LESSON I

INTRODUCTION TO
RESEARCH
EDITHA C. SABALBORO,MAN
What Is Nursing Research?

▪ 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.
▪ Nursing research is systematic inquiry designed to develop
knowledge about issues of importance to nurses, including
nursing practice, nursing education, administration, and
Informatics.
▪ Clinical Nursing Research, that is, research designed to guide
nursing practice and to improve the health and quality of life of
nurses’ clients. Clinical nursing research typically begins with
questions stemming from practice-related problems—problems
such as ones you may have already encountered.
▪ Examples of nursing research questions:
* Among current smokers, are more sources of secondhand smoke
exposure associated with higher nicotine dependence and lower
intention to quit smoking? (Okoli, Browning, Rayens, & Hahn,2008)
* What are the late effects of cancer treatment among long-term
cancer survivors, and what are ways in which survivors find support
and information that are not provided via follow-up care? (Klemm,
2008)
*According to Palispis (2004), research plays a very significant
role ion eduction. Research is carried out for a specific purpose
– to answer specific question or to solve a particular
controversy or issue. Thus, research must not only be
conducted because it is a prerequisite to obtaining a degree,
but more so because it can potentially mobilize the society.
*According to Sanchez ( 2002), it is the continuing discovery
and exploration of the unknown. It entails an investigation of
new facts leading to the discovery of new ideas, new methods
and improvements.
Sources of knowledge

1. Scientific
Scientific Knowledge (1)
- Measurement and testing of knowledge
- Systematic and methodological
- Inductive approaches
- Deductive approaches
Scientific Knowledge (2)
- Qualitative methods
- Quantitative methods
- Mixed methods
2. Tradition
▪Tradition (1)
⮚ Knowledge passed down through generations of nurses.
⮚ Can be conveyed through observed practice, role modelling, written
documents, books, journal articles, and often from ‘experienced’
practitioners.
⮚ Tradition (2)
⮚ Traditional practices can be imposed: ‘This is the way it should be done
because this is the way it has always been done.’
▪Can lead to the development of a nursing culture that accepts practices
as being right, without questioning their foundation and evidence base.
3. Intuition and tacit
▪Intuition and implied knowledge
⮚ Drawing on experience and knowledge to make a care
judgment.
⮚ Developed through experience gained by engagement in
practice.
⮚ Can be criticised for a lack of objectivity and ability to identify
a rationale behind decisions.
4. Personal knowledge
▪Personal knowledge
⮚ Personal knowledge is individual knowledge shaped through
being personally involved in situations and events in
practice.
⮚ Personal knowledge can be developed through reflecting on
practice experiences.
⮚ Personal knowledge can reflect a range of experiences and
be based on a number of sources of knowledge.
Characteristics of Nursing Research

1. systematic
2.objective
3. feasible
4. empirical
5. clear
Purposes of Nursing Research

1. Nursing research provides scientific basis for the practices or

methodologies used in nursing care management.
2. Nursing research is undertaken for the continuous
development of and further productivity in health care.
3. Nursing research develops tools for assessing the
effectiveness of nursing interventions.
4. Nursing research provides solutions to problems concerning
health maintenance, health delivery, and health care.
5. Nursing research develops and evaluates alternative
approaches to nursing education that enable the students to
gain broader knowledge and specialized skills for safe practice.
6. Nursing research experience advances the personal and
prof qualification of a nursing practitioner.
Types of Nursing Research

1. Basic or Pure research is undertaken to extend the base of

knowledge in a discipline.
⚫ A researcher may perform an in-depth study to better understand
normal grieving processes, without having explicit applications in
mind.
2. Applied research focuses on finding solutions to existing
problems.
▪An applied study might assess the effectiveness of a nursing
intervention to ease grieving.
⚫ Identification
Quantitative example of description:
Carls (2007) described the prevalence of stress urinary incontinence in
young female athletes participating in high impact sports, and the rate at which
they had told someone of their problem.

⚫ Exploration
Qualitative example of exploration:
Cristobal and colleagues (2008) explored the experience of cancer pain in
African American patients with cancer through a 6-month online forum.
⚫ Prediction and Control
Research has shown that the incidence of Down syndrome
in infants increases with the age of the mother. We can thus
predict that a woman aged 40 years is at higher risk of
bearing a child with Down syndrome than is a woman aged
25 years.
⚫ Explanation
▪ In qualitative studies, researchers may search for explanations about how or
why a phenomenon exists or what a phenomenon means as a basis for
developing a theory that is grounded in rich, in-depth, experiential evidence.
⚫ Explanation
▪ Blue (2007) tested a theoretic model to explain physical activity and dietary
patterns among adults at risk for diabetes. The model purported to explain
positive health behaviors on the basis of theoretically relevant concepts, such
as subjective norms and perceived behavioral control.
⚫ Explanation
▪ Qualitative example of explanation:
⚫ Coughlan and Ward (2007) conducted a study that sought to explain the
meaning of “quality of care” for recently relocated residents from two older
hospital-style facilities to a new long-term care facility in Canada.
⚫ Treatment or Intervention
▪ Grove and colleagues (2008) tested the effectiveness of an
intervention that included acupressure and interactive
multimedia on visual acuity in school-aged children with
visual impairment.
Goals in Conducting Research

1.To produce evidence-based nursing practice .

▪ A Prof. Nurse must ensure that she/he is able to give proper
health care to patient through:
a. Provide best clinical practice proven by research.
b. Principles on which the tasks and functions of a nurse are
based and formulated through research.
c. sop’s and guidelines in the hospitals are based from
research.
d. Results of nursing research must be published in books and
journals.
e. Results can also be utilized in seminars and conferences.
Goals in Conducting Research

2. To establish credibility in nursing profession.

Nursing profession is distinct. Its distinctiveness can be achieved when
there are special practices and peculiarities of services in a given area or
field. Research is essential to produce new procedures, programs and
practices.

3. To observe accountability in nursing practice.

Every action by a nurse must have a rationale. The nurse must be
accountable for each task she/he performs.

4. To promote cost-effectiveness through documentation of nursing care.

The findings of research must be shared with and utilized by the
individuals, group community for which it was intended.
ROLES of Nurses in Nursing Research

1. Principal investigator
2. Member of the research team
3. Identifier of researchable problems
4. Evaluator of research findings
5. User of research findings
6. Patient/client advocate during study
7. Subject/respondent/participant
History of Research

▪YEAR and EVENT

⚫ 1859 Nightingale’s Notes on Nursing is published
⚫ 1900 American Nursing Journal begins publication
⚫ 1923 Columbia University establishes first doctoral program for nurses
⚫ Goldmark Report with recommendations for nursing education published
⚫ 1955 inauguration of the American Nurses’ Foundation to sponsor nursing
research
⚫ 1957 Establishment of nursing research center at Walter Reed Army Institute
⚫ 1963 International Journal of Nursing Studies begins publication
⚫ 1965 American Nurses’ Association (ANA) begins sponsoring nursing
research conferences
⚫ 1969 Canadian Journal of Nursing Research begins publication
⚫ 1971 ANA establishes a Commission on Research
⚫ 1972 ANA establishes its Council of Nurse Researchers
⚫ 1976 Stetler and Marram publish guidelines on assessing
research for use in practice
⚫ 1978 The journals Research in Nursing & Health and
Advances in Nursing Science begin publication
⚫ 1979 Western Journal of Nursing Research begins
publication
⚫ 1982 The Conduct and Utilization of Research in Nursing (CURN)
project publishes report
⚫ 1983 Annual Review of Nursing Research begins publication
⚫ 1985 ANA Cabinet on Nursing Research establishes research
priorities
⚫ 1986 National Center for Nursing Research (NCNR) established
within U.S. National Institutes of Health
⚫ 1988 The journal Applied Nursing Research begins publication
⚫ 1989 U.S. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR)
is established (renamed Agency for Healthcare Research and
Quality or AHRQ in 1999)
⚫ 1993 NCNR becomes a full institute, the National Institute of
Nursing Research (NINR)
⚫ The Cochrane Collaboration is established
⚫ 1994 The journal Qualitative Health Research begins
publication
⚫ 1995 The Joanna Briggs Institute, an international EBP
collaborative, is established in Australia
⚫ 1997 Canadian Health Services Research Foundation is
established with federal funding
 
⚫ 2000 NINR’s annual funding exceeds $100 million
⚫ The Canadian Institute of Health Research is launched
⚫ 2004 The journal Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing
begins publication
⚫ 2005 Sigma Theta Tau International publishes research
priorities