Time spent as a patient in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) can be scary for both patients and their families (Johansson, Bergbom, & Lindahl, 2012). Clukey, Weyant, Roberts, and Henderson (2014) conducted a qualitative study focused on the experiences of patients and their families, specifically related to the time the patient was intubated and sedated. The authors separated the research findings into two different articles, one presenting the families perspective, and the article used in this critique, entitled, Discovery of Unexpected Pain in Intubated and Sedated Patients in which the authors presented the patient's perspective to the ICU experience (Clukey et al., 2014).
Problem, Purpose, and …show more content…
Additional strengths of using the qualitative research study method are found in the flexibility of the location and timing of the research activities. In the study of ICU patients discussed above, the location of the interview was at the patient’s bedside, conducted at a time convenient for the participant (Clukey et al., 2014).
Depending on the number of participants and the length of the interview, qualitative research can be time-consuming which is one weakness for researchers to consider when developing these studies (Anderson, 2010). Another weakness found when using the qualitative study design is the potential bias of the researcher (Grove, Gray, & Burns, 2015). The qualitative method relies on the skills of the researcher which can be compromised by the researchers’ beliefs and expectations (Anderson, 2010). To prevent researcher bias and minimize the potential weaknesses, the study conducted by Clukey et al. (2014) was designed with a primary investigator and a coinvestigator working together to ensure the accuracy and neutrality of the researcher and the …show more content…
Researchers are responsible for addressing the ethical challenges throughout all phases of the qualitative research studies. In the article by Clukey et al. (2014), the researchers obtained the approval of the Institutional Review Board (IRB), to ensure patient safety prior to the start of the research. After receiving IRB approval, the researchers in this study obtained the voluntary informed consent in writing from each of the participants. Lastly, to protect the privacy and confidentiality of the participants, the researcher in this study coded the identity of each participant in the research report by using the participant’s