Nursing Research 1_Fact Sheet

MODULE 1
INTRODUCTION TO NURSING RESEARCH

What is Research?
Research is systematic inquiry that uses disciplined methods to answer questions or
solve problems. The ultimate goal of research is to develop, refine, and expand a body of
knowledge.
What is Nursing Research?
Nursing research is systematic inquiry designed to develop knowledge about issues of
importance to the nursing profession, including nursing practice, education, administration, and
informatics.
Clinical Nursing Research, that is, research designed to generate knowledge to guide
nursing practice and to improve the health and quality of life of nurses’ clients.
Examples of Nursing Research Questions:
 What are the factors that determine the length of stay of patients in the intensive
care unit undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery (Doering, Esmailian,
Imperial-Perez, & Monsein, 2001)?
 How do adults with acquired brain injury perceive their social interactions and
relationships (Paterson & Stewart, 2002)?

Significance and Purposes of Nursing Research

Nurses increasingly are expected to adopt an evidence-based practice (EBP), which is
broadly defined as the use of the best clinical evidence in making patient care decisions.
 The general purpose of nursing research is to answer questions or solve
problems of relevance to the nursing profession

In terms of Purpose, the distinction is made between Basic and Applied Research.
 Basic research is undertaken to extend the base of knowledge in a discipline, or
to formulate or refine a theory.
Example: A researcher may perform an in-depth study to better understand normal
grieving processes, without having explicit nursing applications in mind.

 Applied research focuses on finding solutions to existing problems.

Example, a study to determine the effectiveness of a nursing intervention to ease

grieving would be applied research.

Mark Ryan Y. Contaoi, PhD, RN Flexi Learning-College of Nursing (CMU)

Nursing Research 1_Fact Sheet

Paradigms and Methods: Quantitative and Qualitative Research

Paradigms
 Positivist- Positivism is a reflection of a broader cultural phenomenon that, in the
humanities, is referred to as modernism, which emphasizes the rational and the
scientific
Naturalistic- reality is not a fixed entity but rather a construction of the
individuals participating in the research; reality exists within a context, and many
constructions are possible.

Table 1: Major Assumptions of the Positivist and Naturalistic Paradigms

ASSUMPTION POSITIVIST PARADIGM NATURALISTIC PARADIGM
Reality exists; there is a real Reality is multiple and
ONTOLOGIC (What is the world driven by real natural subjective mentally
nature of reality) causes constructed by individuals.

EPISTEMOLOGIC (How is The inquirer is independent The inquirer interacts with

the inquirer related to those from those being researched;
being researched?) findings are not influenced by
the researcher
AXIOLOGIC (What is the role Values and biases are to be
of the values in the inquiry?) held in check; objectivity is
sought
METHODOLOGIC (How is >Deductive processes
knowledge obtained?)
>Emphasis on discrete,
specific concepts
those being researched ,
finding are the creation of the
interactive process
Subjectivity and values are
inevitable and desirable
>Inductive processes
>Emphasis on entirely of
some phenomenon, holistic

>Verification of researchers’ >Emerging interpretations

hunches grounded in participants’
experiences

>Fixed design >Flexible design

>Tight controls over context >Context bound

>Emphasis on measured >Emphasis on narrative

quantitative information, information, qualitative
statistical analysis analysis

>Seeks generalizations >Seeks patterns

Mark Ryan Y. Contaoi, PhD, RN Flexi Learning-College of Nursing (CMU)

Nursing Research 1_Fact Sheet

Methods
Research methods are the techniques used by researchers to structure a study
and to gather and analyze information relevant to the research question
 Quantitative research, which is most closely allied with the positivist tradition
The traditional, positivist “scientific method” refers to a general set of
orderly, disciplined procedures used to acquire information
By systematic, we mean that the investigator progresses logically through
a series of steps, according to a pre-specified plan of action.
Quantitative researchers use mechanisms designed to control the study.
Control involves imposing conditions on the research situation so that
biases are minimized and precision and validity are maximized.
Quantitative researchers gather empirical evidence—evidence that is
rooted in objective reality and gathered directly or indirectly through the
senses. Empirical evidence, then, consists of observations gathered
through sight, hearing, taste, touch, or smell.
Evidence for a study in the positivist paradigm is gathered according to a
specified plan, using formal instruments to collect needed information.
Numeric information that results from some type of formal measurement
and that is analyzed with statistical procedures.
Research findings can be generalized to individuals other than those who
participated in the study (referred to as the generalizability of the research)

 Qualitative research, which is most often associated with naturalistic inquiry

although positivists sometimes engage in qualitative studies, and naturalistic
researchers sometimes collect quantitative information.
Naturalistic methods of inquiry attempt to deal with the issue of human
complexity by exploring it directly.
Researchers in the naturalistic tradition emphasize the inherent complexity
of humans, their ability to shape and create their own experiences, and the
idea that truth is a composite of realities.
Naturalistic investigations place a heavy emphasis on understanding the
human experience as it is lived, usually through the careful collection and
analysis of qualitative materials that are narrative and subjective.
Naturalistic researchers tend to emphasize the dynamic, holistic, and
individual aspects of human experience and attempt to capture
those aspects in their entirety.

Mark Ryan Y. Contaoi, PhD, RN Flexi Learning-College of Nursing (CMU)

Nursing Research 1_Fact Sheet

Table 2: Research Purposes and Types of Research Questions

PURPOSE TYPES OF QUESTIONS: TYPES OF QUESTIONS:
Quantitative Research Qualitative Research
What is this phenomenon?
IDENTIFICATION
What is its name?
How prevalent is the What are the dimensions of the
DESCRIPTION phenomenon? phenomenon

How often does the phenomenon What is important about the

occur? phenomenon?

What are the characteristic of

the phenomenon?
EXPLORATION What factors are related to the What is the full nature of the
phenomenon? phenomenon?

What are the antecedents of the What is really going on here?

phenomenon?
What is the process by which
the phenomenon
evolves or is
experienced?
EXPLANATION What is the causal pathway How does the phenomenon
through which the work?
phenomenon unfolds?
Why does the phenomenon exist?
Does the theory explain the
phenomenon? What does the phenomenon
mean?

How did the phenomenon occur?

PREDICTION What will happen if we alter a
phenomenon or introduce an
intervention?

If phenomenon X occurs, will

phenomenon Y follow?
CONTROL How can we make the
phenomenon happen or alter
its prevalence?

Can the occurrence of the

phenomenon be prevented or
controlled?

Mark Ryan Y. Contaoi, PhD, RN Flexi Learning-College of Nursing (CMU)

Nursing Research 1_Fact Sheet

Sources of Evidence for Nursing Practice (based on systematic research but not all have
been scientifically validated)
 Tradition and Authority
 Clinical Experience, Trial and Error
 Intuition
 Logical Reasoning
a) Deductive Reasoning is the process of developing generalizations
from specific observations.
For example, a nurse may observe the anxious behavior of (specific)
hospitalized children and conclude that (in general) children’s separation
from their parents is stressful.
b) Deductive reasoning is the process of developing specific predictions from
general principles.
For example, if we assume that separation anxiety occurs in hospitalized
children (in general), then we might predict that (specific) children in a
hospital whose parents do not room-in will manifest symptoms of stress.
 Assembled information

References:

Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2012). Quick Guide to an Evidence Hierarchy of Designs for Cause-
Probing Questions. In Nursing Research; Generating and assesing evidence for nursing
practice.
Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2012). Nursing Research: Principles and Methods. 7 th Edition.
Lippincott Williams and Wilkins

Mark Ryan Y. Contaoi, PhD, RN Flexi Learning-College of Nursing (CMU)