Introduction to Nursing Research

1. Introduction to Nursing Research Dr Jascinth Lindo UWISON

2. Introduction • Course outline • Importance of reading • Library tutorial at UWISON • Tutorials in the skills lab • Assessment • Assignments see hand out

3. Course Assessments Course work 40% • Group Project presentation 20% • Individual - Literature Review 20% Final examination 60% • MCQ 40% • Proposal 20%

4. Research • “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)

5. “Research” • “Research” (noun) is collective • “Research” (verb) is “ do research” • “Research” (adjective) e.g. research project

6. 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 MPH1 : McCaw-Binns

7. Nursing research • “…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)

8. Importance of research in nursing • 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

9. Evidence based medicineWhat is this? • Converts information needs→answerable questions • Efficiently finds the best evidence to answer them • Clinical examination • Diagnostic laboratory • Published literature/other sources • Critically appraises the evidence for: • Validity (closeness to the truth) • Usefulness (clinical applicability) • Applies the results of this appraisal →clinical practice • Evaluates performance

10. Research activity • 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.

11. 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

12. Characteristics of Scientific Research • 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.

13. 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

14. Test theoretical model by simulation or experiment • Objectivity- Proven from trend in data/ supported by model • Generalizability- Scope of applicability • Parsimony- Simplicity in explaining the phenomena or problem

15. Types of research • 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.

16. Example of Basic Research continued They explored the use of a mechanical percussive technique. A 5- to 10-mL syringe was filled with 1 mLof 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.

17. Types of Research2. Applied research • 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.

18. Types of research • 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)

19. References • 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]