choose to study the topic using an exploratory design because of the study is exploratory in nature. Using an exploratory research design would have provided the researchers with an opportunity to gain an in-depth understanding of teamwork and workplace bullying. Additionally, an exploratory design would be more expansive and build to the body of knowledge on workplace bullying.

• As a member of a journal club that is discussing the instructor assigned article in this course, what would you identify as strengths and / or weaknesses of the reliability and validity section of this article? Hint: Use Chapter 10 to help you answer these questions.

It is vital for researchers to assess and state the reliability and validity issues in their study (Grove, Gray, & Burns, 2015). In the research study by Logan & Malone (2018), one of the strengths of the reliability and validity section is that it describes the measures that the authors took to ensure the construct validity and internal consistency reliability of the Attitudes About Teamwork Scale (AATS). Additionally, the method used to establish validity and reliability is stated. In specific, according to Logan & Malone (2018), the content validity intext was calculated via the use of item ratings by a national panel of experts. However, the weakness is that the authors do not establish the external validity of the study.  Additionally, there was no test-retest reliability.