Introduction to Nursing Research

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 Learning Objectives (1)
Upon completing this unit the learner will be
able to:
• Define the terms research and nursing
research
• Recite the starting point for research
• Identify the ultimate goals of nursing
research
• Develop an understanding of the role of
concrete-abstract thinking continuum in
nursing research
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 Learning Objectives (2)
• Discuss the paradigms for nursing research
• Recognize the linkages between research,
theory, and practice in nursing
• Identify the major phases in quantitative and
qualitative research process

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 Research in Nursing Practice
• Understanding about research in nursing
practice involves knowing the:
meaning of research
starting point of research
concrete-abstract thinking continuum
nursing research paradigms
linkages between research, theory, and
practice in nursing

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 What is Research?
• The structured and conscious application of
scientific method to the exploration of an
issue of interest in order to either better
understand (refine) existing knowledge or to
generate new knowledge

Discovering new knowledge and

refining the existing one are both
termed empirical research

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 What is Nursing Research?
• A scientific method (process) that refines
existing knowledge or generates new
knowledge that directly and indirectly
influence nursing practice

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 Where Does Research Start?
The Uncertainty Principle  establish that
there is something about the care we provide
that we are not sure of

• We may be uncertain:
How clients make sense of living with an illness, or
How they understand the care we provide, or
Whether the care we provide is beneficial to them

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 Where Does Research Start? --- Cont.
• The starting point for all research is
uncertainty

• Uncertainty causes us to ask question, e.g.,

What is it like to give birth to pre-term baby?
Do patients on a treatment regimen understand
its purpose?
Does daily dressing of diabetic foot ulcer facilitate
healing?

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 Where Does Research Start? --- Cont.
• There is also uncertainty about whether the
question we pose can be answered
satisfactorily
Any research is as good as the
methodologies it employs
Using appropriate research method
to answer question help us to
develop increasing certainty about
what we do
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 The Goal of Nursing Research
• The ultimate goal of nursing research are to:
provide evidence-based care that promotes
quality outcomes for clients

develop scientific knowledge that enables

nurse to provide evidence-based care

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Concrete-Abstract Thinking
Continuum in Research
Nursing thought
flows both from
concrete to abstract
thinking and from
abstract to concrete
thinking.

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 Concrete-Abstract Thinking … Cont.
Concrete Thinking:
• Oriented toward and limited by tangible
things or by events that are observed and
experienced in reality

• Focus on immediate events that are limited in

time and space

• The sole concrete thinker does the work, but

not expected to ask why
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 Concrete-Abstract Thinking … Cont.
• In the past, concrete thinking was valued most
and rewarded in nursing

• Therefore, nurses tended to be concrete

(“practical”) thinkers

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 Concrete-Abstract Thinking … Cont.
Abstract Thinking:
• Oriented toward the development of an idea
without application to, or association with, a
particular instance

• Independent of time and space

• Tend to look for meanings, patterns,

relationships, and philosophical implications

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 Concrete-Abstract Thinking … Cont.
• In the past, abstract thinkers in nursing were
considered as impractical and their skills in
problem solving discouraged

• Without the skills in abstract thought process a

person may experience the existence of the
empirical world but does not understand it

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 Concrete-Abstract Thinking … Cont.
• Abstract thinking:
enables to test and include theory into the body
of scientific knowledge,
allows
allows scientific findings to be developed into
theories,
enables both science and theories to be blended
into cohesive body of knowledge, guided by a
philosophical frameworks, and applied in clinical
practice

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 Concrete-Abstract Thinking … (15)
Nursing Research Needs Both Skills!
• Abstract thought is required to identify
researchable problems, design studies, and
interpret findings

• Concrete thought is necessary in both planning

and implementing the detailed steps of data
collection and analysis
Further Reading: Burns & Groove (2013), Chapter 1
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 Paradigms for Nursing Research
• Paradigm  a general perspective on the
complexities of the real world, with certain
assumptions about reality
paradigm= relationships of ideas to one other

• Key paradigms for nursing research:

 Empiricist/Positivist paradigm
 Interpretive/Naturalistic paradigm
• They differ based on their underlying paradigmatic assumptions
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 Paradigms for --- Cont.
• Paradigmatic assumptions on the nature of
knowledge (ontology)
Only one reality exists;
Empiricist there is a real world driven
by natural causes

Reality is multiple and

Interpretive subjective; constructed by
individuals
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 Paradigms for --- Cont.
• Paradigmatic assumptions about the
researcher-participant relationship
The researcher is independent from
Empiricist those being studied

The researcher interacts with those

Interpretive being studied; findings reflect this
interaction

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 Paradigms for --- Cont.
• Paradigmatic assumptions about the role of
values in research
Values are held in check; objectivity
Empiricist is sought

Subjectivity and values are

Interpretive
inevitable, even desirable

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 Paradigms for --- Cont.
• Paradigmatic assumption about how the
knowledge is obtained (epistemology)
Mainly quantitative
Empiricist research

Mainly qualitative
Interpretive research

Further Reading: Monti & Tingen (1999), Weaver & Olson (2006)

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 Linkages Between Research,
Theory, and Practice
• Research, theory, and
practice have tripartite
relationships like the Nursing
uprights of a three-
legged stool
Theory
• Practice is a rich Practice
Research
seedbed for theory-
linked studies Adapted from McKenna 1997a &
1997b
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 Linkages Between … Cont.
• McKenna (1997a & 1997b) identified four
linkages between research and theory:
1. Theory-testing research (TTR)
2. Theory-generating research (TGR)
3. Theory-framed research (TFR)
4. Theory-evaluating research (TER)

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 Linkages Between … Cont.
1. Theory-testing research (TTR)
• Research tests theory deductively in practice
to establish its validity or how accurately it
depicts real-world phenomenon and their
relationships

• It is the theory-then-research approach to

knowledge development

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 Theory

Concepts/Constructs
Definitions
Propositions

Empirical Indicators

Hypotheses/Research Question

Empirical Testing
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 Linkages Between … Cont.
• Not all theories lend themselves easily to
testing
• For a theory to be testable it must contain:
concepts that describe the empirical world;
theoretical and operational definitions of
concepts;
constructs and propositions;
Links among the concepts and constructs that
explain or predict phenomena.

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 Linkages Between … Cont.
• In TTR, hypotheses or research questions
derived from theoretical concepts are tested
using:
experimental study design, or
quasi-experimental study design, or
correlation study design.

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 Linkages Between … Cont.
• In TTR, the findings may:
support the validity of the theory;
refute the validity of the theory;
lead to the theory being adapted or
revised;
lead to the formulation of a new theory.

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 Linkages Between … Cont.
2. Theory-generating research (TGR)
• Conducted for the purpose of inductive
discovery and exploration of phenomena as
they occur in the natural world (nursing practice
setting)

• Especially useful when little is known about

the phenomena

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 Linkages Between … Cont.
• It is the research-then-theory approach to
knowledge development
• Methodologically, TGR can use:
1. Qualitative approaches  e.g., grounded theory,
ethnography, phenomenology
2. Quantitative approaches  e.g., descriptive
survey, correlational study
3. Mixed method

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 Linkages Between … Cont.
• Though qualitative and quantitative methods
for TGR represent differing philosophies, in
both cases:
the source of theory is practice,
inductive methods are used,
the starting point is nursing practice phenomena
and the end point are concepts and propositional
statements forming a new theory.

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 Linkages Between … Cont.
• In TGR, the findings may lead to:
the formation of a new theory;
supporting an existing theory;
a rejection of an existing theory;
an existing theory being adapted or revised.

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TGR and TTR have developmental relationships
TTR
TGR

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 Linkages Between … Cont.
3. Theory-framed research (TFR)
• In TFR, the theory is used to frame the
investigation and provide it with a focus
• The researcher may not necessarily be
generating, nor testing a theoretical
proposition
• The theoretical framework is the researcher’s
organizing image of the phenomena to be
studied
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 Linkages Between … Cont.
• In TFR, it is the theoretical framework which:
provides parameters for the study,
determine what questions will be addressed,
guides how the data will be collected,
provides a perspective for interpreting the data so
that the researcher is able to weave together the
facts in a meaningful pattern.

The theory guides the research process from the research questions through
design, analysis and interpretation to the conclusion

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 Linkages Between … Cont.
• In TFR, the findings may:
Establish the worth of the theory as a template
for the study;
Contribute
Contribute to the generation of a new theory;
Lead to a rejection of an existing theory as a
research guide;
Lead to an existing theory being adapted or
revised.

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 Linkages Between … Cont.
4. Theory-evaluating research (TER)
• This may seem similar with TTR, but there
are substantial differences.

• TTR is used to test scientifically the concept,

propositions, and underlying assumptions in
order to verify whether the theory depicts
real world phenomena

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 Linkages Between … Cont.
• TER is used to determine the effects of theory
on quality of client care and/or nursing
education.

• Without carrying out a well-planned evaluative

research, it is impossible to claim whether it is
the individual skill, knowledge and sensitivity
of a certain nurse, or the use of a particular
theory which leads to quality care

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 Linkages Between … Cont.
• In TER, specific quality of care or quality of education
indicators are used to measure the effect of
theory implemented

• Different research designs have been used in

TER, e.g.,
action research
ethnography
experimental, etc.
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 Linkages Between … Cont.
• In TER, the findings may:
Contribute to establishing the worth of the theory
in practice or education;
Contribute to the generation of ideas for new
theory;
Lead to a rejection of an existing theory as a guide
for practice or education;
Lead to an existing theory being adapted or
revised within practice or education.

Further Reading: McKenna (1997a & 1997b)

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 Overview of the Research Process (1)
• Phases in a quantitative process:
Phase 1: Conceptual Phase
Phase 2: Design and Planning Phase
Phase 3: Empirical Phase
Phase 4: Analytic Phase
Phase 5: Dissemination Phase

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 Overview of the --- (2)
Phase 1: Conceptual Phase
1. Formulating/delimiting the problem
2. Reviewing related literature
3. Defining the framework and developing
conceptual definitions
4. Formulating hypotheses

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 Overview of the --- (3)
Phase 2: Design and Planning Phase
5. Selecting a research design
6. Developing intervention protocols
7. Identifying the population
8. Designing the sampling plan
9. Specifying methods to measure variables and
collect data
10. Developing methods to protect human rights
11. Finalizing the research plan

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 Overview of the --- (4)
Phase 3: Empirical Phase
12. Collecting the data
13. Preparing data for analysis

Phase 4: Analytic Phase

14. Analyzing the data
15. Interpreting results

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 Overview of the --- (5)
Phase 5: Dissemination Phase
16. Communicating the findings
17. Utilizing findings in practice

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 Overview of the --- (6)
• Activities in qualitative research process:
1. Conceptualizing and Planning the Study
2. Conducting the Study
3. Disseminating the Findings

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 Overview of the --- (7)
1. Conceptualizing and Planning the Study
 Identifying the research problem
 Doing a literature review
 Selecting sites and gaining entrée
 Making broad design decisions, planning
to go into the field
 Addressing ethical issues

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 Overview of the --- (8)
2. Conducting the Study: Iterative Activities
 Making sampling decisions
 Collecting data
 Evaluating trustworthiness
 Analyzing data
 Interpreting data

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 Overview of the --- (9)
3. Disseminating the Findings
 Seeking publication outlets
 Providing rich descriptions

Further Reading: Polit & Beck (2012), P. 56-63; Burns &

Groove (2005), P.35-48; Priest et al. (2006)

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