Exploring Nursing Research in Canada
Class One
September 16, 2009
Judith Shaw, Ph.D.,R.N.

What is research?
 to search again
 diligent and systematic inquiry
 to discovery

Nursing Research
 a scientific process that validates and refined existing knowledge, and
 generates new knowledge that directly and indirectly influences nursing practice

Nursing Research
Provides the scientific basis for the practice of the profession.
(American Association of College of
Nursing)

Definition of
Nursing Research
Requires an understanding of what knowledge is relevant for nursing-

Definition of
Nursing Research
Specificallywhat knowledge is needed to improve nursing practice
(Burns & Grove, 2007)

Metaparadigm
 A global statement that identifies the subject matter of each discipline or field of study.
(Fawcett, 2005)

Metaparadigm of
Nursing
 Human beings
 The environment
 Health
 Nursing

Nursing Research
A formal, systematic, and rigorous process of inquiry used to generate and test theories about the health-related experiences of human beings within their environments and about the actions and processes that nurses use in practice
(Fawcett & Garity, 2009)

Comparison
Nursing Process & Nursing Research
1.
Assessment &
Interpretation of
Data
1.
Selection of a social context
2.
Diagnosis of problem
2.
Formulation of research question; explication of researcher’s beliefs

Comparison
Nursing Process & Nursing Research
3.
Development and implementation of plan of care
3.
Develop and implement methodology plan
Cyclical process of data collection, analysis, and concept formation and modification

Comparison
Nursing Process & Nursing Research
4.
Evaluation of plan of care
4.
Interpretation of findings
May involve review of literature at this stage
Validation of findings with participants

Comparison
Nursing Process & Nursing Research
5.
Revision of plan based on evaluation
5.
Communication of the findings.
Implications and recommendations

OR

Nursing Process  Nursing Research
(Fawcett, 2005)
1.
Assessment
2.
Planning
1.
2.
Statement of the problem
Research Methods
3.
Implementation
4.
Evaluation
3.
4.
5.
Conduct of the
Research
Interpretation of results
Research Report
5.
Documentation

The Importance of Research in Nursing

The Importance of Research in Nursing

The Importance of Research in Nursing

The Importance of Research in Nursing

Kinds of Nursing Knowledge
 Traditions
 Authority
 Borrowing
 Trial and Error
 Personal Experience
 Role-Modeling
 Intuition
 Reasoning
 Research


-the study of the nature of knowledge
How we know what we know

Ways of Knowing
 Aesthetics
 Ethical Knowing
 Personal Knowing
 Empirical Knowing (Carper, 1978)
 *Socio-Political (*White, 1995)
 **Unknowing in Knowledge (**Heath,1998; Munhall, 1993)

Aesthetics
 The nature of beauty or art
…art of nursing

Ethical Knowing
 The obligation, moral component
– what should be done
– what is good, right and desired

Personal Knowledge
 Interpersonal interactions and relationships between the nurse and a client
– therapeutic use of self
– authentic personal relationship

Empirical Knowledge
 Knowledge of the experienced or empirical world

Socio-Political
 Situates nursing practice in the world of society, community life, culture, economics, and politics

Who’s voice is heard?
 Whose voice is silenced.

Unknowing in Knowledge
 All knowledge is tentative and dynamic.
 Openness, qualitative receptivity to what may be learned.
 Not all important questions have been asked.
 Many answers to both scientific and philosophical questions remain elusive.

The World of Nursing Research
Philosophy Abstract
Science
Knowledge
Abstract
Thought Processes
Reality Testing
(Research)
Empirical World
(Nursing Practice)
Theory
Concrete

Research Nursing Knowledge
More reliable vs.
Other Kinds of Nursing Knowledge

Philosophy in Nursing Research
 Framework for identifying central concept
 Assumptions for theory development
 Relates nursing to practice world
 Information on how to learn about the world

Qualitative Research
Approaches

Assumptions
- interpretive worldview
multiple realities
- many sources of information
- knowing how social experience constructs reality is important

philosophical notions of scientific truth
research question

Research
Question
Methods of
Inquiry in
Nursing

Qualitative Research
Six Characteristics

1. Multiple Realities
The individual:
- active participates in social action
- comes to know and understand phenomena in very different ways

2. Multiple Ways of Understanding
Finding a method or approach to appropriately answer the question

3. Participant’s Point of View
To present the participant’s view of reality
- understand the context of what is researched

4. Context
Alter as little as possible

5. Researcher- Part of the Study
Researcher as instrument
-subjective bias

6. Reporting
Participant’s perspective
-rich, literary style
participant’s quotes, commentaries, and stories

Development of Nursing Science
Three perspectives
1. Positivist
2. Interpretive
3. Critical [Social Theory]

Positivist Perspective
Strict rules of logic, truth, axioms, and predictions

Interpretive Perspective
Reality is based on personal perceptions
What we know has meaning only within a given context

Critical Perspective
Human behavior consist of different groups attempting to enhance their interests at the expense of less powerful groups

Three Levels of Quantitative
Research
*
Construct axiom *Construct
[relationship between constructs]
*Concept proposition *Concept
[relationship between concepts]
Indicators hypotheses Indicators
*different authors reverse these; Gillis and Jackson (2002) reverse the order

Qualitative Research
Naming - discovering meanings in contexts
- process and meaning are described

Qualitative Research
Cyclical Process
Researcher moves back and forth between the data collection and analysis stages
-to identify and describe the participant’s perspective

QUESTIONS ASKED

Triangulation
Use of multiple methods to generate and collect data about one phenomenon

Triangulation
Within-Methods
Between-Methods

Within-Methods Triangulation
Example
-different types of qualitative data collections strategies

Between-Methods
Triangulation
Example
- both qualitative/quantitative data collection procedures

Unit of Analysis
The element or set of elements selected to study
-individual
-aggregrate [group, community]

LINK OF PRACTICE,
THEORY, AND
RESEARCH
Practice
Theory Research

NURSING RESEARCH
PRIORITIES
To Improve:
Nursing as a Profession
Nursing Practice
Patient Outcomes

Quantitative & Qualitative
Research Characteristics
Quantitative Research
– Hard Science
– Focus: Concise &
Narrow
– Reductionistic
– Objective
– Reasoning: Logistic,
Deductive
– Basis of Knowing:
Cause & Effect,
Relationships
Qualitative Research
- Soft Science
- Focus: Complex &
Broad
- Holistic
- Subjective
- Reasoning: Dialectic,
Inductive
- Basis of Knowing:
Meaning, Discovery

Quantitative
Research
– Tests Theory
– Control
– Instruments
– Basic Element of
Analysis: Numbers
– Statistical Analysis
– Generalization
Qualitative
Research
– Develop Theory
– Shared Interpretation
– Communication &
Observation
– Basic Element of
Analysis: Words
– Individual
Interpretation
– Uniqueness

RESEARCH-MINDEDNESS

Research-based Practice

Deterrents to Conducting
Research

Deterrents to Conducting
Research
 limited number of nurses prepared to conduct research
 nurse researchers may not be involved with or knowledgeable about nursing practice
 difficulty in asking the research question

Deterrents to Conducting
Research lack of congruency between research purposes and research methods insufficient time access to patients

Deterrents to Disseminating & Applying
Research
 Understanding by practicing nursing
 Faculty not involved in research
 Lack of scientific rationale/nursing textbooks
 Inadequate preparation

Promotion of Research &
Research-Based Practice

Increase number of B Sc..N, Master’s & doctoral prepared nurses
 Emphasize students learn to critique research for quality data
 Develop a climate that rewards research

Promotion of Research &
Research-Based Practice
 Strengthen collaboration of practice/research/education
 Research-based protocols
 Research interest groups
 Increase opportunities for publishing

FINANCING NURSING RESEARCH IN
CANADA

Federal Support for Research
3 categories: research grants, research fellowships, & auxiliary grants (indirect
$)
– 1971-McGill, first Center for Nursing research
– gradual increase in funding
– increase in doctoral programs/increase in research

FUNDING
 Canadian Institutes of Health Research
(CIHR) Medical Research Council, National
Health Research & Development Program
 Charitable organizations
 Canadian Nurses Fund
 Canadian Health Services Research
Foundation (CHSRF)
 Social Science & Humanities Research
Council of Canada (SSHRC)
 Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation

PRAXIS WITHIN NURSING theory, practice and research informing the others to produce powerful new forms of knowledge