Research Exam 1 Study Guide .docx - WEEK 1 Overview of...

WEEK 1
Overview of Research:
· Research – a systematic inquiry that uses disciplined methods to answer questions and solve problems.
· Nursing Research - a systematic inquiry designed to develop trustworthy evidence about issues of
importance to nurses and their clients (Polit and Beck, 2014).
· Some research facts:
o Pioneered by Florence Nightingale- 1850s
o First journal on research ( Nursing Research )- 1950s.
o Early research focused on education and role of nurses
o Clinical research increasingly important- 1980s
o National Center for Nursing Research established at NIH- 1986
o National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) established- 1993
o NINR’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2015 funding level of $141 million is approximately 0.47% of the
overall $30.1 billion NIH budget.
Sources of Evidence:
· Tradition
· Authority
· Clinical experience; trial and error; intuition
· Logical reasoning (inductive and deductive)
· Assembled information (e.g., quality improvement data)
· Disciplined research
Paradigm : a worldview; a general perspective on the complexities of the real world, with certain assumptions
about reality
· Positivist assumption: Reality exists, there is a real world driven by natural causes.
· Constructivist assumption: Reality is multiple and subjective, constructed by individuals .
Research methods: the techniques used to structure a study and to gather, analyze, and interpret information
· Quantitative research —most often allied with the positivist tradition
o Orderly procedures, Pre-specified plan, Control over context, Formal measurement, Quantitative
information, Seeks generalizations
o Lacks identification
o Just interested in numbers
· Qualitative research —most often allied with the constructivist tradition
o Dynamic design, Holistic, Context-bound, Humans as instruments, Qualitative information,
Seeks patterns
o Lacks prediction and control
o Fieldwork!
o Use human subjects.
Types of Research:
· Descriptive research answers: WHAT is it?
· Explanatory research answers: WHY or HOW are phenomena related?
· Predictive research aims to forecast precise relationships between parts of a phenomena or differences
between groups, WHEN something may occur
EBP :
· What it is:
o “The use of the best available evidence in making patient care decisions, and such evidence
typically comes from research conducted by nurses and other health care professionals” (Polit
and Beck, 2014)
1 of 16

o “Integrating the best available evidence, moderated by
clinical expertise and patient circumstances and
preferences, to guide clinical decision-making” (S acket
et al, 2000)
· What it is NOT:
o Conducting research
o Managing research projects
o Designing research studies
o Implementing research studies
o Any activity related to PRODUCING evidence
· Clearly DEFINE the question or problem
o PICOT stands for:
▪ P - the population of interest
▪ I - the intervention that you’re curious about
▪ C - the comparison
▪ O - the outcome of the intervention
▪ T – Timeframe (optional)
o In _____ (population), what is the effect of _____ (intervention), in
comparison to _____ (comparison), on __________(outcome)?