The focus of the Week 3 discussion is on two important elements of quantitative research studies- design and sampling. The approach or design, quantitative or qualitative, also applies to EBP projects. Both quantitative and qualitative have different designs or traditions that fall under these two broad categories.

Select a single-study quantitative research study article related to your specialty track and provide the permalink to the article. Then discuss each of the following items.

• Identify whether the research study design is experimental, quasi-experimental, or nonexperimental. Provide the rationale for your answer.
• Identify the appropriate representation for the research study article you selected using the nomenclature of X for intervention, O for observation and data collection, and R for random an assignment to a research study group.

• Identify the type of sampling (probability vs. nonprobability) that was used in the research study article you selected.

• Identify one advantage and one disadvantage to the sampling type used (probability vs. nonprobability).
• Identify whether there was random assignment to research study groups in the research study article you have selected.
• If random assignment to groups was used, how does this strengthen the research study design?