HNI/HNC 440
Research in Nursing
Marie Ann Marino, EdD, RN, PNP
Clinical Associate Professor
Course Overview
Course Outline
 Texts and Readings
 Course Requirements
 Late Submissions
 Attendance
 Group Formation
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The Role of Research in Nursing
How Do Nurses Know What
They Know?
Tradition
 Authority
 Clinical experience and intuition
 Logical reasoning
 Disciplined research
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What is Nursing Research?
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A systematic inquiry designed to develop
knowledge about issues important to the
nursing profession
Nursing Research: An Historical
Perspective
Nineteenth Century – After 1850
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Beginning of nursing as a formal
discipline
Concepts are congruent with current
priorities of nursing research
Believed systematic collection and
exploration of data were necessary
for nursing
Her research led to a variety of health
reforms during the Crimean War
Twentieth Century – Before 1950
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Focus was mainly on nursing education
Leaders: Lavinia Dock, Anne
Goodrich, Adelaide Nutting, Isabel
Hampton Robb and Lillian Wald
Gathered documentation to establish
nursing as a profession and reform
nursing education
Clinically-oriented research centered
mainly on morbidity and mortality rates
1920: First nursing research course
Twentieth Century – After 1950
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Groundwork is laid for nursing’s current
level of research skill
Expansion of nursing programs;
graduate programs including research
courses
Research priority: Practice-oriented
research
1986: National Center for Nursing
Formed (later became NINR)
Expansion of master’s and doctoral
programs
Future Directions
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Continued expansion of nursing
knowledge
Numerous opportunities to study
important research questions
Focus is on promoting health and
ameliorating the side effects of illness
and the consequences of treatment
Goal is to provide the foundation for
evidence-based practice
Expansion of doctoral programs
NINR: Research Themes
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Changing lifestyle behavior for better health
(starting healthy behaviors)
Managing the effects of chronic illness to improve
quality of life
Identifying effective strategies to reduce health
disparities
Harnessing advanced technologies to serve human
needs
Enhancing end-of-life experience for patients and
families
Purposes of Nursing Research
Basic research
 Applied research
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Methods for Nursing Research
Scientific Method and Quantitative
Research
 Naturalistic Method and Qualitative
Research
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Importance of Nursing Research
Evidence-Based Nursing Practice
 Credibility of the Nursing Profession
 Accountability for Nursing Practice
 Documentation of Cost-Effectiveness of
Nursing Care
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Research Utility
General consensus that the research role of
the baccalaureate graduate calls for the skill
of critical appraisal
 The nurse must be a knowledgeable
consumer of research
 Also, to be able to critique research and use
existing standards to determine the
readiness and merit of that research for use
in clinical practice
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Consuming Nursing Research:
Be Informed
Use critical thinking
 Understand the steps in the research process
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Evidence-Based Practice
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Integrates individual clinical expertise and
the best evidence to guide (mutual) decision
making and patient preference.
– Sackett, 2000
Steps to Develop Evidence-Based
Interventions
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First step: Be able to critically read the
literature
– Research articles
– Clinical articles
– Clinical guidelines
Research Article vs. Clinical Article
Research Article
 Follows the steps of the research process
 Not a “how to,” but answers a question with
all the components of research clearly
presented
Assess Strength of Evidence
Level I Meta-analysis or systematic
review of RCTs/experimental studies
 Level II RCTs or experimental studies
 Level III Quasi-experimental studies
 Level IV Nonexperimental studies
 Level V Case reports, program evaluation,
qualitative research
 Level VI Opinion of respected authorities
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Assessing Strength
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Quality: Extent to which a study’s design,
implementation, and analysis minimizes bias
Quantity: Number of studies that have evaluated
the research question, including sample size across
studies
Consistency: Degree to which studies have
similar and different designs yet the same research
question and similar findings
The Research Process: The Sum of
It’s Parts
Abstract
Short comprehensive synopsis or summary
of a study
 Located at the beginning of a study
 Quickly focuses the reader on the main
points of the study
 50 to 250 words
 Should accurately represent the study’s
methods and results
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Variable
A characteristic
or quality that takes on
different values, i.e., that varies from one
person to the next
– Blood type
– Weight
– Length of stay in hospital
Types of Variables
 Continuous
(age, height)
 Discrete (number of children)
 Categorical (blood type)
 Dichotomous (gender)
 Attribute
variable vs. Active variable
Types of Variables (cont’d)
Independent
variable—the presumed
cause (of a dependent variable)
Dependent variable—the presumed
effect (of an independent variable)
Example: Smoking (IV)  Lung cancer (DV)
Definitions of Concepts and
Variables
 Conceptual
definition
– the abstract or theoretical meaning of
a concept being studied
 Operational
definition
– the operations (measurements) a
researcher must perform to collect
the desired information
Identification of a Research
Purpose/Question
Research problem
An unexplained, perplexing, or troubling
condition
Problem statement
A statement describing the research
problem and indicating the need for a
study
Research Question/Hypotheses
Research questions
The specific questions the researcher
wants to answer in addressing the
research problem
Hypotheses
The researcher’s predictions about
relationships among variables
Research Design and Data
– Quantitative Studies—Researchers
identify variables of interest, develop
operational definitions, then collect
relevant data from subjects. The actual
values of the study variables constitute
data for the project
– Qualitative Studies—Researcher primarily
collects narrative data
Example of Quantitative Data
Example of Qualitative Data
Major Methodologic Challenge
Designing studies that are:
 Reliable and valid (quantitative
studies)
 Trustworthy (qualitative studies)
Criteria for Evaluating Quantitative
Research
Reliability
The accuracy & consistency of obtained
information
Validity
The soundness of the evidence—whether
findings are convincing, well-grounded
Dimensions of Trustworthiness
in Qualitative Studies
 Credibility
 Confirmability
 Dependability
Results
Analysis
 Discussion
 Recommendations/Implications
 Communication
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Generalizability and
Transferability
Generalizability (Quantitative
research): The extent to which study
findings are valid for other groups not in
the study
Transferability (Qualitative research):
The extent to which qualitative findings
can be transferred to other settings
Questions??