1
Dr Jascinth Lindo
INTRODUCTION
UWISON
TO NURSING
RESEARCH
Introduction

Course outline

Importance of reading
Library tutorial at UWISON
 Tutorials in the skills lab


Assessment
 Assignments
see hand out
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Course Assessments
Course work 40%
 Group
Project presentation 20%
 Individual - Literature Review 20%
Final examination 60%
 MCQ 40%
 Proposal 20%
Research
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
“an attempt to increase the sum of what is
known…by the discovery of new facts or
relationships through a process of systematic
scientific enquiry, the research process”
(MacLeod Clark & Hockey, 1989 cited in Cormack,1996)

the systematic collection and interpretation of data
to answer a certain question or solve a problem
(Bhunu, 1999)
“Research”
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
“Research” (noun) is collective

“Research” (verb) is “ do research”

“Research” (adjective) e.g. research project
Why research skills?


The best care for the public requires an ability to
use information to solve clinical and public health
problems
Health professionals should be able to address
health dilemmas through:
 Careful
definition of the problem
 Efficient review of the literature
 Brief and efficient screening of articles to find the
most relevant and valid information
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MPH1 : McCaw-Binns
Nursing research
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
“…research into those aspects of professional activity which
are…the concern and responsibility of nurses.”
(Cormack, 1999)

systematic inquiry designed to develop knowledge about issues
of importance to nurses, including nursing practice, nursing
education and nursing administration
(Polit & Beck 2006)

systematic inquiry that uses disciplined methods to answer
questions and solve problems
(Polit & Beck 2010)
Importance of research in nursing
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1.
2.
3.
4.
Adoption of evidence based practice
Increased professional accountability
Improve health care outcomes and contain costs
Improved problem solving enhancing the
probability of obtaining desired outcomes
Evidence based medicine
What is this?


Converts information needs→ answerable questions
Efficiently finds the best evidence to answer them
◦
◦
◦

Critically appraises the evidence for:
◦
◦


Clinical examination
Diagnostic laboratory
Published literature/other sources
Validity (closeness to the truth)
Usefulness (clinical applicability)
Applies the results of this appraisal → clinical practice
Evaluates performance
Research activity
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

Requires knowledge of the scientific method
The research process consists of a series of steps,
subject to scientific rules.

All nurses must develop an awareness of research
and recognize its relevance to nursing.

Communication of research is as important as the
research itself.
Scientific Research


How is it different from non-scientific research?
Focuses on solving problems and pursues a step-by-step
logical, organized, and rigorous method to
identify the problems
 collect data
 analyze and
 draw valid conclusions

Non-scientific research based on hunches, experience
and intuition
Characteristics of Scientific Research


1.
2.
Aim
The purpose of scientific research is clear e.g. :
To determine attitudes towards research and to
improve the experience of graduate students
pursuing a research methods course at a nursing
school in Jamaica.
To describe the accuracy of nursing documentation in
hospital nursing records.
Characteristics of Scientific Research

Rigor

Testability

must be measurable / Test theoretical model by simulation or
experiment

Replicability- The same relationship stands repeatedly
under the same design parameters

Precision - refers to closeness of the findings to reality

Confidence- refers to the probability that our estimations
are correct
Test theoretical model by simulation or
experiment

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ObjectivityProven from trend in data/
supported by model
Generalizability - Scope of applicability
ParsimonySimplicity in explaining the
phenomena or problem
Types of research
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1.
Basic research (pure research): generates new
knowledge to test theories & generate new theories
Example
 Nurses must intervene when peripherally inserted
central catheters (PICCs) become occluded. Fetzer
and Manning (2004) maintained that
pharmacological interventions are costly and involve
risks.
Example of Basic Research continued
They explored the use of a mechanical percussive
technique. A 5- to 10-mL syringe was filled with 1 mL
of normal saline and then attached to the hub of the
occluded catheter.
The plunger was pulled back and released at 2-second
intervals until patency was restored. When the
plunger was released, a “pop” sound was heard,
thus, the technique was named POP.
Thirty PICC catheters were clotted with human blood
and incubated for 8 hours in a 35°F saline bath.
Using the POP technique, patency was restored in
86% of the occluded catheters.
Types of Research
2. Applied research

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Is concerned with using knowledge to solve immediate
problems.
Applied research is directed toward generating
knowledge that can be used in the near future.
It is often conducted to seek solutions to existing
problems
Many studies contain elements of both basic and
applied research because theory is being tested that
will have immediate implications for nursing.
Types of research
3.
Action Research is a systematic inquiry conducted by
teacher researchers to gather information about the
teaching/learning process
(Mill and Ogilvie, 2003).
It involves deliberate actions to improve a specific aspect
of teaching practice and focuses on how teachers
transform teaching to have a positive impact upon
student learning
(Ferrance, 2000)
References
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Polit, D. F, & Beck, C. T. (2010). Essentials of nursing research: Methods, appraisal, and utilization.
Philadelphia: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.
Ferrance, E., 2000. Action Research. Northeast and Islands Regional Educational, Laboratory at
Brown University.
http://www.lab.brown.edu/pubs/themes_ed/act_research.pdf
(Retrieved, August 30, 2011).

Lindo JLM, Holder-Nevins D, Dover Roberts D, Dawkins P, Bennett J. (2013) Shaping the research
experiences of graduate students using action research at a school of nursing in Jamaica, Nursing
Education Today Feb 7. doi:pii: S0260-6917(13)00005-1. 10.1016/j.nedt.2013.01.004. [Epub
ahead of print]