Nursing Research

Dr.Meena Ganapathy
Methods of acquiring knowledge
 Tradition
 Authority
 Borrowing
 Trial & error
 Personal experience
 Role modeling
 Intuition
 Reasoning
 Levels of development of
knowledge
 Novice
 Advance beginner
 Competent
 Proficient
 Expert
 Reasoning
 Deductive: General to specific
 Eg: All human beings experience loss. All infants are human beings,
hence infants will experience loss if mother is absent.

 Inductive: Specific to general.

 Eg; A head ache is altered level of health that is stressful. It can be
induced that all altered level of health is stressful.
Difference btw inductive &
deductive reasoning
 What Is Research?
 To search again
 To examine carefully
 Diligent and systematic inquiry
 Discovery
 Goal is to develop an empirical body of
knowledge for a discipline
 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.
 Definition
 Polit & Hungler (1995) defined nursing research as a “
systematic search for knowledge about issues important
to nursing profession”.
 Polit & Beck (2008) define research as systematic,
enquiry designed to develop trustworthy evidence about
issues of importance to nursing profession.
 “ It is a systematic approach to examining phenomena
important to nursing & nurses”. Lara Talbot (1995)
 “It is a systematic objective process of analyzing
phenomena important to nursing”. Rose Marie
Nieswiadomy(1998).
 Phenomena is a fact that is not fully understood.
 Meaning
 It is a scientific process because the results are
verifiable.
 It is an organized investigation of a problem, facts
& relationship.
 It is pursuit of a definite objective with due control
followed by analyses using statistical procedure.
 It is an abstraction (Known, yet not clearly)
 It is one type of problem – solving with more rigor
 It is control and prediction
 Problem Solving Method
 There are many problems which needs to be handled for
smooth life.
 Steps in problem solving
 Assessment
 Diagnoses( Problem identification )
 Find out solutions
 Choose the most appropriate solution
 Implementation
 Evaluation
 Re plan
 Nursing Process is a method of problem solving
 Difference between research &
Scientific problem solving

 Research  Problem solving

 All elements must be  Clarity & precision are
clearly & precisely important, it is not
described demanded
 Data have to be  Not essential
analyzed with
appropriate statistics
 Control of extraneous  Not mandatory
variables mandatory
 Difference between research &
Scientific problem solving
 Primary aim is  Can not generalize
generalization to findings
population
 By replication findings  Can not be verified
can be verified
 There is a moral  No such obligation
obligation to report
the findings in writing
 Scientific Research
 It is a systematic, controlled, empirical &
critical investigation of natural phenomena
guided by theory & hypotheses about the
presumed relations among such
phenomena. (Fred N Kerlinger, 1986).
 Empirical means based on experience or
experiment rather than ideas.
 Characteristics of scientific
research
 It involves some hypothetical preposition
 A hypothetical preposition is a a tentative
statement about the relationship between
two or more phenomena or variables. (A
hunch).
 It is systematic & controlled.
 It is replicable
 It is empirical- based on objective reality
 Main Need for Nursing Research
 It validates nursing as a profession
 It provides scientific basis for nursing
practice
 It demonstrates accountability of the
profession
 Other needs for nursing research
 To mould attitudes, intellectual competence &
technical skills
 Fills the gap in knowledge & practice
 Fosters a commitment & accountability to
consumer
 Identifies the role of nurse in changing society
 Helps administration to take prompt decision
 Helps to improve the standards in nursing
education
 Refines the existing theories & helps in
discovery of new theories
 For its prestige
 To describe the state of affairs
 To isolate problem areas
 To determine solutions for problems
 To contribute to knowledge
 To collect facts
 To analyze standards
 To guide for action
 Areas of Nursing research
 Education
 Administration
 Clinical
 Need for nursing research in India
 For prestige of profession
 To isolate problem areas
 To determine solutions for problem
 To collect facts
 To contribute to knowledge
 To analyze standards
 To guide for actions
Role of Nurses in
Research
Dr. Meena Ganapathy
 Role of nurses in research
 Research participant – Clara Maass, a nurse
(1876- 1901) participated in a study to isolate
vector mosquito for yellow fever. She died of the
disease
 Lots of nurses are participants of the HIV
vaccination trial at NARI, Pune.
 Research Advocate: Nurses can make the
participants aware of their rights , risk, benefit &
assurance of confidentiality & anonymity
 E.g.., West Bengal study on injectable
contraceptives.
 Role of nurses in research
 Research assistant: assisting in data
collection & data analysis
 Research evaluator: able to read reports &
evaluate its relevance & apply it to
nursing practice
 Research expert: nurses with masters &
doctoral degrees may act as experts
 Investigator: conduct actual research
 Role of a registered nurse in
research
 Read, interpret & utilize research in work
area
 Identify areas of need & conduct mini
research
 Collaborate with other researchers
 Act as an advocate for participants
Role of an educator in research
 Use findings to teach latest information
 Can use other field researches to improve
teaching & methods
 Instigate research zeal in her students
 Guide students in their mini research
Role of an administrator in research
 Being aware of resources & making it available
to nurses
 Providing a climate for research
 Conducting regular journal clubs to critique
articles
 Allowing staff to attend conferences &
presentations
 Participating in institutional ethical committee
 Collaborating with other clinical researches
 Reviewing research plans for feasibility
 Evaluate completed research for practice
 Using Research in Practice

 Synthesis of knowledge (research, theory,

and clinical experiences)
 Effect of philosophy
 Making a change in practice
 Evaluation of change for patient, provider,
and health care system
 Role of an researcher
 Can become a trained research worker
 Characteristics of good research
 Characteristics of a Good Research
 Interesting & Novel
 Clear & comprehensive with attention to detail,
and a certain level of knowledge of the subject
matter.
 ethical in all methodologies
 Should guarantee conclusive and objective
results.
 Characteristics of good research
 Systematic
 Organized
 All elements are clearly & precisely
described
 Has a definite objective with due control
 analyses data using statistical procedure
 generalization to population is possible
 Characteristics of good research
 findings can be verified by replication
 Follows principles of research ethics
 Relevant
 Instruments used are valid & reliable
 No plagiarism. Duly acknowledges relevant
sources used
 Documented following some standard protocol
 Published
Terminologies
Dr.Meena Ganapathy
 Terminologies
 Concept: A mental or word picture of a
phenomenon that is based on presence or
absence of certain characteristics
 Conceptual framework: a network of inter related
concepts that provide a structure for organizing
& describing the phenomena of interest
 Control: The process of preventing extraneous
variables influence on the dependent variable,
which might alter the true effect between the
study variables
 Data: The pieces of information collected
that pertains to the study variables
 Hypothesis: A hunch or a statement of
expected relationship between the
independent & dependent variable
 Limitations: Weakness in a study, such as
uncontrolled variables, that limit the
generalizability of the findings
 Operational definition: The definition or
description of a study variable that
specifies how it will be measured
 Research: A scientific process of inquiry
that involves purposeful, systematic, and
rigorous collection, analysis, and
interpretation of data to gain new
knowledge
 Theory: A set of interrelated concepts that
provide a systematic method of
organizing, integrating and conceptualizing
a phenomenon
 Theoretical / Conceptual definition: The
definition or description of a study variable
that is drawn from the theoretical or
conceptual framework
 Variable: A characteristics or attribute that
varies or differ among the persons or
objects being studied
 Generalizability: The ability to relate the
study findings from the sample to large
population
 Basic Terminology
 Quantitative Research – objectivity,
control, numerical data & ability to
generalize findings
 Qualitative Research – subjective,
narrative nonnumeric data
 Researcher-investigator, scientist,
principal investigator, project director,
collaborators
 Variables: A characteristic or attribute that
varies or differs among persons or objects
under study
 Instrumentation: process of selecting or
developing devices & methods appropriate
for measuring variables under study.