The kind of design which should be used by a nurse researcher interested in studying the effect of different medications on the pain of fractures in children admitted to the emergency department, specifically that compares IV morphine, oral ibuprofen, and oral Tylenol with codeine is that of a quantitative design, one that focuses on analyzing data. This best quantitative design would be an experimental design where the subjects are measured before the different medications for their pain, and after (Mertens, 2014).
It would be more statistically based, something which relied heavily on the pain levels of the children compared to the types of medication in order to monitor the best medication to treat this particular problem among children admitted to the emergency department. The experimental study would be best because it is one which would establish causality (Mertens, 2014). It would focus on determining the relationship between the independent valuable and the dependent variables among the single population, which here would be the different mediations, the pain of fractures, and the children admitted to the emergency department where the nurse researcher is either working or studying (Mertens, 2014).
This design type would provide an accurate estimate of the relationship that existed between the medications and the pain among the patients, but to do so would require a sample of many children. The higher the participation rate for the subjects, the less likely the estimated relationship is to be biased (Polit & Beck, 2013). The design would also need to randomly assign the patients to the different medications to avoid bias. The nurse researcher, subjects, and any other researchers involved would need to be blind to the identity of the various medical treatments too in order to reduce bias (Polit & Beck, 2013). This experiment would measure the variables which would explain the treatment and also help to define the magnitude of the effects therein.
- Mertens, D. M. (2014). Research and evaluation in education and psychology: Integrating diversity with quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. Sage Publications.
- Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2013). Study guide for essentials of nursing research: appraising evidence for nursing practice. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
