In this activity, you will learn about the steps that are needed to conduct research for a project in nursing education. You will discover your areas of interest to create a project of value to you. The process of defining a research question will be examined. The many considerations involved when working with volunteers are an important part of the research project. It’s time to begin the journey into the world of gathering, documenting, and evaluating data in an area that has meaning for you.
Once you complete this activity, you will be able to:
How important is research to nursing? The ability to plan and design a research project may lead to unanticipated opportunities to make your own unique contributions to the world of health care. Research opens doors for the nursing student to discover answers to important questions in health and medicine. Researching skills are needed in all areas of nursing.
In many instances of the nursing profession, you will be required to perform research for a variety of reasons. Nursing is at the forefront of improving the quality of care for patients directly resulting in better outcomes for those nurses provide care for. Nursing research has lead to the development of evidence-based protocols promoting better patient care.
Identifying the topic or issue of clinical importance is your first step. For example, you may want to identify how nursing care delivery or safety can be enhanced, resulting in improved clinical outcomes.
In many instances of the nursing profession, you will be required to perform research for a variety of reasons. Nursing is at the forefront of improving the quality of care for patients directly resulting in better outcomes for those nurses provide care for. Nursing research has lead to the development of evidence-based protocols promoting better patient care.
While determining your topic or issue, keep the following in mind:
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Locate a mentor who is willing to act in the role of supervisor for your project. The mentor should be a person who will assist in forming and developing your ideas. The mentor is an excellent resource for guidance when you have questions or encounter difficulties.
Read, read, and read some more. Reading multiple journal papers and scholastic books in your area of interest provides the foundation to move ahead. Internet searches and electronic journals are easily located. A thorough survey of existing literature on your topic will help you to describe the significance of the research. The gaps in knowledge are the places that excellent research questions exist. Your background work will enable you to explain how your project fits into the research already completed and how the results of your project will benefit the current body of knowledge.
Once the research problem is fully defined and the volunteer pool secured, the data collection begins. Considerations at this stage include data storage and retrieval and the analysis of data. Your systems may be as uncomplicated as organized card indexes and cross-referenced exercise books to complex electronic tools like spreadsheets, databases, bibliographic software and discipline-specific tools.
Keep in mind that you will encounter unexpected problems. The very nature of research is the unpredictability. Analyze the situation considering how the problem arose. Sometimes you may solve the issue by taking a few steps back and modifying your process as necessary. Supervisors will be great resources when solving unexpected problems. Remember that problems solved successfully are an important piece of information moving forward in the research and should be well documented.
Factor in enough time for report writing. The written report should be reviewed critically by your supervisor, edited and improved where needed.
References must be properly noted. Make sure to keep track of all references throughout the project. An exhaustive bibliography tells the reviewer that you are aware of and familiar with the research in your field. All references in nursing and health care must be peer reviewed.
There are a variety of data collection methods. Review each of the following methods to determine which methods may be best for you and your project.
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The record-keeping requirements vary depending on whether federal funding was provided for the project, whether there is funding from private industry with contractual provisions governing data retention, or whether the study was conducted under FDA regulations.
Original data must be retained for at least 5 years from the date of publication. Beyond that, where questions have been raised regarding the validity of the published data, investigators must preserve the original data until such questions have been resolved to the satisfaction of the organization and/or any involved government agencies. The director or chair of each department or research unit must decide whether to preserve original data for a given number of additional years or for the life of the unit.
For research involving children, the Organization requires that records must be retained (at a minimum) until the pediatric subject reaches the age of 23.
Under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, subjects have the right to ask for an accounting of certain disclosures of their identifiable health information for a period dating 6 years from the date of the last covered disclosure.
To ensure the researcher can meet this accounting requirement, investigators must retain study records, along with records of all disclosures of study information, for at least 7 years after either of the following (whichever is later):
This requirement to retain study records and to account for disclosures also applies to research that involves the secondary use of medical records or other identifiable health information.
Clinical record review is a process aimed at obtaining retrospective data to answer queries.
A variety of data sources can be utilized to collect information for a record review. These sources include:
Microsoft Excel is the foremost tool that was used for handling data by all industries before the advent of tools such as Tableau and Power BI. Even today, Excel is widely used for its powerful data analysis capabilities. One of the most important and widely used features of Excel is the Pivot table. You can select the entire data and insert a pivot table from the Insert menu in Excel.
Online tools for utilizing technology in your research: Simple group conference calls can be set up on a regular schedule for information sharing, feedback sessions, training, and teambuilding. Now, more than ever, it’s easy to connect and share online.
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The following are excellent options for remote collaboration with both co-workers and volunteers:
Now you should be able to:
This is the end of the activity.