Definition
Nursing research is the systematic investigation of clinical practices, patient care, and healthcare outcomes to generate evidence that informs and improves nursing practice. It encompasses both quantitative and qualitative methods and spans clinical, educational, administrative, and policy domains.
Need and purposes of nursing research
Nurses engage in research for a number of reasons As professionals, nurses seek to establish a scientific base of knowledge for nursing. Additionally, the systematic accrual of nursing information enables nurses to better define the parameters of nursing, document the unique contribution nursing makes to health care, determine the effectiveness of nursing actions, develop theoretical frame- works for clinical practices and enhance more informed clinical decision-making.
There is growing consensus that knowledge of nursing research is needed to enhance the professional practices of all nurses Research is a fundamental essential prerequisite for any profession. The specific purpose of nursing research includes identification, description, exploration, explanation, prediction and control of facts.
Therefore, nursing research enables nurses in the following ways:
- Develop, refine and extend the scientific base of
- knowledge, which is required for quality nursing care, education and administration
- Enhance the body of professional knowledge in nursing.
- Provide foundation for EBN practices
- Help in expansion of knowledge, which is essential for
- continued growth of nursing profession
- Enhance their professional identity, as research is an
- essential component of any profession
- Define the parameters of nursing, which will help
- nurses to identify boundaries of nursing profession.
- Refine and eliminate old knowledge so that it helps in
- elimination of nursing actions that have no effect on
- the achievement of desired care outcomes
- Identify nursing care practices that make a difference in
- health care status of individuals and are cost-effective.
- Enhance the accuracy of different nursing educational
- and administrative techniques.
- Develop and refine nursing theories and principles
- Solve the problems or answer the questions related
- to nursing practices, nursing education and nursing administration.
Types of Nursing Research
- Quantitative Research:
Uses numerical data and statistical analysis (e.g., randomized controlled trials, cohort studies) - Qualitative Research:
Explores experiences, perceptions, and behaviors through interviews, focus groups, and thematic analysis - Mixed-Methods Research:
Combines both approaches to provide a comprehensive understanding of complex issues
Importance and significance of nursing research
Research must be an integral part of nursing. It provides the power to nurses to be professional and develop, define and refine nursing knowledge for providing effective patient care, nursing education and administration.
Nursing research promotes evidence-based practice (EBP), ensures credibility of nursing profession, provides accountability for nursing practices and enables availability of cost-effective care. There are several arguments that state the importance and significance of nursing research.
Some of the facts that prove the importance or significance of nursing research are as follows:
- The development and utilization of nursing knowledge is essential for continued development in patient care; nurses can develop or refine this knowledge by the help of nursing research.
- Nurses are increasingly expected to adopt a research-based practice or EBP, using research findings to guide their decisions, actions and interactions with patients, patients’ family and community. Research is the only way that can provide nurses first-hand experiences on which they can build their EBN practices.
- With a fast-developing world, nurses are realizing the need to base specific nursing actions and decisions on evidence indicating that the actions are clinically appropriate, cost-effective and result in positive patient outcome. This can be achieved through research conducted in the nursing discipline.
- Another major reason for which nurses must get involved in research is rapid advancement in medical science and technology; to keep pace with this advancement, nurses must conduct research to learn about efficacy of particular technology in reference to positive patient outcome.
- Nursing research is essential for nurses to understand the varied dimensions of their profession.
- Research enables nurses to study characteristics of particular nursing situation about which little is known, explain the phenomena that must be considered in planning nursing care, predict the probable outcome and initiate activities to promote desired patient behaviour.
- Nurses need to get involved in research because the cost of care is increasing day by day. Therefore, they must find solution for cost-effective care through research.
- Research also helps nurses to eliminate nursing actions that do not achieve desired care outcome for patients. Furthermore, nursing research findings may help nurses to identify the practices that improve health care outcome of patients and remain cost-effective.
REFERENCES
- Al Maqbali, M. (2024). Introduction to Nursing Research. In: Essential Research for Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing Care. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-78298-5_1
- Suresh Sharma, Nursing Research & Statistics, 4th Edition – December 27, 2022, Elsevier India Pulblishers, ISBN: 9788131264478
- Pearson, nursing Research and Statistics, Nursing Research Society of India, 2013 Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt. Ltd, ISBN 9788131775707
- Danela Cosejo, RNSpeak, Nursing Research Definition: The Importance and Nurses Roles, Updated : July 20, 2024, https://rnspeak.com/nursing-research-definition/
- Barría P RM. Use of Research in the Nursing Practice: from Statistical Significance to Clinical Significance. Invest Educ Enferm. 2023 Nov;41(3):e12. doi: 10.17533/udea.iee.v41n3e12. PMID: 38589312; PMCID: PMC10990586.
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