Nursing Research Sources and Topics

Clinical Experience as a Research Source

• Nursing clinical practice is a valuable source of research problems
• Many situations in practice may reveal areas needing investigation
• Difficulties or lack of solutions can motivate studies

Nursing Education and Administration

• Nurse educators can study student learning styles and abilities
• Effectiveness of teaching methods in classrooms and clinics can be evaluated
• Various evaluation methods can be studied

Nursing Literature

• Research topics and potential problems can be identified by reviewing nursing publications
• Reviewing nursing publications can generate ideas for research

Theories as a Research Source

• Theories provide ideas about events and situations needing investigation
• Theories establish a framework for research involving real-world problems

Social Issues as Research Topics

• Social and political issues in healthcare can inspire research questions
• Teen smoking habits are an example of a social issue that can motivate research study

Major Steps in the Research Process

1. Formulating and Delimiting the Problem

• Identifying a research problem is a crucial first step (often challenging)
• Example: a study on women treated for breast cancer

2. Problem Statement and Purpose

• Defining the study variables, population and expected answer is important
• Example: effects of different breast cancer treatments on patient body image

3. Conceptual/Theoretical Framework

• Develop a framework congruent with the research approach
• The framework guides the entire research project

4. Literature Review

• Understanding existing knowledge is critical for research
• A thorough review of existing literature builds a foundation for new knowledge
• Sometimes the literature review occurs before the problem definition

Explore various sources of research in nursing, including clinical experiences, educational methods, and literature. Understand how theories and social issues can inspire research questions and identify gaps in the field. This quiz covers essential approaches to generating valuable nursing research topics.