Strengths and Weaknesses of this Study

4.4.1 Effects of the Natural Setting

4.4.1.1

Research undertaken in a natural setting is subject to the pressures and constraints that operate there. The reality of practice is messy and does not tidily conform to theoretical approaches. All studies have their limitations and strengths; this one is no exception. The real life situation creates difficulties for the researcher because it does not conform to the ideals set out by theorists. This gives the study one of its greatest strengths: it reports the real life experiences of the participants. The many variables introduced by the rapidly changing situation were beyond the researcher’s control. This is problematic from a positivist viewpoint. From a naturalist perspective the work can be seen to represent a snapshot at two time intervals which gives valid insights into the experiences of the participants.

4.4.1.2

The fact that it was not possible to conduct more than one group interview for each of the two groups involved is a limitation that emanated from the political situation operating at the time. This did not allow material from one group to be used to verify findings from the other. Validity had to be sought by means of the questionnaire. The quantitative data did confirm qualitative findings in many cases, as is shown in Chapter Five. The study design generating the questionnaires from the interview data is a method used by various other authors within the nursing education and health care settings (Morgan 1993, Lankshear 1990, Rodgers and Lawton 1995).

4.4.1.3

The school is one of the largest in the country. This allowed access to a large sample of students and mentors for the questionnaires. The response rate was exceptionally high. This allows some degree of confidence to be attached to the results.

Project 2000 had been well established by the time that the investigation took place. The initial problems of adjusting to a major change had been overcome, allowing a clearer picture of the issues under study to be obtained. The sample includes students at all stages of the adult branch, including those who were within a few months of qualifying. Few other studies up to the present time have been able to do this.

4.4.2 The Position of the Researcher

4,4,2.1

The author, although an experienced nurse and teacher, started the work as a novice researcher. Before commencing the study her research education had been biased towards a positivist viewpoint (Leininger 1985 p 3). Before data analysis was

undertaken, the researcher was not aware of the need to verify interpretations with the respondents and to use them as a means of validating the interpretation. This was not

therefore undertaken. The author was also attempting to take a veiy objective stance and not interact with the situation. Naturalist approaches recommend reflexivity and

acknowledge that the researcher is bound to influence the situation. The author moved her position on this during the study as a result of the learning experiences of interacting with the data and the literature. This shift in perspective must be acknowledged as a weakness. It is not possible to state with certainty that method slurring (Morse 1991 p i5, Rose et al 1995) has not occurred to some degree. The author did, however, consult with others more experienced in the particular area of the study, and the stance adopted is congruent with that taken by others in the same field (3.2.1.1).

4.4.2.2

Studies commissioned and funded by sponsors are always subject to pressure to conform to the commissioners’ agendas. As the author received funding only to support academic supervision of her work she was not subject to those pressures and was free to select her own topic and set her own programme. The time and resources available to the

researcher were therefore limited. It was therefore necessary to restrict the study to the adult branch of Project 2000 in one school of nursing and midwifery necessitating caution when generalising to other branches.

4.4.3 The Effects of the Study Design

4.43.1

The study design examined the practice of mentoring from the viewpoint of both

students and mentors, allowing comparison to be made between both perspectives within the same area. Many of the small scale studies reported have only looked at one or other of the two major parties. The large scale studies commissioned and funded by the

issues from multiple perspectives. For this reason they have not been able to focus specifically on the mentoring relationship to the extent that the author has done.

4.43.2

The research design incorporated a triangulation approach where information generated from group interviews was validated across a reasonable sized sample by means of questionnaires. This strengthens the findings and allows some generalisations to be made. Comparison with other recently published work is also used to establish reliability. One of the problems encountered was that the researcher had limited statistical knowledge. This problem of researchers not possessing sufficient skills in both quantitative and qualitative paradigms is noted by other authors (Morse 1991 pp 19-20, Carr 1994, Begly 1996). With hindsight, closer attention to questionnaire design may have generated data that demonstrated a broader range of attitudes and opinions from the respondents. This may have reduced the problems encountered when attempting to explore associations between variables.

4.4.33

This is a small scale study. If it stood alone the results could only be said to apply to the situation in which they were obtained. Other studies in the same area at this time show findings which confirm those of the author. Principles identified from a wide literature review covering a significant selection of the western world can be demonstrated to apply to the situation under study. This must give some degree of confidence to the findings and recommendations.