Assignment: Ethical Sampling Plan

Assignment: Ethical Sampling Plan

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Question Description
What would you consider to be the elements of an ethical sampling plan?

The ethical focus of a sampling plan changes depending on the focus of research. Suhonen, Stolt, Katajisto, & Leino-Kilpi (2015) adresses the ethical approach of sample size. Suhonen et al. mentions that although a small sample size reduces the strength of research there is lots of use for results that advance care. Further into the article Suhonen et al. flips the scenario and states that a larger ethical concern would be using a sample size that is unecessarly too large creating more burden for more people. These simple statements help broaden the view on the ethical focus of sampling plans. Size, both too small and too large, as mentioned above, is a priority element of sampling plans. Confidentiality and consent for sampling must be maintained to increase validity. Who will be included and who will be excluded in the study must be considered to increase the strength and ethical consideration of results. The choice of sampling technique is determined by the research question as well. For example, are you looking at a specific patient diagnosis, data, or institution?You should ask yourself why you are including or excluding items/populations? Are you using convenience sampling because of ease? Being aware of these questions, as well as many others, will reduce prejudices or bias that the researcher may introduce, and is another way to ensure that the project remains ethical.

Next one must look at the sample size. According to Suhonen, Stolt, Katajisto, & Leino-Kilpi (2015) small sample size is unethical because it may lack the ability to determine statistical significance and generalizability to the population at large. If the sample size is too small and the research findings not clinically significant was the process ethically a waste of time for the participants who may have experienced potential side-effects or harm?On the other hand, when using too large of a sample size is the opposite also true that more people were exposed to possible side-effects or harm then needed to be?Sampling in research is necessary to draw generalizations that are representative of the population as a whole. It is unrealistic to obtain data any other way.

The researcher must look at themselves objectively and place any biases, prejudices, and pre-conceptions aside. Only then, with meticulous attention given to the development of every step of a sampling plan, can an unbiased and equitable plan be achieved.

Would it be possible to create a sampling plan that is equitable for all patients?

The possibility of one sampling plan to be equitable for all patients seems to be contradictory in of itself. To create an ethical sampling plan that is fair and impartial requires a plan that is focused to the specifics needs of the study and patients. As mentioned above, size of a sample plan changes to fit the specific needs of a study. The required size of a sample is evaluated and determined by a professional. Removing the validity of professional advice reduces the strength of a study drastically.

Reference
Suhonen, R., Stolt, M., Katajisto, J., & Leino-Kilpi, H. (2015). Review of sampling, sample and data collection procedures in nursing research – An example of research on ethical climate as perceived by nurses. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 29(4), 843-858. doi: 10.1111/scs.12194

Assignment: Ethical Sampling Plan

Assignment: Ethical Sampling Plan

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.

Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.

Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.

The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Discussion Questions (DQ)

Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.
Weekly Participation

Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.
APA Format and Writing Quality

Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.
Use of Direct Quotes

I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.
LopesWrite Policy

For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.
Late Policy

The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.
Communication

Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.