Overview:CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO NURSING RESEARCH 1

1 INTRODUCTION TO NURSING
Chapter RESEARCH

Overview: Lesson Outline:

a. Definition
As a nursing student, you are gaining skills on how
b. The importance of
to practice nursing, but it is important to recognize
research in nursing
that learning about best-practice nursing will
c. Roles of nurses in
continue throughout your career. And these best
research
practices are made possible through research.
d. Evolution of nursing
research
Objectives: e. Purposes of nursing
research
At the end of this chapter, the learner will be
able to:
a. Define new terms in relation to research
b. Describe why research is important in the
nursing profession
c. Describe historic trends in nursing research
d. Discuss the need for evidence-based
practice and alternative sources of
evidence for nursing practice
e. Describe and differentiate qualitative and
quantitative research
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I. SIGNIFICANCE AND PURPOSES

I. Definition
◊ Research is a systematic inquiry that uses disciplined methods to answer questions
and solve problems. The ultimate goal of research is to develop, refine and expand a
body of knowledge.

◊ Nursing research is a systematic inquiry designed to develop trustworthy evidence

about issues of importance to the nursing profession, including nursing practice,
education, administration and informatics

◊ Clinical Nursing Research is a research designed to guide nursing practice and to

improve the health and quality of life of nurses’ clients.

◊ Evidence-Based Nursing Practice as the use of the best clinical evidence in making
patient care decisions, and such evidence typically comes from research conducted
by nurses and other health care professionals.

II. Purposes of Nursing Research

◊ General Purpose is to answer questions or solve problems of relevance to the nursing
profession

◊ Basic Research is concerned with generating new knowledge

◊ Basic Research is conducted to develop, test and refine theories and generate new
knowledge

◊ Applied Research is concerned with using knowledge to solve immediate problems

◊ Applied Research is directed toward generating knowledge that can be used in the near
future

III. Goals for Conducting Nursing Research

◊ Promote evidence-based nursing practice
◊ Ensure credibility of the nursing profession
◊ Provide accountability for nursing practice
◊ Document the cost-effectiveness of nursing care

III. Role of Nurses in Research

◊ Principal investigator
◊ Member of a Research Team
◊ Identifier of researchable problems
◊ Evaluator of research findings
◊ User of research findings
◊ Patient/client advocate during studies
◊ Subject/participant in studies
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II. LEVEL OF EVIDENCES

◊ Research utilization and evidence-based nursing practice (EBNP) are related because both
processes emphasize research findings
◊ However, research utilization focuses on the implementation of findings from specific
research studies.
◊ The goal of research utilization is to see that the findings of research studies are actually
put into
action in nursing practice
◊ EBNP is a broader and involves searching for the best evidence to use in nursing practice,
which includes searching for the best research evidence available
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ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF EVIDENCE

A. TRADITION and AUTHORITY
∗ Certain beliefs are accepted as truths and effective simply based on custom and culture
∗ It will be a growing concern that many nursing interventions are based on tradition, customs
and “unit culture” rather than on sound evidence.
∗ Authority can also be a source of knowledge but with limitations

B. CLINICAL EXPERIENCE, TRIAL and ERROR, and INTUITION

∗ Clinical/personal experience is a familiar and functional source of knowledge but also
limited because at times, the nurse’s experience is too narrow and with bias
∗ Trial and error may be practical in some cases but is often inefficient
∗ Intuition is a type of knowledge that cannot be explained on the basis of reasoning. Policies
and practices is difficult to develop on the basis of intuition

C. LOGICAL REASONING
∗ Combines experience, intellectual faculties and formal systems of thought
∗ Inductive Reasoning is the process of developing generalizations from specific
observations
∗ Deductive Reasoning is the process of developing specific predictions from general
principles

D. ASSEMBLED INFORMATION
∗ Information that was gathered for a variety of purpose and can be used in practice but still
with limited information

E. DISCIPLINED RESEARCH
∗ Most sophisticated method

II. LEVEL OF EVIDENCES

• META-ANALYSIS - A systematic review that uses quantitative methods to summarize the
results.
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• SYSTEMATIC REVIEW - An article in which the authors have systematically searched for,
appraised, and summarised all of the medical literature for a specific topic.
• CRITICALLY APPRAISED TOPIC - Authors of critically-appraised topics evaluate and
synthesize multiple research studies.
• CRITICALLY APPRAISED ARTICLES - Authors of critically-appraised individual articles
evaluate and synopsize individual research studies.
• RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS - RCT's include a randomized group of patients in
an experimental group and a control group. These groups are followed up for the
variables/outcomes of interest.
• COHORT STUDY - Identifies two groups (cohorts) of patients, one which did receive the
exposure of interest, and one which did not, and following these cohorts forward for the
outcome of interest.
• CASE-CONTROL STUDY - Involves identifying patients who have the outcome of interest
(cases) and control patients without the same outcome and looking to see if they had the
exposure of interest.
• BACKGROUND INFORMATION / EXPERT OPINION -Handbooks, encyclopedias, and
textbooks often provide a good foundation or introduction and often include generalized
information about a condition. It takes about three years for this type of literature to be
published.
• ANIMAL RESEARCH / LAB STUDIES - Information begins at the bottom of the pyramid:
this is where ideas and laboratory research takes place. Ideas turn into therapies and
diagnostic tools, which then are tested with lab models and animals.

QUANTITATIVE vs. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

1. QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH is the

traditional “scientific method” which uses a
general set of orderly, disciplined procedures to
acquire information and moves in an orderly
and systematic fashion. Being systematic
means that the investigator progresses logically
through a series of steps, according to a pre-
specified plan of action (Polit & Beck, 2004).
• Information gathered is usually numeric and
results from formal measurements and
analyzed with the use of statistical procedures.
It uses deductive reasoning.

2. QUALITATIVE RESEARCH starts with a few

preconceived ideas and stresses the
importance of people’s interpretations of events
and circumstances. The focus is to capture and
understand the entirety of certain phenomena
and collect narrative data.
• Instruments used are informal and
unstructured and have no attempts to control.
Narrative information is analyzed in an
organized, but intuitive, fashion, without using
statistical tools and procedures. It uses
inductive reasoning and dynamic, individual
aspects of the human experiences in a holistic
approach (Polit & Beck, 2004).
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Summary:
• Nursing research is a systematic inquiry
designed to develop trustworthy evidence
about issues of importance to the nursing
profession.
• Quantitative Research is the traditional
“scientific method” which uses a general set of
orderly, disciplined procedures to acquire
information and moves in an orderly and
systematic fashion.
• The focus of qualitative research is to capture
and understand the entirety of certain
phenomena and collect narrative data
References:
Textbook
1. Polit, D. & Beck, C. (2018). Essentials of
Nursing Research. Philadelphia: Wolters
Kluwer Health.
2. Nieswiadomy, R. & Bailey, C. (2018).
Foundations of Nursing Research. Boston:
Pearson.

Learning Activity:
1. Make a summary and reflection of the
article attached in the classroom.