Unit 1: Ch. 1 Flashcards
Research
Systematic inquiry that uses disciplined methods to answer and solve problems
Building knowledge
What is the ultimate goal of formal research?
To gain knowledge that would be useful for many people
Nursing research
Systematic inquiry designed to develop trustworthy evidence about issues of importance to nurses and their clients
Clinical nursing research
Research designed to guide nursing practice
Typically begins with questions stemming from practice problems
Evidence Based Practice (EBP)
Use of the best evidence in making patient care decisions
Such evidence typically comes from research conducted by nurses and other health care professionals
What is the Magnet Recognition Program?
Developed by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to recognize health care organizations that provide high-quality nursing care
To achieve magnet status, practice environments must demonstrate a sustained commitment to EBP and nursing research
Who are consumers of nursing research?
Nurses who read research reports to keep up-to-date on findings that may affect their practice
Who are producers of nursing research?
Nurses who actively design and undertake studies
Most people would agree that research in nursing began with ____ ____ in the mid-19th century.
Florence Nightingale
What are future directions for nursing research?
- Continued focus on EBP
- Stronger evidence through confirmatory strategies (replicating studies with same results)
- Greater emphasis on systematic reviews
- Expanded local research in health care settings
- Expanded dissemination of research findings
- Increased focus on cultural issues and health disparities
Systematic review
Rigorously integrate research information on a topic so that the conclusions about the state of evidence can be reached
A cornerstone of EBP
There is growing concern that many nursing actions are based on tradition, custom, and “unit culture” rather than on ____ ____.
Sound evidence (research)
Basically nurses just do whatever their unit or supervisor does
-the nurses should look to research
Benchmark
Rates; how often something is being done
Quality improvement (QI)
Shows where the problems are
-does not show guide to fix problems
____ ____ is considered the best method of acquiring reliable knowledge that humans have developed.
Disciplined research
Paradigm
World view, a general perspective on the world’s complexities
Positivism
Reflection of a broader cultural movement (modernism) that emphasizes the rational and the scientific
Assumption
A principle that is believed to be true without verification
Determinism
Refers to the positivists’ belief that the phenomena are not haphazard, but rather have antecedent causes
Ex: If a person has a stroke, the scientist in a positivist tradition assumes there must have been 1 or more reasons that can be potentially identified
Positivist Paradigm
Reality exists, there is a real world driven by real natural causes
Researcher is independent from those being researched
Values and biases are to be held in check; objectivity is sought
Quantitative studies come out of the positivist paradigm
Constructivist Paradigm
Reality is multiple and subjective, mentally constructed by individuals
Researcher interacts with those being researched (findings are creation of the interactive process)
Subjectivity and values are inevitable and desirable
Best methods for obtaining evidence according to Positivist Paradigm
Deductive processes –> hypotheses testing
Emphasis on discrete, specific concepts
Focus on objective and quantifiable
Corroboration of researchers’ predictions
Fixed, pre-specified design
Controls over context
Measured, quantitative information
Statistical analysis, seeks generalizations
Best methods for obtaining evidence according to Constructivist Paradigm
Inductive processes –> hypotheses generation
Emphasis on the whole
Focus on subjective and non-quantifiable
Emerging insight grounded in participants’ experiences
Context-bound, contextualized
narrative information
Qualitative analysis; seeks in-depth understanding
Research Methods
Techniques researchers use to structure a study and to gather and analyze relevant information
Quantitative
Numeric information that results from some type of formal measurement and is analyzed statically
Allied with positivism; looks at little known info
Qualitative
Narrative and subjective materials
Associated with constructivist inquiry