Submit 2-3 pages describing the Methods/Design and Statistical Analysis that you will use in your project. Use the evidence from the peer-reviewed articles you have critically appraised and synthesized. Follow APA format and cite references. Include the following: Methods, Design, Statistical Analysis Methods, Design, Statistical Analysis Describe the evaluative criteria (indicators or variables) to be addressed in answering each evaluation question. Describe the research approaches to answer each question and why they are appropriate to the evaluation questions posed. Describe in detail how data related to your evaluative criteria/indicators will be collected. Discuss exactly how the data will be collected, when, and by whom. Describe any data collection tools in terms of their development and appropriateness in answering the evaluation questions. Provide information on the validity and reliability of tools, if available. Explain why the data collection methods are appropriate to th

Methods, Design, Statistical Analysis

Researchers should select the best research approaches and evaluative criteria to address their research questions. Furthermore, they should identify the best data collection methods to increase the accuracy of the information that is gathered. This paper describes the method, design, and statistical analysis that my project will embrace.

The Evaluative Criteria

My capstone project aims at mitigating venous thromboembolisms in the intensive care unit. To accomplish this, the project embraces three interventions: risk stratification, ultrasound screening, and venous thromboembolism prophylaxis. As such, the project has three independent variables and one dependent variable. The first independent variable is ultrasound screening. The frequency and consistency of ultrasound screening can be manipulated to alter the project’s outcomes. The second independent variable is venous thromboembolism prophylaxis. This variable can be manipulated by changing the pharmacotherapy used in the prophylaxis and modifying dosages. The third independent variable is risk stratification. This variable can be manipulated because patients can be classified as high-risk, low risk, or intermediate-risk patients. Based on this classification, individualized interventions can be initiated. The project’s dependent variable is venous thromboembolisms (VTEs) among ICU patients. The independent variables impact this variable. For instance, adequate venous thromboembolism prophylaxis will reduce the incidence of VTEs in the ICU unit.

The Research Approaches

A cohort observational study will be used to answer the evaluation questions. This study is relevant because it answers the evaluation questions by establishing a cause-and-effect relationship between the independent and dependent variables (Galien et al., 2021). Furthermore, the cohort observational study design allows comparison among the study participants. This is achieved by manipulating the independent variables exposed to different cohort members. For instance, some cohort members can be exposed to low molecular weight heparin, whereas the other members are exposed to unfractionated heparin. Also, some members of the cohort can be exposed to venous thromboembolism prophylaxis, whereas the other members are not exposed to the prophylaxis. The observational study will be applied to the three independent variables to determine their impact on the dependent variable.

Data Collection

Data collection will be accomplished by nurses working in the ICU department. This will occur at the time of ICU admission until the patient is discharged or referred to other facilities. Data will be collected from patients’ electronic medical records (Galien et al., 2021). Furthermore, data will be collected from the patient’s family members and caregivers. Notably, the collected data will entail aspects such as medical history, family history, comorbidities, screening of venous thromboembolisms, venous thromboembolism prophylaxis, demographic data, and comorbidities (Li et al., 2022). Furthermore, laboratory data will be extracted from patients’ medical records. Data collection will be done perpetually to allow close patient monitoring. Pertinent data collection tools will include checklists, structured interviews, and questionnaires (Archibald et al., 2019). These data collection methods are relevant because they will enable the researcher to monitor all variables. The data collection tools are reliable because they avoid bias, and different researchers can replicate the findings.

Data Analysis

Data analysis will be accomplished using Microsoft Excel. Continuous variables such as patient’s vitals will be presented using means, medians, and standard deviations (Galien et al., 2021). Categorical variables such as patients’ sociodemographics will be presented using percentages and numbers. An Independent t-test will be used to compare continuous data that is normally distributed, whereas the Mann-Whitney U-test will be used to compare continuous data that is non-normally distributed (Galien et al., 2021). Categorical data will be compared using Fischer’s tests (Galien et al., 2021).

References

Archibald, M. M., Ambagtsheer, R. C., Casey, M. G., & Lawless, M. (2019). Using Zoom videoconferencing for qualitative data collection: perceptions and experiences of researchers and participants. International journal of qualitative methods, 18, 1609406919874596. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119536604.ch5

Galien, S., Hultström, M., Lipcsey, M., Stattin, K., Frithiof, R., Rosén, J., Luther, T., Bülow Anderberg, S., Gradin, A., Rubertsson, S., & Hanslin, K.