400755 Evidence Based Nursing 1

The Research Process

Prepared by: Barbara Beale 2008

Revised by: Dr Kath Peters 2009

Objectives
● By the end of this session & with additional
reading you will be able to;
– identify the steps of the research process
– differentiate between qualitative & quantitative
research
– identify types of research questions
– identify the components of a research
question
– define the different types of variables
– identify the different types of hypothesis

Research Process
● Problem identification
● Literature review
● Formulation of research questions /
hypotheses
● Designing study
● Data collection
● Data analysis
● Reporting / dissemination

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 Identifying Research Problems

● Personal Experience
● Research Literature
● Professional Trends
● Identified Research Priorities

Selection of Research Problems

● Personal Experience
● Nature of the Problem
– Within scope of nursing
– Feasibility
– Legitimacy
– Researcher bias
● Ethical Standards
● Resources
– Participants
– Financial
– Physical

Qualitative versus Quantitative

Quantitative Qualitative
Hard science Soft Science
Concise & narrow focus Complex & broad focus
Objective Subjective
Cause & effect relationships Meaning & discovery
Instruments Communication / observation
Numbers Words
Statistical analysis Individual interpretation
Generalisation Uniqueness

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 Problem to Question
● Identify general topic
● Talk to others / review literature
● Identify specific areas of interest
● Identify areas that are unresolved in literature
and clinically / professionally relevant

Types of Questions
● Descriptive
– Exploratory questions
– Investigate new groups or supply ‘missing’
data
– ‘What ?’ or “Who ?
Eg moving from ‘the degree of stress that patients have
before surgery and how many patients experience it’ to
‘what factors are related to a patient’s stress level?’
Is it to do with something nurses do, does the
experience of stress change the patient’s behaviour?

Types of Questions
● Relational
– Investigates relationships between two or
more variables.
– Considers the direction of the relationship
between variables.
– ‘What is the relationship ?’

What is the relationship between the date of

publication and the topic of nursing articles
published in Australia ?

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 Types of Questions
● Explanatory / Predictive
– Explore cause & effect
– ‘Why ?’

Why do people undergoing

chemotherapy experience nausea ?

Question Development
● Age has an effect on convalescence
What is the relationship between advancing age
and convalescence ?

● Black women have smaller babies than white

women.

What is the relationship between ethnicity and birth

weight ?

Hypothesis
● Translates the research question into a
prediction of expected outcome.
● Based on previous research, theory &/or
conceptual frameworks.
● Consists of independent & dependent
variables.
● Each hypothesis tests only one relationship,
although a study may have more than one
hypothesis.

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 Types of Hypothesis
Directional Hypothesis
– The researcher predicts the direction that the
findings will take.
– Examples;
Nurse practitioners have more job satisfaction
than registered nurses.

First born twins have more estrogen in their

umbilical cord blood than second born twins.

Types of Hypothesis
Non-Directional Hypothesis
– The Researcher predicts that a relationship
exists but does not specify its direction.
– Examples;
A persons age is related to their ability to
access health care.

Gender is related to sexual habits in teenagers.

Types of Hypothesis
Null Hypothesis
– The Researcher does not predict a
relationship between the variables
– Examples;
There is no relationship between participation in
prenatal classes and the health of newborn babies.

Media exposure of smoking is unrelated to

smoking habits.

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 Hypothesis Examples
● Increased noise levels increase anxiety in
the elderly nursing home resident.

● There is no relationship between caffeine

intake and premature labor.

● There is a correlation between the

incidence of medication errors and years
experience of registered nurses.

Variables

“Variables are qualities, properties or

characteristics of persons, things, or situations
that change or vary in a study”
(Burns & Grove, 2009, p.176-177).

Eg. Age, weight, gender, temperature, blood

pressure

Types of Variables
● Independent Variable
The variable considered to influence or
cause the outcome or effect. This variable
is manipulated by the researcher.
● Dependent Variable
This is the effect or outcome that has been
affected by the independent variable. It is
not affected by the researcher.

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 Types of Variables
● Do visits by family members affect a patients
intracranial pressure (ICP)?

Independent – Family visits

Dependent – ICP

● How does discharge planning impact on for

elderly patients quality of life post-discharge?

Independent – Discharge planning

Dependent – Quality of life

Types of Variables
● What are the effects of two infant feeding
formulas on premature infant weight gain ?

● To what extent is the incidence of lung cancer

predicted by smoking behaviour ?

● What is the relationship between different

wound dressings and wound healing?

Types of Variables
● Extraneous Variable
Variables that are not part of the study design
but which might have an effect upon the
dependant variable.
Examples; medical co-morbidities, age,
demographics (socio-economic situation,
education level), environmental factors.

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 References
Borbasi, S., Jackson, D. & Langford, R. (2008). Navigating the maze of
nursing research: An interactive learning adventure (2nd ed.).
Marrickville: Mosby.
Burns, N. & Grove, S.K. (2009). The practice of nursing research: Appraisal,
synthesis and generation of evidence (6th ed.). St Louis: Saunders.
Dempsey, P. A., & Dempsey, A. D. (2000). Using nursing research: process,
critical evaluation and utilization. Philadelphia: Lippincott.
Polit, D.F., & Beck, C. T. (2006). Essentials of nursing research: Method,
appraisal and utilisation (6th ed.). Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams &
Wilkins
Schneider, Z., Whitehead, D., Elliott, D., LoBiondo-Wood, G. & Haber, J.
(2003). Nursing and midwifery research: Methods and appraisal for
evidence-based practice (3rd ed.). Marrickville: Elsevier.
Walsh, K. & Kowanko, I. (2002). Nurses’ and patients’ perceptions of dignity.
International Journal of Nursing Practice, 8, 143-151.