Changes in medicinal approaches

Life is changing rapidly over the world. The health-care industry is no exception. Developments in medical techniques, diagnosis, and rehabilitation in a clinical setting are occurring, necessitating the necessity for research spanning from case studies of individuals to identify their health changes. This assists the interdisciplinary team in developing appropriate treatment or rehabilitation techniques and identifying the benefits of a specific patient’s plan. Medical case studies are typically an examination of diseases, periods, projects, or entire systems rather than specific pieces. As a result, physicians and medical practitioners perform case study research in order to bring fresh insights into diagnostic and treatment techniques. Similarities and Differences between Qualitative and Quantitative Designs

Research is a process that aims at gaining solutions to problems as well, as discovering and interpreting new facts about phenomena and the existing relationship (Creswell & Poth, 2017). There are basically two approaches to research namely: qualitative and quantitative. The qualitative research method focuses on understanding a phenomenon at a closer aspect. Conversely, quantitative research method focuses on approximating phenomena for large numbers of individuals by use of survey methods. In this particular research methods, there are specific research designs used, which exhibit some similarities and differences.

According to Creswell and Poth (2017), quantitative design in research focuses on numerical data and quantities. Conversely, qualitative design describes the qualities and characteristics of the given phenomena. Therefore, qualitative research provides details of human behavior, human emotions as well as personality characteristics. According to Hildebrand (2015), both research designs complement each other. Ideally, an explanation of an outcome allows a researcher to have a wider scope in the N-analysis of the research which is evident in both research designs As qualitative research is used mainly to test theories and generate hypothesis, data used in qualitative research often includes quantification in the statement, which is in form of less than or greater than or even numbers. Quantitative data can be collected through questionnaires, which can also be used to collect qualitative data through the open ended questions. Additionally, the findings from one type of research whether qualitative or quantitative can be checked against the findings derived from the other type of research design (Hildebrand, 2015).

Qualitative research design is flexible, as the findings are specified in general term as the study advances. The quantitative research design is inflexible as the data used is measurable in numerical form. As the study advances, the data and the findings are more specified and detailed. Qualitative research design has minimal disturbances and there is little or no manipulation of the data. The design is mainly used in descriptive studies. Conversely, in quantitative research design data manipulation is possible. Further, quantitative the design takes into consideration few variables but the amount of data used is large unlike the qualitative research design, which considers many variables but the data is acquired from a small group of people (Osanai et al., 2015). With regard to the case study, the researcher needs to choose either qualitative research design or quantitative research design.

Selection of the Appropriate Research Design

Qualitative research is used when there is an unknown expectation or the type of approach to use in the problem. Qualitative research is also efficient, when the researcher needs to go deeper into the issues of interest related to the question at hand. Additionally, this type of research design is often used when the data is unquantifiable and cannot be measured directly through numerical values. Quantitative research is preferred when the data at hand is numerical. This method is used when the researcher wants to identify a phenomena or problem and understand the level of prevalence of the problem by use of the projected results to a larger population. The quantitative research design is conclusive in its function and it is used to show the relationship between two or more variables (Osanai et al., 2015).

Case Study

In the need to determine the difference in the speech in ischemic stroke patients with aphasia rehabilitated within three days and those rehabilitated after three days. The researcher aims at identifying the impact of time difference when stroke patients are put under rehabilitation in different time span and how the difference in time affects the patients. A researcher working on the hypothesis of patients put under; rehabilitation within three days enhances better speech recovery, requires the use of qualitative research design as the speech recovery differences cannot be measured in numeric. However, statistical scales can be used in the analysis. A research sample is taken under the both circumstances of patients, before the rehabilitation and after the rehabilitation. The speech improvement can be assessed by asking the patients about how they feel, and their ability to respond and speak is measured through the scale for analysis.

Conclusion

Both qualitative and quantitative research designs are used in all disciplines to resolve solutions. In determining the appropriate design, the researcher requires to have adequate information and analyze the statement of the problem. However, each of the research designs exhibits its pros and cons hence determining its appropriate use. In a clinical set up both research designs are used depending on the case study. Therefore, it is important for the multidisciplinary team to conduct research for insights into diagnosis and treatment.

References

Creswell, J.W., & Poth, C.N. (2017). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. California: Sage Publications.

Hildebrand, M.W. (2015). Effectiveness of interventions for adults with psychological or emotional impairment after stroke: An evidence-based review. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 69(1), 6901180050p1-6901180050p9.

Osanai, T., Pasupuleti, V., Deshpande, A., Thota, P., Roman, Y., Hernandez, A. V., & Uchino, K. (2015). Acute endovascular reperfusion therapy in ischemic stroke: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. PloS one, 10(4), e0122806.