week 1- nursing research

Question 1

What is research?

Answer 1

Systematic, rigorous and logical investigation with the aim of answering questions about nursing phenomena.

Question 2

What are phenomena?

Answer 2

Occurrences, situations or facts that are perceptible by the sense.

Question 3

What is health research?

Answer 3

Any research relevant to health and incorporates a diverse number of methodologies.

Question 4

What is health services research?

Answer 4

Studies how social factors, financing systems, organizational structures and processes, health technologies and personal behaviours affect access to healthcare, the quality and cost of healthcare, and our health and well-being.

Goal is to improve efficiency of healthcare system.

Question 5

What are examples of health research?

Answer 5

Can be used to describe differences between groups, explain the progression of a disease or to predict health outcomes/risks.

Question 6

What is the significance of research to practice?

Answer 6

Expands the discipline’s unique body of scientific knowledge, forms the foundation for evidence-informed nursing practice, allows practice to change with work environments and the most common health issues, and maintains the profession’s societal relevance.

Question 7

What was research in the 1800s influenced by?

Answer 7

Florence Nightingale, emphasizing systematic data collection and exploration, health promotion, and disease prevention. Nursing research and education was in its infancy.

Question 8

What was the state of nursing research in the 1900s?

Answer 8

Nursing research begins, primarily focused on nursing education, with the Weir report showing inconsistencies in nursing education. Universities and colleges took over nursing education.

Question 9

When was the first nursing university program established?

Answer 9

1918.

Question 10

When was the first nursing journal published?

Answer 10

1950, Nursing Research.

Question 11

When was the first university centre for nursing research established?

Answer 11

1970s, McGill.

Question 12

When was the first nursing PhD program established?

Answer 12

1991.

Question 13

What is the current state of nursing research?

Answer 13

Increased amount of nursing research available, increased doctoral programs in nursing, increased funding, more nurses working in professional roles, and nursing research influences policy, management and human resources.

Question 14

What are current research trends in nursing?

Answer 14

Emphasis on community care, reducing disparities in healthcare, health promotion and risk reduction, increased severity of illness, increased incidence of chronic illness, expanding older population, provider accountability, and use of technology.

Question 15

What is evidence-based nursing practice?

Answer 15

Using current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients.

Question 16

What is evidence-informed practice?

Answer 16

Builds on evidence-based nursing and is influenced by expert opinion, clinical expertise, patient preference and other resources.

Sources of evidence need to be critically appraised before their findings are incorporated into decision-making/practice.

Question 17

What are examples of expert opinion?

Answer 17

Consensus documents, commission reports, regulations and historical/experiential information.

Question 18

Why is evidence-based nursing important?

Answer 18

It constantly evolves, helps guide decision making, is important for care of at-risk communities, and is important for policy making.

Question 19

What is a research paradigm?

Answer 19

Reflects one’s beliefs about what constitutes knowledge and how it is to be generated, including motivation for research.

Question 20

What is ontology?

Answer 20

The study of being, existence and reality.

Question 21

What is epistemology?

Answer 21

The study of knowledge.

Question 22

What is methodology?

Answer 22

Principles, rules and procedures that guide the process through which knowledge is acquired.

Question 23

What is the difference between positivism and post-positivism?

Answer 23

Positivism aims for objectivity and impartiality, while post-positivism acknowledges that complete objectivity is impossible due to differing values and experiences.

Question 24

What is post-positivism?

Answer 24

A critique of positivism, recognizing the possibility for bias.
O: reality is fixed, there is an overarching “objective truth”
E: reality can only be approximated, knowledge is constructed through statistics and research (quant/mixed method)
M: scientific method (deductive reasoning, falsification), quant/qual

Question 25

What is constructivism?

Answer 25

Reality is subjective and dependent on perspective/context, so there are multiple interpretations of reality. Knowledge is also subjective. Methods include understanding how individuals interpret experiences (inductive reasoning) and natural observation.

Question 26

What is critical theory?

Answer 26

Reality is based on power and identity struggles. While reality is objective, the truth is continually contested by competing groups. Knowledge is co-constructed through individuals/groups and can be changed through research. Focus is on emancipatory research and representation of marginalized communities.

Question 27

What are the steps in the quantitative research process?

Answer 27

1. Research question 2. Literature review 3. Identify framework 4. Decide on study design 5. Select sample and measure concepts of interest 6. Analyze data and report findings.

Question 28

What are the steps in the qualitative research process?

Answer 28

1. Research question 2. Literature review 3. Select a group of people with experiences of the phenomena 4. Conduct interviews 5. Analyze data for recurring themes 6. Conduct further interviews until no new themes emerge 7. Summarize findings.

Question 29

What is deductive reasoning?

Answer 29

Starts with a general idea and moves to a specific conclusion, testing pre-existing hypotheses or theories.

Question 30

What is inductive reasoning?

Answer 30

Starts with details of an experience and moves to a general picture, used for generating new theories.

Question 31

What is a theoretical framework?

Answer 31

A conceptual model that establishes a sense of structure for research, providing background and demonstrating that the hypothesis is based on facts.

Question 32

What are the five components of nursing knowledge?

Answer 32

Metaparadigm, philosophy, conceptual model, theory, empirical indicator.

Question 33

What are the ways of knowing in nursing?

Answer 33

Empirical, aesthetic, ethical, personal, experiential/intuition, sociopolitical.