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THE EMPOWERED NURSE

Consult with Colleagues and Statistician separate data entry process. REDCap is a web-based electronic
Before getting too far down the road with our study develop- database and requires that the participant has access to a com-
ment, we always want to check in with colleagues and subject puter or laptop/tablet with an internet connection either in the
matter experts to help ensure that we have not overlooked some- home or in the clinic.
thing in our plan. Discussion topics can include participant inclu- Regardless of the type of data collection we choose, we
sion and exclusion criteria and the demographic variables we wish want to do a couple of things before we collect real study data.
to collect about participants. It is also an opportunity to brain- First, we want to test our study instrument(s) by asking several
storm how we will recruit participants or otherwise enroll partici- of our friends/colleagues/family members to complete them as
pants in our study and how we will handle informed consent. if they were actual study participants. Sometimes possible issues
The study planning process is also the optimal time to have with an instrument are not known until it has been actually
a discussion with a statistician. Statisticians are very familiar with used. Before data collection begins is another excellent time to
the relationships among the study question, the types of data consult with our neighborhood statistician, who can take a look
provided by the selected instrument(s), choices made in coding at how we have set up and coded our data collection instru-
of responses to the instrument, and what is possible in terms of ment(s) or database. Such an objective overview will ensure that
analysis options to address the study question. Statisticians ask the data collected will flow smoothly into the appropriate analy-
important clarifying questions that can avoid disappointments sis for answering our study question.
after data collection is complete and we realize that we cannot Taking the extra time to plan our study by thoroughly re-
do the analysis we had planned. If our study includes hypothesis viewing the literature and consulting the appropriate colleagues,
testing, then this is also a good time to have some initial discus- especially our statistician, ensures our study findings answer the
sions with a statistician regarding how many participants we will original research question. Good planning can also lead us to find-
need to enroll to have a sample large enough to test the hypothe- ings we do not expect that can form the basis for further research.
sis. Early consultation leads to more complete and meaningful
study findings and meaningful analysis.

Data Collection Methods
Once we have the instrument(s) we will use for our study in
hand, our next decision is how to optimally collect the data.
There are two primary options — paper and pencil and elec- Nancy Wells, DNSc, RN, FAAN Mary S. Dietrich, PhD, MS
tronic. The paper and pencil method requires making a copy of Professor of Research, Vanderbilt University Professor of Statistics & Measurement,
the instrument for each respondent. Once collected, the data School of Nursing Vanderbilt University School of Nursing
nlw422@gmail.com mary.dietrich@vanderbilt.edu
must be entered into an electronic format, such as excel or RED-
Cap. To ensure accurate transition of the responses gathered on
paper to digital format, the data should be entered into two sepa-
rate digital files by two people; this process is known as double
data entry. The separate digital files are then compared for differ-
ences. Any discrepancies between the two copies are then
checked against the original paper copy to ensure that the correct
response has been entered. Using REDCap for digital data collec- Cathy Ivory, PhD, RN-OB, RN-BC, FAAN
tion from the start allows the participant to enter their own re- Senor Director Nursing Research
sponses into a digital format and eliminates the need for a cathy.ivory@vumc.org