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6 Methodology Westania Durin West Coast University NURS 692B Culminating Experience II Dr. Amy Salgado January 19, 2023 Methodology Statement of Purpose The study explores the problem of high NCLEX failure among Hispanic nursing students. Recent studies demonstrate that this phenomenon is an issue of concern to the nursing profession. The issue attracts interest as it portends that nursing students from this ethnic group may not be subjected to the necessary resources and support to guarantee success in the qualifying exam. Besides, the problem indicates that there are systemic issues that may as well contribute to the failure. Through this study, the data generated will help further understand the issue and recommend approaches to deal with the disparities noted. Population studies form the backbone of this study. The fact that the study focuses on the Hispanic group despite the diverse nature of NCLEX takers reveals the study's interest in understanding this unique group. As noted earlier, the concepts of transformative learning are integral to advocating for the cultural safety agenda. The main proponents of the analysis are allowing individuals to explore the perceived challenges impacting learning and develop new perspectives. In this case, NCLEX-RN exam takers from the Hispanic group can understand how their cultural difference impacts their healthcare experiences. According to Dowd et al. (2020), demographic science is a crucial concept that can be integrated into understanding specific population needs. The authors highlight that decisions by governments and those driving policies are centered around understanding the populace's characteristics related to various issues of interest, including disease. Furthermore, targeted forecasting can solve issues identified through the studies. Thus, the value of population studies in investigating the issue of high NCLEX failure among the Hispanic group cannot be overemphasized. The selection of participants for the study is a valuable basis for generating the data needed to understand the phenomenon. Therefore, the respondents selected for this purpose will come from the target group of Hispanic test takers as opposed to other groups. Correct or accurate sampling also helps match the population of interest with the objectives and aims of the research (Campbell et al., 2020). Researchers should ensure this is adhered to as it increases the trustworthiness of the information obtained from the analysis. Description of the Methodology The study adopts a quantitative approach to help explore the high NCLEX failure rates among the Hispanic group. This method is integrated to help generate quantifiable data that provides a meaningful and comprehensive understanding of the issue. According to Williams (2021), researchers adopt a quantitative approach to attain understanding and advance their knowledge, especially in the social world. The method is crucial in studying events or situations that affect people. Besides, data generated using the approach is objective and offers clarity through numbers or statistics obtained. Furthermore, researchers can utilize the data to make predictions, evaluate patterns within a study group, and generalize findings relating to the wider populace. Therefore, the method will help obtain and generate the data to describe the issue. The quantitative method suits this study since it provides a better view and understanding of the issue of high NCLEX failure among the Hispanic group. I chose this approach since it is often fast compared to qualitative methods. This is because the data generated can be put in terms of numbers and to provide meaningful information to the researcher, unlike in qualitative studies, which are often time-consuming when dealing with words. According to Williams (2021), the data is relatable and focused, which makes many researchers prefer it due to its efficiency. There are also various tools at the researcher’s disposal to analyze the data and suit large population groups. Furthermore, communicating the outcomes is often easier as the proper conduct of the research can produce unbiased statistics that can cement the actual picture depicted by a given group. This implies that even theories and goals put earlier in the study can be scrutinized further through the findings. Ultimately, the quantitative approach generates evidence that explains the study variables under investigation. The study adopts a descriptive approach to study the variables in quantitative studies. The method suits research seeking to answer the “what” question or to provide an understanding of what leads to the circumstance under investigation (Williams, 2021). It also helps explain things as provided by data sets of questions under study. In this case, I choose this approach since the study is about understanding what contributes to the high NCLEX failure rates among Hispanic nursing students. Exploring what leads to the problem at hand in this case such as disparities in resources and language, among other variables, require descriptive analysis to provide insights necessary to explain this phenomenon. The researcher considered other methods but discarded them due to their various shortfalls. The approaches included correlational, experimental, and comparative quantitative methods. In correlational research, the main focus is on studying relationships between variables. It explains patterns and trends recorded through data obtained (Williams, 2021). However, the method does not allow data manipulation to achieve a predetermined outcome. The design was discarded since the study did not focus on explaining the patterns of NCLEX failure of the Hispanic NCLEX takers in comparison with other groups. Another design considered but discarded was the quantitative experimental research. The method is based on the cause-and-effect associations that exist between variables. In this case, the researcher or investigator manipulates the independent variable to observe its effects on the dependent variable. According to Williams (2021), the approach is commonly used in studying topics in social sciences such as psychology and sociology. This was disregarded since the study outcome, NCLEX failure among Hispanic nursing students, is already known and does not require manipulation. Besides, the factors contributing to the phenomenon were not subject to alterations for the outcome to change. Another possible method for consideration was quantitative comparative research. In this case, the study is focused on making comparisons of the study variables under investigation. It also considers pre-existing groups and does not intend to create specific groups for the intended study (Williams, 2021). The method was discarded since the study did not require any control group to conduct the investigations. Furthermore, the study did not involve comparisons with other ethnic groups taking the NCLEX-RN examination. Therefore, the three methods proved non-meritorious in studying the variables under review in this study. Data Collection The data for this study will be collected from various sources, including surveys, interviews, and academic literature. Surveys will be conducted to gather information on the experiences of Hispanic nursing students taking the NCLEX-RN examination. Interviews will be conducted with nursing educators, administrators, and current and former nursing students to gather information on the challenges Hispanic nursing students face in taking the NCLEX-RN examination. Additionally, academic literature will be reviewed to gain an understanding of the current literature on the topic. Surveys offer an exciting yet challenging platform to collect data in research. Investigators wishing to integrate the method into their studies must be informed of the factors that may influence data collection from the respondents. The researcher's knowledge and practice regarding its use are the key factors influencing the choice of surveys in any research. This implies that anyone who intends to use it must have the know-how and experience in using the method in other studies or at least have the necessary support to integrate it into a study. Another factor influencing its choice is the number of items the researcher intends the respondents to answer. In this case, it is recommended that surveys should be brief or have fewer items that can interest the population (Story & Tait, 2019). In other words, the researchers ought to put themselves in the respondent’s position after posing questions of interest to help obtain a reproducible outcome. Time limit is also a crucial factor to consider. It is advisable to create surveys that consume less than 10 minutes to address to improve the response rates. Therefore, researchers should carefully examine the content of their survey before sharing it with the study subjects. The method suits this study since there are many Hispanic nursing students to sample. Structured interviews provide a valuable avenue for generating quantitative data. Specifically, the method is suitable for gathering data from informants regarding their attitudes, personal experiences, and even perceptions of the subject of interest. Like other data collection tools, the choice of interviews can be influenced by the goal of the study, type of data needed, and the population under study (Mwita, 2022). This implies that one cannot consider the method with large population groups but can integrate it among key informants for the same study. Thus, in this case, nursing educators, administrators, and selected current and former nursing students will form a good populace for the interviews. The recording devices used in interviews may also have undue influence on the subjects, necessitating appropriate assurances before the engagement (Rutakumwa et al., 2019). On the other hand, integrating academic literature provides a concise analysis of key factors under investigation rather than as a basis to generate data from the respondents. However, it is influenced by the availability of literature on the subject. Data collection instruments will include structured questionnaires for the interviews, shared survey links, and audio and video recorders for the interview proceedings. Structured questionnaires are not published tools but are created by the researcher to suit the study's purpose. Questions posed here have options and do not require explanations from the subject. An audio or video recorder can be used to collect the information during the proceedings. On the other hand, surveys are usually published on platforms such as google forms with the links shared with the subjects for a response. The data will be collected from institutions preparing nursing students for the NCLEX-RN examination, with those of Hispanic origins forming the target group. Data will be collected using surveys for the group. However, interviews with the nurse administrators, educators, and current and former students will be recorded using established online platforms. Traveling to each potential respondent for the physical interview may be challenging and costly. The tools integrated into data collection put forth the items as per the research questions to help adequately generate responses to answer the queries. The data collected will be analyzed using descriptive statistics, such as mean, median, and standard deviation. Descriptive statistics allow for the quantification of the data collected and the evaluation of the data concerning the research question. The measures utilized here help provide simplified data regarding the sample of interest (Gupta et al., 2019). In other words, researchers integrating this approach generate simple statistics based on the observations from a study to represent the basic features depicted by the overall population. In addition, inferential statistics will be used to determine the relationships between the variables of interest and to identify potential factors contributing to the high NCLEX failure rates among Hispanic nursing students. According to Gupta et al. (2019), inferential statistics provide a basis for making future predictions and generalizations about a study population. Trustworthiness Validity is an integral train in any research undertaking. The research process should be keenly conducted to provide the data that depicts the actual phenomenon under investigation. The validity, in simple terms, relates to how close to the truth the information generated is to reality. Internal validity is ensured when the study's research design, measurement tool, and timing explicate the association between variables under study (McEwan, 2020). Thus, the approach ensures that the findings are a direct outcome of the independent variables and not other endogenous or exogenous factors. On the other hand, external validity relates to the extent to which other researchers can make inferences on the causal relationships under study. Appropriate sampling ensures that the data generated is not biased and reflects the actual relationship of the study. Reliability relates to the consistency of a method in measuring the variable of interest. In this case, examining the data collection tool is the initial step of guaranteeing that the outcome reflects a true picture of reality. Conducting pre-tests can help identify possible errors and ensure that the questions posed mean the same to the respondents (Clemens et al., 2021). Additionally, doing a test-retest can establish the ability of the tool to produce a repeat measurement. Ultimately, if the same outcome can be consistently measured using the same methods, then reliability is said to have been achieved. Objectivity is another crucial trait of scientific research. It relates to the fact that the outcome of a scientific inquiry should not be subject to idiosyncratic features such as personal feelings and opinions of interpretations of the topic (Frey, 2018). In this case, from the conceptual phase of the study, I ensured that the language used was unbiased and that the questions were stated in a manner that could not distort the study outcomes. Additionally, randomization when selecting the study respondents is fundamental in ensuring that the population is representative of the actual phenomenon and enhancing generalizations. References Campbell, S., Greenwood, M., Prior, S., Shearer, T., Walkem, K., Young, S., Bywaters, D., & Walker, K. (2020). Purposive sampling: Complex or simple? research case examples. Journal of Research in Nursing, 25(8), 652-661. https://doi.org/10.1177/1744987120927206 Clemens, W. M., Boman, J. H., & Mowen, T. J. (2021). Internal validity. The Encyclopedia of Research Methods in Criminology and Criminal Justice, 489-491. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119111931.ch100 Dowd