Running head: DATA COLLECTION, RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY

DATA COLLECTION, RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY 8

Abstract

Reliability is a measure of consistency; that is, how well a measure or instrument measures something. Validity, on the other hand, is a measure of accuracy; that is, the extent to which a study or instrument measures what it is expected to measure. The first part of this text reviews some steps that researchers could take to enhance intervention validity and reliability (fidelity) while the second part examines the data collection processes used in a selected study.

Part 1: Intervention Fidelity

Intervention fidelity refers to the methodological strategies used to ensure the reliability and validity of a behavioral intervention (French et al., 2015). In this case, a researcher is interested in investigating the differential effect of an educational video intervention in comparison to a telephone counseling intervention. Data is to be collected from four different hospitals by four different researchers. The researcher could use several strategies to enhance intervention fidelity. First, they could conduct a pilot study to test the effectiveness and practicality of the selected data collection approach. A pilot study would help the researcher identify and address in a timely manner any potential problems or challenges that could arise in the process of data collection (French et al., 2015).

Secondly, since data is to be collected by different researchers, there is a need to train all four researchers to ensure that they can adequately and accurately make use of the data collection instruments or scales selected for data collection. Some scales such as the Global Assessment Functioning (GAF) that are commonly used in assessing the progress of patients during counseling have been shown to be affected by the raters level of experience (Clark et al., 2017). The reliability of such scales is affected by the quality or experience of the rater. Training the researchers on how to use the selected data collection scales minimizes the risk of errors that could affect the reliability of results (Clark et al., 2017). A third strategy is to use a standardized intervention dose. In this example, this could entail exposing participants in different hospitals to the same quantity of telephone counseling and the same quality of video interventions. Standardization of the interventions helps to provide a strong basis for comparing results and also enhances consistency, which fosters validity. These strategies would go a long way towards enhancing validity and reliability even when data is collected by different researchers.

Part 2: Article Review and Incorporation of Findings

1. What data collection method is used in the study?

The researchers use the survey method to gather data (Laaksonnen, 2018). Mailed questionnaires are the chief instruments of data collection. The study seeks to answer three core objectives: i) to analyze the psychological functioning, post-traumatic growth (PTG), and cancer-related...

Describe the data collection method

Potential participants were identified by reviewing files of adolescent cancer patients visiting the pediatric oncology wing at the childrens Hospital of Western Ontario. To be eligible to participate, one needed to have completed treatment for lymphoma, leukemia, or a solid tumor within the last 2 to 10 years (Turner-Sack, 2015). Further, they were not to have had a serious brain tumor, organ transplantation, or cancer relapse since completing treatment (Turner-Sack, 2015). Questionnaire packages were mailed to 89 families that met the eligibility criteria. To encourage participation, the researchers put up the names of the participating adolescent survivors in...

…al., 2016). For instance, in their study of Italian subjects, Adawi et al. (2018) found the Brief Symptom Inventory to be an acceptable Cronbach alpha of between 0.733 for psychoticism and 0.87 for depression, and an alpha coefficient of 0.972 (Adawi et al., 2018). The study findings can thus be considered evidence-based. The study findings indicate that cancer treatment affects not only patients, but parents and siblings as well. The study established a positive association between psychological distress and parental age, avoidant coping (disengagement or denial) (Turner-Sack, 2015). As such, parents were more likely to suffer psychological distress if they were older, employed avoidance coping strategies, and had poor quality of life. On the other hand, parents who employed active coping such as seeking social supports and actively discussing their problems with others were less likely to experience psychological distress. Siblings also reported psychological distress in the same way as parents, although the level of siblings PTG was lower than that for parents and survivors (Turner-Sack, 2015).

The findings support the idea that a cancer patients illness affects not just the patient, but their parents and siblings as well. Applying these findings to ones clinical practice begins with acknowledging the potential effect of cancer on patients family members. As a practicing nurse caring for adolescent cancer patients, I would incorporate the study findings by equipping parents with active coping skills to help them handle the situation more effectively. The study findings have shown that parents and siblings with active coping skills run lower risks of psychological distress than those who use avoidance skills. A nurse could incorporate the study findings, therefore, by educating parents and siblings on the need to maintain a strong emotional and social-based support, and the importance of simple acts like talking to someone. All these strategies would help…