INTRODUCING RESEARCH
AND ITS USE IN NURSING
PRACTICE
Out line
•Definition of research.
•Features of nursing research
•Importance of nursing research
•Clinical Nursing Research
•Roles of Nurses in Research
•History of Nursing Research
Out line
• Sources of Evidence for Nursing Practice
• Paradigms and Methods for Nursing Research
• Summary of Key Differences in Research Methods
What Is Research?
Research
Systematic inquiry using disciplined methods to solve
problems or answer questions
Nursing research
• Systematic inquiry to develop knowledge about issues of
importance to the nursing profession
• Application of the scientific method to areas of interest to
nursing
• The goal of nursing research is to improve patient care
It includes studies concerning:
- nursing practice;
-nursing education;
- nursing administration, and
- nurses themselves
Features of nursing research
1. Systematic search for validation of knowledge about
issues of importance to the nursing profession (Polit
& Hungler)
2. Being concerned with knowledge that directly
influences clinical nursing practice (Burns & Grove).
3. Nursing research could be in nursing practice,
nursing administration, education.
Importance of Nursing Research
Accountability for care-related decisions
Research expands nursing practice
Reinforce the identity of nursing as a profession –
knowing/ understanding our patients and the health
care experience
Document the cost-effectiveness of nursing care.
Evidence-based practice (EBP).
High quality of care.
7
Clinical Nursing Research
It is a research designed to generate evidence to guide nursing
practice, to improve the care and quality of life of clients.
Indicates nursing research that involves clients or studies that have the
potential for affecting the care of clients (subjects or animals research).
Focuses on clients/studies
Positively affects the care of clients
Consists of patient symptom management
Addresses behavioral interventions
Targets prevention and health promotion
Continuum of participation
(consumer producer continuum)
Consumer: nurses who read and evaluate
research reports or summaries.
Producer: nurses who design and undertake
research study.
Roles of Nurses in Research
Continuum of participation, from producer of research to intelligent
consumer of research findings
Evidence-based practice (EBP)—the use of the best clinical evidence in
making patient care decisions
Research-based (evidence-based) practice = integrating research findings
into clinical decision making
Both consumers and producers play a key role in EBP
Specific Research Roles for Nurses
1. Principal investigator
2. Member of research team
3. Identifier of researchable problems
4. Evaluator of research findings
5. User of research findings
6. Patient client advocate during studies
7. Subject participant in studies
Principal Investigator
1. Beginning nurse researcher
◦ Small-scale surveys
2. Independent researcher
◦ Special research preparation
Member of Research Team
Data collection for the study
Administer experimental interventions
Enlist bedside nurses and health care leaders /
recruit study participants
Makes impact on health care outcomes
Identifier of Researchable
Problems
All levels of nursing preparation
Ideal situation for bedside nurses
◦ Patient-related problems
◦ Medication administration
◦ Chronic issues
Evaluator of Research Findings
Role for all nurses
Read articles on the process
◦ American Journal of Nursing
◦ Continuing Education Hours
Review critiques guidelines in the textbook
User of Research Findings
•Tradition, no longer acceptable practice
•Evidence-based research (EBR) for changes
•Findings change practice
•Results to improve client care
•Role of Research Utilization (RU) vs. EBP
◦ RU — using findings into practice
◦ EBP — searching for best evidence
Patient/Client Advocate
Nurses act in both roles ( researcher and
advocator)
Ethical considerations (no hurt to patient)
Study explanations ( for patients)
Participant support
History of Nursing Research
Florence Nightingale pioneered research, 1850s
First journal on research (Nursing Research) emerged,
1950s
Clinical research becomes increasingly important, 1970s
National Center for Nursing Research established at NIH,
1986
National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) established,
1993
NINR budget exceeds $100 million, 2000s
In 2014: NINR was $146,244,000
Sources of Evidence for
Nursing Practice
Tradition: handing down knowledge from one
generation to another and leading to actions that
occur because it has been always done that way.
- Tradition reflects certain beliefs that are accepted as
truth, or certain practices that are accepted as
effective based on custom.
Experts or people with authority.
Clinical experience; trial and error; intuition
Sources of Evidence for
Nursing Practice
Logical reasoning (inductive & deductive)
-Inductive: from specific to general.
- Deductive: from general to specific.
Assembled information (e.g., quality improvement
data, medication error reports, infection rates).
assembled information can be used to assess
practice as indicators
Disciplined research ( conducted with the disciplined
method, it is more reliable for acquiring knowledge,
answering questions, and solving problems).
The Scientific Research
Method
Best source for research knowledge
Most reliable of all sources
Very objective in its process
Scientific Research and Problem
Solving Approach
Similarities
◦ Identify problem areas
◦ Establish plans of action
◦ Collect data and information
◦ Evaluate data results
Purposes are Varied
(scope, setting, applying knowledge)
Scientific research
◦ Broader in scope
◦ Obtains data for generalization
◦ Applies knowledge to other people/settings
Problem-solving approach
◦ Specific in scope
◦ Seeks a solution to a problem in a specific setting
◦ Uses knowledge for people in a specific setting
The Purposes of Nursing
Research
General purpose of nursing research is to answer
questions or solve problems of relevance nursing
profession.
Specific purpose of nursing research include:
Identification/Description
Exploration/Explanation
Prediction/Control
Paradigms and Methods for
Nursing Research
Paradigm—a world view; a general
perspective on the complexities of the
real world, with certain assumptions
about reality
Key paradigms for nursing research:
Positivist paradigm
Naturalistic paradigm
What Is the Nature of
Reality?
Positivist assumption: Reality exists;
there is a real-world driven by natural
causes( e.g., effect of smoking on lung cancer)
Naturalist assumption: Reality is
multiple and subjective; constructed by
individuals.(e.g., lived experience of mothers who have
children with cancer)
How Is the Inquirer Related
to Those Being Studied?
Positivist assumption: The inquirer is
independent from those being studied.
Naturalist assumption: The inquirer
interacts with those being studied; findings
reflect this interaction.
What Is the Role of Values in
the Inquiry?
Positivist assumption: Values are held in
check; objectivity is sought.
Naturalist assumption: Subjectivity and
values are inevitable, desirable.
How Is Knowledge
Obtained?
Research methods—the techniques
used to structure a study and to
gather, analyze, and interpret
information
Quantitative research—most often
allied with the positivist tradition
Qualitative research—most often
allied with the naturalist tradition
Summary of Key Differences in
Research Methods
Positivist Naturalistic
Fixed design Flexible design
Discrete, specific concepts Holistic
Deductive processes Inductive processes
Control over context Context-bound
Verification of hunches Emerging interpretations
Quantitative information Qualitative information
Seeks generalizations Seeks patterns
Researcher external researcher internal
