PREPARED BY:

MISS DIPTI K. PUNJAL

FIRST YEAR M.Sc. NURSING STUDENT
ROLL NO.: 02
SUBJECT: NURSING RESEARCH
GIMH
 MEANING OF RESEARCH:

 The word research is derived from the French term recerchier, a

compound word composed of a prefix, re, and a verb, search.
 Re means ‘once again’, ‘anew’, or ‘afresh’
 search means ‘to look for something or examine closely and
carefully’, ‘to look for information’, ‘to test and try’, ‘to
prove’.
Langford (2001) also mentions that
 research means ‘to search again’ or
‘carefully examine.’
Thus,
research means close and careful examination
of facts and their relationship to discover new
knowledge.
DEFINITION OF RESEARCH:

“Research is defined as a systematic and

scientific process to answer to questions about
facts and relationships between facts. It is an
activity in seeking answer to unanswered
questions.”
“Research is 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.”
 (POLIT AND BECK, 2010)
DEFINITION OF NURSING RESEARCH:
“Nursing research is a scientific, systematic and
orderly process to find out solution for
problems concerned to nursing or generating
and refining the nursing knowledge to improve
quality of nursing care, nursing education, and
nursing administration.”
(S. K. SHARMA, 2005)
“Nursing research is systematic inquiry designed to
develop trustworthy evidence about issues of
importance to the nursing profession, including
nursing practice, education, administration, and
informatics.”
(POLIT AND BECK, 2012)
1. Orderly and systematic process
2. Based on current professional issues 
3. Begin with clearly defined purposes 
4. Emphasize to develop, refine, and expand
professional knowledge
5. Directed towards development or testing
theories
6. Finding solution of a problem
7. Dedicated to develop empirical evidence
8. Strive to collect first-hand
information/data
9. An objective and logical process
10. Generate findings to refine and
improve professional practices
11. Use of appropriate methodology
12. Conducted on representative sample
13. Conducted through appropriate use of methods
and tools of data collection
14. Use of valid and reliable data collection tools
15. Carefully recorded and reported
16. Adequately and appropriately analyzed research
17. Patiently carried out activity 
18. Researcher’s expertise, interest, motivation, and
courage
19. Adequately communicated
 The general purpose of nursing research is to answer
questions or solve problems of relevance to the nursing
profession.
 The specific purpose of nursing research includes
identification, description, exploration, explanation,
prediction, and control of facts. Therefore, nursing research
enables nurses in the following ways:
1. Develop, refine, and extend the scientific base of
knowledge, which is required for quality nursing care,
education, and administration.
2. Enhance the body of professional knowledge in nursing.
3. Provide foundation for EBN practices.
4. Help in expansion of knowledge, which is essential for
continued growth of nursing profession.
5. Enhance their professional identity as research is an
essential component of any profession.
6. Define the parameters of nursing, which will help nurses
to identify boundaries of nursing profession.
7. Refine and eliminate old knowledge so that it helps in
elimination of nursing actions that have no effect on the
achievement of desired client outcomes.
8. Identify nursing care practices that make a difference in
health care status of individuals and are cost-effective.
9. Enhance accuracy of different nursing educational and
administrative techniques.
10. Develop and refine nursing theories and principles.
11. Solve the problems or answer the questions related to
nursing practices, nursing education, and nursing
administration.
KINDS/TYPES OF RESEARCH
Research can be classified based on several criteria.
However, basically, research is classified based on
either an approach of studying the variable
(quantitative and qualitative research) or the purpose
of conducting the research (basic and applied
research).
These classifications are further discussed
below (Fig. 1.3).
BASED ON APPROACH
 QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH:
 It is an inquiry into an identified problem, based on
testing a theory composed of variables, measured with
numbers and analysed using statistical techniques.
 In this type of research, data is collected in numerical
form and analysed by using descriptive or inferential
statistics. 
 Quantitative research involves analysis of numerical
data.
 Example of Quantitative Research
A descriptive study on the prevalence of
hospital-acquired infection among patients
admitted in intensive-care units. In this
research study, the researcher deals with
numerical data.
 TYPES OF QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGNS:

The researcher studies the effects of the variables on

each other and describes what will be.
In this research, researchers collect data
without making changed or introducing
treatments.
Non experimental research is further classified into:

The researcher studies the relationships of

the variables and describes what is
The researcher studies the variables
pertinent to a specific situation.
Examining the relationship between
two or more variables in a natural
setting without manipulation or
control.
 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
 It involves an in-depth understanding of human behavior and the
reasons that govern human behavior.
 Here, data is collected in descriptive form rather than numerical form.
 Qualitative research involves analysis of data, such as words,
pictures, or objects.
 Qualitative research is the examination, analysis, and interpretation of
observations for the purpose of discovering underlying meanings and
patterns of relationships, including classifications of types of
phenomena and entities in a manner that does not involve
mathematical models.
 Qualitative research has the following main features:
Concerned with the opinions, experiences, and feelings of
individuals producing subjective data.
Describes social phenomena as they occur naturally.
Qualitative data are collected through direct interaction
with individuals, through one-to-one or group interviews or
by observation.
Data collection is time consuming.
The intensive and time-consuming nature of data collection
necessitates the use of small samples.
Example of Qualitative Research
 A researcher is conducting a study on
experiences of women who have underwent
female feticide in selected rural and urban
areas in Punjab.
 In this instance, researcher is not handling any
numerical data, rather is collecting descriptive
narrations verbalized by study subjects.
 Examines human experiences
through the descriptions provided by
people involved.
It involves the information collected from certain
cultural groups, by living with people of those
groups and from their key informants, who are
believed to be most knowledgeable about the
selected culture.
From a collection
of data gathered
by a participant-
observer, theory
is developed
accordingly.
Research on a phenomenon
by studying in-depth about
any case example. It could
be any event, a group, a
distinct person or an
institution.
 This begins with the
total situation, focusing
attention on the system
first and on its internal
relationships. Sources
for historical research
are hospital records,
order sheets, purchases
orders.
BASED ON APPROACH
 BASIC OR PURE RESEARCH

Basic (fundamental or pure) research is

performed without a specific purpose in mind.
Rather, it is primarily concerned with generation
of new knowledge
It is used to generate and expand theories that
describe, explain, or predict a phenomenon of
interest to the discipline without regard to its
immediate use.
It is a formal and systematic process leading
to the development of theories.
Its main motivation is to expand the body of
knowledge.
JEAN PIAGET conducted a basic research on
intellectual growth of all children wherein he
proposed that the children learnt something
new in each passing stage.
Basic research is usually carried out for
some of the following aims:
Gather and generate information.
Expand the body of knowledge to
improve understanding about a discipline.
Develop or refine theories and principles.
 Example of Basic Research:
A researcher carries out a study on effect of
participatory culture in an organization on work
performance of employees. Here, researcher
observes that workers’ performance has improved in
those organizations, which have participatory
culture. Thus, a researcher gives a basic theory,
‘workers’ participation in management increases
their performance’
 APPLIED RESEARCH

The term applied research refers to those studies that

have functional purposes and practical use or
application.
They focus on finding an immediate solution to an existing
problem.
In this, the researcher scientifically collects data to be used
in clinical, administrative, or instructional area to find
solution to the problem and evaluate practices and identifies
needs of the patient.
Applied research may be conducted to
resolve a number of issues, some of which
are as follows:
Solve problems
Make decisions
Evaluate something of interest
Develop something new for immediate
use
 Example of Applied Research:
A researcher has planned to conduct a study
to assess the effectiveness of two different
techniques of pin site care for prevention of
pin site infection. Here, the researcher is
interested in solving a current problem of pin
site infection among patients with external
skeletal fixation.
 ASSIGNMENTS

1. Characteristics of good research.

2. Kinds of research.