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Business Research Methods Essay As baby boomers age and the need for health care continues to grow, the nursing shortage in health care facilities seem to increase, as well. Many believe that â€Å"a shortage of registered nurses is projected to spread across the country between 2009 and 2030† (AJMQ, 2012). Dr. Peter Buerhaus wrote in Health Affairs that the United States nursing shortage is projected to grow to 260,000 registered nurses by 2025 (2009). Researchers must develop a solid research question, construct a research design, and identify a sample design to collect data. Organizational Dilemma Research Question Turnover problems like those experienced by the hospitals that participated in the HSM research lead to multiple research questions, such as (i) what are the reasons for high RN turnover rates that lead to job vacancies and (ii) how can the organization resolve turnover problems. In the organizational context, the dilemma here is: why are there high RN turnover rates that lead to job vacancies? Identify and Analyze Research Question The research question identified is â€Å"Why is there high turnover rate for acute care nurses?† The problem defined by the team is the inability to retain acute care nurses. A study performed by the American Organization of Nurse Executives states that there was an average of 21.3% turnover rate for RN’s in 2000, but percentage rates were higher for RN’s in specialty hospitals (2001). The practices and policies of an organization allow employees to remain within the organization for an extended period. There is a significant financial loss to the facility if the nurse leaves the organization after training is complete Research Design Learning Team C will adopt a formal research design to answer the research question. We will use monitoring as opposed to communication in most circumstances unless otherwise specified. The research will be ex post facto or experimental. The research will be cross sectional because of time constraints. The study will be a statistical study of proportions. A case study could be used, if time allows. We will treat this study as a lab assignment although simulations and field work is a possibility. If communication is used care should be taken to optimize participant awareness (Cooper Schindler, 2008, p. 141-145). Some questions to take into consideration would be what the reasons for high turn-over rates are for nurses. Does education play a part? Do work conditions come into consideration? Does pay and benefits play a part? Do personal matters play a role in turnover? The study probably will be descriptive or causal although exploratory work may need some consideration. Sample Design In an effort to obtain the data for our research it is important to sample from group that will best represent our population. There are four basic questions that need to be answered in sample design. The first is the subject of our research, or target population. The next question is the parameters of our interest, which is high turn-over rate. The third question is the sampling frame. Because the subjects of our study are acute nurses, we should use the membership directory from the American Nurses Association. With the availability of the directory probability sampling is the best sampling method, which addresses the fourth question. The last question is the size of the sample and according to Cooper Schindler (2008), â€Å"the greater the desired precision of the estimate, the larger the sample must be,† and â€Å"the higher the confidence level in the estimate, the large sample must be† (p. 385). Conclusion Going forward this research will strive to come to conclusions to answers to the key question and based on the answers derived. These answers will create solutions that will help alleviate the anticipated nursing shortage in the coming years. The statistical data of this study can be used to understand what is causing the high turnover rates and high job vacancies.