FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS

IN RESEARCH
 MEANING/DEFINITION

The root meaning of research is to search again and again

or to examine carefully.
More specifically, research is systematic inquiry that uses
disciplined methods to answer questions or solve problems.
(Polit & Beck, 2008).

Goal: to develop, refine, and expand a base of knowledge

 Nursing Research is defined as:

➢ a systematic inquiry designed to develop trustworthy evidence

about issues of importance to the nursing profession, including
nursing practice, education, administration, and informatics
(Polit & Beck, 2008).

➢ being concerned with knowledge that directly and indirectly

influences clinical nursing practice (Burns & Grove, 2001).

➢ a systematic, objective process of analyzing phenomena of

importance to nursing (Nieswiadomy, 2002).
 Research Methods

1. Scientific Method (Quantitative Research)

➢ Refers to a general set of orderly, disciplined
procedures used to acquire information.

➢ Uses deductive reasoning to generate predictions

that are tested in the real world.
 Characteristics of the Scientific Method

1. Order/Discipline
➢ Systematic steps are followed.

2. Control
➢ involves imposing conditions on the research
situation so that biases and confounding factors
are minimized.
 Characteristics of the Scientific Method

3. Empiricism
➢ is rooted in objective reality and gathered using one’s
senses as the basis for generating knowledge.

4. Generalization
> the findings are true for a broader group than study
participants.
 Research Methods

2. Naturalistic Methods (Qualitative Research)

➢ Explore directly issues of human complexity.

➢ Understand human experience as it is lived through

careful collection and analysis of qualitative data that
are narrative and subjective.

➢ Inquire in naturalistic setting

 Purposes of Nursing Research

1. Basic and Applied Research

a. Basic or Pure Research – concerned with:

➢ Generation of knowledge
➢ Extension of knowledge
➢ Refinement of knowledge
 Example of Basic or Pure Research

 Cadena (2006) studied the needs and functioning of

persons with schizophrenia living in an assisted living
facility in relation to the residents’ characteristics. The
findings had implications for practice, but the
research itself did not solve a particular problem.
 Purposes of Nursing Research

b. Applied Research
- Focuses on finding solutions for existing problems

- Applications of knowledge generated to solve

problems in nursing
 Example of Applied Research

 Smith (2006) conducted a study to determine

whether any of three alternative methods of
peripheral IV catheter securement could extend the
average survival time of such catheters.
 Purposes of Nursing Research

2. Research to Achieve Varying Levels of Explanation

2.1. Identification
➢ Study of a phenomenon in which little is known
about it.
➢ Typical questions are:
What is the phenomenon?
What is its name?
2.2. Description
➢ observing, counting, delineating, elucidating, and
classifying

Examples: patients’ stress and coping, pain responses,

adaptation processes, health beliefs and practices, time
patterns of temperature readings, experience of
waiting in a critical care room
 Types of Descriptive Questions

 Quantitative Research
How prevalent is the phenomenon?
How often does phenomenon occur?
What are the characteristics of the phenomenon?

 Qualitative Research
What are the dimensions of the phenomenon?
What is important about the phenomenon?
2.3. Exploration
➢investigating the full nature of the phenomenon and
other factors to which it is related.

Quantitative
What factors are related to the phenomenon?
What are the antecedents of the phenomenon?

Qualitative
What is the full nature of the phenomenon?
What is really going on here?
What is the process by which the phenomenon evolves or is
experienced?
2.4. Explanation – intends to:
a. understand the underpinnings of phenomena
b. explain systematic relationships among phenomena

Quantitative:
What is the causal pathway through which the phenomenon
unfolds?
Does the theory explain the phenomenon?

Qualitative:
How does the phenomenon work?
Why does the phenomenon exist?
What does the phenomenon mean?
How did the phenomenon occur?
2.5. Prediction
➢ estimating and anticipating the probability of a certain
outcome in a specific situation.

➢ Typical questions are:

What will happen if we alter a phenomenon or
introduce an intervention?
If phenomenon X occurs, will phenomenon Y
follow?
2.6. Control
➢ manipulating a given situation to produce the desired
outcome.

➢ typical questions are:

How can we make the phenomenon happen or
alter its prevalence?
Can the occurrence of the phenomenon be
prevented or controlled?
 Research Purposes Linked to EBP

1. Treatment, Therapy, or Intervention

- evidence-based treatment decisions about how to prevent a
health problem or how to address an existing problem.

- from evaluations of highly specific treatments or therapies

(e.g., comparing two types of cooling blankets for febrile
patients) to complex multisession interventions designed to
effect major behavioral changes (e.g., nurse-led smoking
cessation interventions).
 Research Purposes Linked to EBP

2. Diagnosis and Assessment

- rigorous development and evaluation of formal instruments to
screen, diagnose, and assess patients and to measure
important clinical outcomes.

- High quality instruments with documented accuracy are

essential both for clinical practice and for further research.
 Research Purposes Linked to EBP

3. Prognosis
- Studies of prognosis examine outcomes associated with a
disease or health problem, estimate the probability they will
occur, and indicate when (and for which types of people) the
outcomes are most likely.
- Importance:
• development of long-term care plans for patients.
• guide patients to make lifestyle choices or to be vigilant for key
symptoms.
• play a role in resource allocation decisions.
 Research Purposes Linked to EBP

4. Prevention of Harm
- Nurses frequently encounter patients who face potentially
harmful exposures—some as a result of healthcare factors,
others because of environmental agents, and still others
because of personal behaviors or characteristics.

- Providing useful information to patients about such harms and

how best to avoid them, and taking appropriate prophylactic
measures with patients in care, depends on the availability of
accurate evidence.
 Research Purposes Linked to EBP

5. Etiology or Causation

- It is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to prevent harms or

treat problems if we do not know what causes them.

- Identifying factors that affect or cause illness, mortality, or

morbidity is an important purpose of many nursing studies.
 Research Purposes Linked to EBP

6. Meaning and Processes

- Research that provides evidence about:

• what health and illness mean to clients,

• what barriers they face to positive health practices, and

• what processes they experience in a transition through a

healthcare crisis are important to evidence-based nursing practice.
 Roles of Nurses in Research

1. Principal Investigator
2. Member of a Research Team
3. Identifier of Researchable Problems
4. Evaluator of Research Findings
5. User of Research Findings
6. Patient/client Advocate during Studies
7. Subject in Studies
 Other Roles of Nurses in Research

1. Participate in a journal club in a practice setting,

which involves meetings among nurses to discuss
and critique research articles

2. Attend research presentations at professional

conferences

3. Evaluate completed research for its possible use in

practice

4. Help to develop an idea for a clinical study

5. Review a proposed research plan and offer clinical
expertise to improve plan

6. Assist researchers in collecting information for a

study

7. Provide information and advice to clients who are

participating in studies

8. Discuss the implications and relevance of research

findings with clients