Week 1 Chapter 1

What Is Research?
Research is Systematic inquiry using disciplined methods to generate new knowledge and/or solve problems
Systematic:
Investigators progress logically through a series of steps according to a specific plan

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/noel_bairey_merz_the_single_biggest_health_threat_women_face.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/13/health/seeking-clues-to-a-heart-killer-in-the-dnabinding-a-family.html?src=me&ref=general Women still are ignored in health care despite of dying from heart disease

What Is Research?

Nursing research Systematic inquiry to generate new knowledge and/or solve problems about issues of importance to the nursing professionExample?
Practice Education Administration Informatics

Asking Questions Formulation of Research Problem or Purpose Review of Relevant Literature Formulating Research Hypotheses Defining Research Variables Selecting a Research Design

Defining the Population & Sample

Selecting Methods of Measurement Data Collection Data Analysis Interpreting Research Outcomes Communicating Research Findings

Research Methods
Quantitative research
Formal, objective, systematic process in which numerical data are used to obtain information about the world. Example: studying the diet among obese children How much fruits and vegetables are eaten each day?

Qualitative research
Systematic, subjective approach used to describe life experiences and situations and to give them meaning. Example: self image of obese children How obese girls describe their images?

Key Terms Used in Quantitative and Qualitative Research

Data
Data are the pieces of information obtained in a study.
Quantitative data
Information in numeric form

Qualitative data
Narrative descriptions

What Is a Paradigm?
A world view; a general perspective on the complexities of the real world, with certain assumptions about reality Key paradigms for nursing research: Positivist paradigm Naturalistic paradigm Table 1.2

What is the Nature of Reality?

Positivist assumption: Reality exists; there is a real world driven by natural causes Naturalistic assumption: Reality is multiple and subjective, constructed by individuals

What is the Nature of Reality?

Positivist assumption: The inquirer is independent of those being studied Naturalistic assumption: The inquirer interacts with those being studied; findings reflect the interaction

What is the Nature of Reality?

Positivist assumption: Values are held in check; objectivity is sought Naturalistic assumption: Subjective values are inevitable, desirable

How Is Knowledge Obtained?

Positivist Fixed design Discrete, specific concepts Deductive processes Control over context Verification of hunches Quantitative information Seeks generalizations Naturalistic Flexible design Holistic Inductive processes Context-bound Emerging interpretations Qualitative information Seeks patterns

Historical Look at Nursing Research

1st nurse researcher: Florence Nightingale

Historical Look at Nursing Research

Changes in patient care based on Florence Nightingale findings from soldiers morbidity and mortality data:
41% reduction in mortality

Historic Landmarks in Nursing Research

Table 1.1-page 7 1859=Nightingles Notes on Nursing is published (First nursing research studies) 1900=American Nursing Journal begins publication 1952=The journal Nursing Research begins publication 1957=Establishment of nursing research center at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research 1965=American Nurses Association (ANA) begins sponsoring nursing research conferences 1993=Establishment of National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)

Historic Landmarks in Nursing Research

http://www.ninr.nih.gov/ 2000=NINRs annual funding exceeds $100 million 2004=The journal Worldviews on Evidence Based Nursing begins in publication 2005=Sigma Theta Tau International publishes research priorities

National Institute for Nursing Research (NINR)

10 Landmark studies National Institute of Nursing (NINR): Changing practice, changing lives: 10 landmark nursing research studies
Example-Dr. Linda Aiken

http://www.ninr.nih.gov/NR/rdonlyres/27F3FB10-FE62-4119-9FA91140B6950AFF/0/10LandmarkNursingResearchStudies508.pdf

Nursing Research Journals

Nursing Research Journals
American Journal of Nursing (1900) Nursing Research Research in Nursing and Health Western Journal of Nursing Research Applied Nursing Research Nursing Science Quarterly Clinical Nursing Research Image: Journal of Nursing Scholarship Biological Research for Nursing

Future Directions for Nursing Research

Heightened focus on evidence-based practice. Use of multiple confirmatory strategies (e.g., replication and multisite studies).

Greater stress on systematic reviews

More multidisciplinary collaboration Expanded dissemination of research findings
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YIAB1nOfro

Sources of Evidence for Nursing Practice

Tradition-example? Authority Clinical experience; trial and error; intuition Logical reasoning (inductive & deductive)
Inductive
Developing generalizations from specific observations

Deductive
?

Assembled information (e.g., quality improvement data)

Quantitative method
Incidence of MRSA in emergency room for 3 months

Disciplined research
Reliable!!!!!!!! Combination of methods (logical reasoning & other methods)

Purposes of Nursing Research

It depends on the type of your researchquantitative or qualitative: Table 1.3
Identification
Identifying a phenomena

Description
How often the phenomenon occur? What is important about the phenomena?

Exploration
What factors are related to the phenomena?

Purposes of Nursing Research

Explanation
What is the underlying cause of the phenomenon or the causal pathway through which the phenomenon unfolds? How did the phenomenon occur? Often linked to theories which represent a method of organizing and integrating ideas about the phenomena and their interrelationships

Prediction & Control

If the phenomenon X occurs, will phenomenon Y follow? No prediction & control in the qualitative research studies

Quiz
Quantitative researchers use inductive reasoning to generate evidence. A) True B) False

Quiz
Quantitative researchers use inductive reasoning to generate evidence. A) True B) False

We Made it!