Nursing research is a systematic inquiry that refines existing knowledge and develops new insights, crucial for evidence-based practice (EBP) by integrating research evidence, clinical expertise, and patient values. It encompasses both quantitative and qualitative research methods, each with distinct goals and characteristics, addressing various aspects of patient care and nursing interventions. Identifying feasible research problems and clear purposes ensures the relevance and applicability of generated knowledge to nursing practice, education, and administration.

1. Nursing Research
 The word research means “to search again” or “to
examine carefully
 Research is a diligent, systematic inquiry or study that
validates and refines existing knowledge and develops
new knowledge

2. Cont…..
 Practicing nurses should know,
 How to read research reports
 Identify effective intervention for practice
 Nursing Research generates
 Evidence-based guidelines, standards, protocols, and
policies
 knowledge about nursing education, nursing
administration, health care services and nursing roles

3. Ways of Acquiring
Knowledge in Nursing
 Traditions
 Authority
 Borrowing
 Trial and error
 Personal experience
 Role modeling
 Intuition
 Reasoning

4. Research important in
generating an EBP for Nurses
 Essential for development of empirical knowledge that
enables nurses to provide EB nursing care
 EBP is the conscientious integration of best research
evidence with clinical expertise, patient’s values,
needs, in the delivery of high quality, cost effective
care

5. Types
 Qualitative, quantitative and outcome research are
essential to generate research evidences
1. Promoting an understanding of patients and
families experiences with health and illness (a
common focus of qualitative research)
2. Implementing effective nursing interventions to
promote patients health (a common focus of
quantitative research)
3. Providing high quality, cost effective care within
health care system (a common focus of outcome
research)

6. Quantitative research
 Quantitative research is a formal, objective, systematic process in which
numerical data are used to obtain information about the world.
(Burns and Grove,1997)

7. Quantitative
Types/Approaches
 Descriptive
 Co- rrelational
 Quasi-experimental
 Experiemtal

8. Qualitative research
 Qualitative research is a systematic, subjective, approach to describe life
experiences and give meaning to them.
(Munhall Oiler,1993)

9. Qualitative Types/Approaches
 Phenomenological approach
 Grounded theory approach
 Ethnographic approach
 Historical approach

10. Quantitative and qualitative research
characteristics
S.
#
Quantitative Research Qualitative Research
1. Hard science Soft Science
2. Focus: Concise and
Narrow
Focus: Complex and Broad
3. Reductionistic Holistic
4. Objective Subjective
5. Reasoning
Logistic
Deductive
Reasoning:
Dialectic,
Inductive
6. Basis of knowing: cause
and effects, relationships
Basis of knowing: meaning
discovery

11. Quantitative and qualitative research
characteristics
Quantitative Research Qualitative Research
Tests theory Develops theory
Control Shared interpretation
Basic elements of
analysis: numbers
Basic elements of analysis:
words
Statistical analysis Individual interpretation.
Generalization Uniqueness

12. Outcome Research
 A new paradigm of research
 Focuses on the end-result of patient care
 An evaluation of treatment out comes
 It has multidisciplinary perspectives
 The concepts are derived from the evaluative methods,
epidemiology and economics
(Hinshaw, 1992)

14. Quantitative research
Quantitative research is a formal, objective, systematic
process in which numerical data are used to obtain
information about the world.
(Burns
and Grove,1997)

15. Steps of Quantitative Research Process
1. Research problems and purpose
2. Literature Review
3. Study Framework
4. Research objective, question and hypothesis
5. Study variables
6. Assumptions
7. Limitations
8. Research design
9. Population and samples
10. Methods of measurement
11. Data collection
12. Data analysis
13. Research outcome

16.  Research problems and
purpose
 Literature Review
 Study Framework
 Research objective,
question and hypothesis
 Study variables
 Research design
 Population and samples
 Data collection
 Data analysis
 Research outcome

17. Research Problem
 A situation in need of a solution or improvement;
 A discrepancy between the way things are and
the way they ought to be

18. Research problem
“An area of concern in which there is a gap in knowledge
base needed for nursing practice. Research is conducted to
generate essential knowledge to address the practice
concern, with the ultimate goal of providing evidence-
based practice”

19. Research problem
 Identifies an area of concern for a particular population
that require investigation
 Indicates the significance of problem
 Provide a background for the problem
 Outlines the need for additional study in a problem
statement
 Not all published studies includes a clearly expressed
problems
 Can be identified in the first or second paragraph of the
article
 Provides a base to studies

20. Developing and refining a research
problems
 Define a specific problem area
 Reviewed the relevant scientific literature
 Examined the problem’s potential significance to
nursing
 Pragmatically examined the feasibility of studying the
research problem

21. Examples
Declarative problem statement:
Clinical accuracy of chemical dot thermometer has not
been well documented (interrogative statement)
What is the fact of patient and family care giver concern
on reporting pain and using analgesics in hospitals patient
contact

22. Significance
It should meet the following criteria :
Patient nurses, the medical community in general and society will
potentially benefit from the knowledge derived from the study
Result will be applicable for nursing practice, education or
administration
The result will be theoretically relevant
The finding will lend spot to untested theoretical assumptions,
extend or challenge on existing theory or clarify a conflict in the
literature.
The finding will potentially formulate or alter nursing practices or
policies

23. Feasibility
1. Time
2. Availability of subjects
3. Facilities
4. Equipment
5. Money
6. Experience of researcher
7. Ethical consideration

24. Final problem statement
May be written or declarative or in interrogative form
A good problem statement exhibit the following three
characteristics:
1.It clearly identifies the variables under consideration
2.It specifies population studied
3.It implies the possibility of empirical testing

25. Examples of Problem
statements
Experimental:
what is the difference in the incidence of contractures in
comatose patients in relation to frequency of repositioning ?
Non- Experimental:
Is there a relationship between a physical symptoms of
pregnancy and maternal fetal attachment in prim gravidas?

26. Purpose
“ Research purpose is, concise, clear statement of specific
goal or aim of the study. The purpose is generated from
problem”

27. Research Purpose
A concise, clear statement of the specific aim or
goal of the study
The research purpose usually reflects the type of
study (descriptive, correlational, quasi-
experimental, experimental, phenomenological,
grounded theory, ethnographical & Historical)

28. Examples
 The purpose of this study was to measure sleep patterns in
a sample of women during recovery from CABG surgery
 The current study was conducted to investigate the
effectiveness of retention control training (RCT) in
increasing bladder capacity
The objective of present study was Use Verbs Like
 To Test
 To Compare
 To Examine
Eg: To Examine the effectiveness of Guided health Imagery
for immediate smoking cessation

30. Characteristics of Purpose
Generated from problem
Identifies specific goals or aim of study
The goal of the study might be:-
 To identify
 To describe
 To Explain a situation
 To predict a solution to situation
 To control a situation to produce positive
outcomes in practice

31. Characteristics of Purpose
 Capture the essence of study in a single sentence
 Essential for directing the remaining steps of research
process
 Often presented after the problem or literature review
 Frequently reflected in the title of study
 Ist line of study Abstract
 The purpose was clearly stated and indicated the type
of study conducted
 Included the study variables and population

32. Determining the significance
You need to determine whether the knowledge generated
in the study:
 Influences nursing practice
 Builds on previous research
 Promotes theory testing/developing
 Addresses current concerns/priorities in nursing

33. Examining the feasibility
1. Researcher Expertise
2. Money commitment
3. Availability of subjects, Facilities and
Equipment
4. Ethical consideration

34. Researcher Expertise
 Identify the Education of researcher and their
Current position, which indicate their expertise
to conduct a study
 Examine the reference list to determine if the
researchers have conducted additional studies in
this area

35. Money commitment
 The problem and purpose studied are influenced
by the amount of money available to the
researcher
 The cost of the research project range from Few
Dollars ( student level/simple) to hundreds of
thousands of dollars (Complex projects)
 In critiquing a study, one of the points that are
analyzed is whether the researcher’s financial
resources were adequate to complete a quality
study.
 Sources of funding usually identified in the article

36. Availability of subjects, Facilities
and Equipment
 Researchers need to have adequate sample
size, facilities and equipment to implement
their study
 Sample size and settings indicated in the
“Methods” section of the study

37. Ethical consideration
 The purpose selected for investigation must be
ethical, which means that the subjects' rights
and rights of others in the setting are protected
 An ethical study must confers more benefits then
the risks in its conduct and will generate useful
knowledge for practice