Graduate: Nursing Research
Nursing Research is evidence supported research that supports nursing practice furthermore helps nurses advance in their field by providing up to date information on patient care. This page is dedicated to provide information and resources on significant research methods and topics for emerging and practicing nurses.
Evidence Based Practice
Evidence-based practice (EBP) is the process of collecting, processing, and implementing research findings to improve clinical practice, the work environment, or patient outcomes. According to the American Nurses Association (ANA), nursing interventions should be practical, methodical decisions based on EBP research studies (Clinton, Jordan, & Davis, 2014).
Literature Review vs. Systemic Review
Literature Reviews and Systematic Reviews are very similar and often student researchers tend to confuse the two. Both are used to provide a summary of literature on a specific topic however both reviews have distinct differences. Below is a chart outlining differences to assist students in identifying literature reviews and systematic reviews.
| Literature Review | Systematic Review | |
| Provide summary or overview of topic. | Answers a focused clinical question Eliminate bias. |
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| Can be a general topic or a specific question. |
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Has: Introduction, Methods, Discussion, Conclusion, Reference list. |
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| One or more authors. | Three or more authors. | |
| Weeks to months. | Months to years. Average eighteen months. | |
| Understanding of topic. Perform searches of one or more databases. | Thorough knowledge of topic. Perform searches of all relevant databases. Statistical analysis resources (for meta-analysis). |
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| Provides summary of literature on the topic. |
Connects practicing clinicians to high quality evidence. Supports evidence-based practice. |
What's in a name? The difference between a Systematic Review and a Literature Review, and why it matters by Lynn Kysh, MLIS, University of Southern California - Norris Medical Library
Nursing: Inferential Statistics
Inferential Statistics use research, observations, and data about a sample to draw conclusions about a population.
Table of Evidence Resources
- Critical Appraisal of the Evidence: Part IAn introduction to gathering, evaluating, and recording the evidence.
PICOT Resources
Random Control Trials (RCTs)
Randomized controlled trial: (RCT) A study in which people are allocated at random (by chance alone) to receive one of several clinical interventions. One of these interventions is the standard of comparison or control. The control may be a standard practice, a placebo ("sugar pill"), or no intervention at all (Shiel,2018).
Research Design
Research Design is the framework used for the planning, implementation, and analysis of a study.Overall, it is the method used to answer a research question or hypothesis.
Biostatistics Resources
Dependent & Independent Variables
Quantitative vs. Qualitative
Deals with data that is numerical or that can be converted into numbers. The basic methods used to investigate numerical data are called ‘statistics’. Statistical techniques are concerned with the organisation, analysis, interpretation and presentation of numerical data (Sheard, 2018).
Qualitative research is an approach to research that is primarily concerned with studying the nature, quality, and meaning of human experience. It asks questions about how people make sense of their experiences, how people talk about what has happened to them and others, and how people experience, manage, and negotiate situations they find themselves in (Credo Reference).
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