Quantitative research is a potentially efficient approach to
gathering data from large numbers of people at the same time.
Involving the use of highly structured questionnaires that can be
completed independently by individuals, quantitative approaches
offer an economical means of collecting data at the level of entire
organisations. For those interested in using the NPT to understand
processes of implementation, embedding and normalisation in
relation to technologies and practices in organisational settings,
quantitative approaches can be useful for addressing particular
kinds of questions.
One kind of question that could be explored using the NPT in
quantitative research is the 'How much?' question. Survey
studies aim to quantify a particular phenomenon within a
set of parameters. For example, an NPT study might ask a question
along the lines of 'How much disruption is a new
computerised decision-support (CDS) tool causing in terms of the
day to day work of (nursing/medical/clerical/all) staff in this
Primary Care Trust?' A structured survey, administered to ensure
that survey participants are representative of the organisation as
a whole, could answer this kind of question by collating the
ratings made by individuals with respect to the new CDS tool, on
the kinds of dimensions that the NPT highlights for
consideration.
Another type of question that might be usefully explored using
quantitative methods concerns the assessment of the
likelihood of particular outcomes associated with the
introduction and use of a new technology or practice. In terms of
the NPT, this could mean questions about whether or not a new
technology or practice is likely to normalise. Such
predictions are not purely the domain of quantitative methods,
however, collecting data in quantitative form makes possible the
statistical testing of relationships between classes of
phenomena (ie. between 'influencing factors' and 'outcomes'). Thus,
in terms of the NPT, studies conducted over time (ie.
longitudinally) that included quantitative assessments of both (a)
dimensions highlighted by the NPT as influencing factors, and (b)
normalisation 'outcomes' could provide information about the
(statistically) predictive relationships between processes and
outcomes. Such information could be useful in future assessments of
similar technologies, in making predictions about the likelihood of
normalisation of a given technology.
Quantitative application of the NPT could also be useful for
exploring questions about comparison. Structured data
collection approaches are suitable for answering comparative
questions because they provide a means of collecting
standardised data (ie. in the same format). For example,
it is possible for a set of individuals to answer exactly the same
set of NPT based questions, but in relation to two or more
different technologies. Alternatively, comparisons using
standardised data collection tools could be made with respect to a
single technology/intervention but across different settings.
This provides a brief introduction as to the kinds of
questions suitable for exploring with the NPT using quantitative
methods. This suggests particular roles that the NPT can play in a
quantitative research project:
- It can help you to design and develop a quantitative
study, by suggesting frames of enquiry and potential
relationships between normalisation processes and outcomes;
and
- It can help you to develop standardised data collection
tools for use in your project
Both of these potential uses of NPT in relation to quantitative
research is discussed in its own section. Click on the links
above to navigate to the issue you are interested in.
Things to consider
- The NPT does not (as yet) offer a 'ready made' questionnaire
based on the theory. Although there is some work in progress
towards a generic NPT questionnaire, this is not available at
present.
- Although potentially time efficient and economical in terms of
administration and data collection, questionnaires are not an 'easy
option'. In research using the NPT, the complex networks of
objects, actors, and processes with which the NPT is concerned
present challenges for designing scientifically valid quantitative
studies.
- Challenges concerning the development of standardised data
collection tools themselves are discussed in detail in the
following sections.
