Challenges Faced when Gathering Data

Challenges Faced when Gathering Data

What population is most relevant, and accessible, for exploring my research problem?

Consider how you could reach this target population to gather data. What are some challenges you might encounter?

Determine  a data collection approach for your target population. Develop an informed rationale for selecting that approach.

Post a cohesive response that addresses the following questions:3 PARAGRAPH PAPER

1. What are the researchable populations in your area of practice? Which would be most appropriate for use in your research study?

2. What are the challenges of obtaining a sample from this population? How could you address those challenges?

3. What approach would you use to collect data from the sample? Provide a rationale for the approach you choose based on this week’s Learning Resources.

Important information for writing discussion questions and participation

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Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to

I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you.

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Plagiarism is highly prohibited. Please ensure you are citing your sources correctly using APA 7th edition. All assignments including discussion posts should be formatted in APA with the appropriate spacing, font, margin, and indents. Any papers not well formatted would be returned back to you, hence, I advise you review APA formatting style. I have attached a sample paper in APA format and will also post sample discussion responses in subsequent announcements.

Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week.

I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!

Hi Class,

Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Important information on Writing a Discussion Question

• Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
• There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
• Include in-text citations in your response
• Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
• Follow APA-7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor

• A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
• Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
• Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
• Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
• Follow APA 7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

• Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
• Here are some helpful links
• The is a great resource

Provide atleast 3 references

Gray, J.R., Grove, S.K., & Sutherland, S. (2017). Burns and Grove’s the practice of nursing research: Appraisal, synthesis, and generation of evidence (8th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Saunders Elsevier.

Chapter 15, “Sampling”

Chapter 20, “Collecting and Managing Data”

Corrigan, P. W., Tsang, H. H., Shi, K., Lam, C. S., & Larson, J. (2010). Chinese and American employers’ perspectives regarding hiring people with behaviorally driven health conditions: The role of stigma. Social Science & Medicine, 71(12), 2162–2169. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.08.025

Williams, H., Harris, R., & Turner-Strokes, L. (2009). Work sampling: A quantitative analysis of nursing activity in a neuro-rehabilitation setting. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 65(10), 2097–2107.

Fawcett, J., & Garity, J. (2009). Evaluation of samples. In Evaluating research for evidence-based nursing (pp. 91–131). Philadelphia, PA: F. A. Davis. Retrieved from http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=2010424062&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Getting it right or as close to right as possible is critical when collecting data. The consequences of failing to properly collect data include the inability to answer your research questions, inability to validate the results, distorted findings, wasted resources, misleading recommendations and decisions, and harm to participants.

There are many things that could go wrong when collecting data, which may ultimately compromise the trustworthiness of your findings. To help you think through potential challenges and how to address them, here are some challenges and advice to consider as a nonprofit organization.

This article focuses on the challenges present Before Data Collection.

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Challenge: Complicated forms can lead to nonresponse or respondents filling in answers at random simply to complete the survey.
Consideration: Keep the language and format of surveys simple. When possible, word questions so that the response options are the same and try to eliminate or reduce reverse worded questions. Always validate your surveys before using them.

Challenge: Insufficient identifying information for matching pre/post responses.
Consideration: Ask for the first 3 letters of respondent’s last name and their birthdate (MMYY). These elements are consistent and not forgotten by respondents. In some contexts, these identifiers are problematic because respondents do not actually know them – seek advice from experienced international data collection teams.

Challenge: Literacy comprehension barriers.
Consideration: Survey responses can be read to participants. Mobile devices can also be utilized to ‘read’ to respondents who select non-read response options (face expressions, colors, etc.).

Challenge: Language comprehension barrier.
Consideration: Hire professional translators to translate questions and then have another translator back-translate to original language to ensure intended meaning not lost. Pilot test the survey with a variety of people to ensure intent is understood.

Challenge: Insufficiently trained staff.
Consideration: There should always be a team of people involved with data collection and a leader identified. Clear methodologies are

critical for your team’s success. Clear protocols for the “what if” scenarios are crucial. Role play various situations in which the team may or will find themselves: gaining approvals from authorities, giving explanations to community leaders/teachers, implementing surveys, fielding questions from respondents, etc.

Challenge: Lack of understanding of context.
Consideration: Sometimes before you can quantify anything, you have to learn more about the context of a respondent group. This may require qualitative research to answer key questions that can then be used for quantitative research; without it, you risk missing truth altogether.

Challenge: Necessary approvals.
Consideration: Every survey will require approvals at one stage or another. Adult respondents must agree to be a part; child respondents must have their parents’ approval. If conducted in school or in any organized environment, educators/leaders will need to approve the endeavor. Ensure sufficient time is built into your timeline to acquire all necessary approvals.

Challenge: Useful resources.
Consideration: Data collection can be expensive. Collaborating with like-minded nonprofits to conduct mutually beneficial research is a good way to collect good data at half the cost. Hiring and training a local data collection team will be cheaper (and often more effective at obtaining data) than bringing in non-locals to do the work.

Challenge: Inappropriate sampling.
Consideration: To generalize your findings, you must have an appropriate sample that reflects the population you are hoping to generalize. There are sample calculators that can estimate the size you need, but you also need to consider statistical power. This power, provided by a statistician, determines the level to which an effect is established. In order for your findings to be relevant, you must have statistical power.

Challenge: Participation in research.
Consideration: Generally speaking, all participation in research is voluntary. Where possible, ensure anonymity; this will almost always increase participation. Keep qualitative research around 45-60 minutes in time and survey research to less than 20 minutes. Provide incentives such as gift cards, coupons or discounts, raffle options, etc.

Challenge: Untrusted data. Technically this is an analysis issue, but to correct it, it should be considered before collecting your data.
Consideration: Build social desirability scales into your surveys to check (in analysis) whether responses can be trusted.

Take every effort to set up appropriate measures before data collection begins (quality assurance) and then to follow the protocols during and after data collection (quality control).

Be diligent in the process. It is the only way you will be able to trust your findings.