Nurses' Views on Using Research in Practice - Essay Example

"Nurses' Views on Using Research in Practice"  is an outstanding example of a paper on care. The role of research in nursing cannot be overlooked. Research remains a critical process that researchers use to derive new insight and knowledge that improve existing processes and tools in place. In nursing, a well-developed research process is of fundamental importance in the discovery of new knowledge (Krill, Raven & Staffileno, 2012). Most important, it is through the process of nursing research where researchers realize a new understanding of the phenomenon of interest, which gives rise to new evidence for practice. Despite the critical value of research, not all research work exhibit conformity to excellent research principle. However, each research may have a share of weaknesses and strengths with regard to quality objectives, questions, and hypotheses. This paper evaluates these facets of research with a focus on Heaslip, Hewitt-Taylor and Rowe’s Reflecting on nurses’ views on using research in practice they published in the British Journal of Nursing.

Critique of objectives

            The objectives of a study set the direction the researchers will explore during the research not to mention highlighting the phenomenon of interest. In any research, the researcher has to state their objective(s) explicitly and give no room for ambiguity (Farrugia, et al., 2010). In their study, Heaslip, Hewitte-Taylor, and Rowe (2012) outline their intention to compare the knowledge nurses and practice with respect to using research in their work. This is an example of a research objective because it underscores the concepts of interest. In this case, the researchers are interested in determining variation between nurse’s knowledge and practice in relation to applying research. In addition, Heaslip, Hewitte-Taylor, and Rowe (2012) highlight that their research will target nurses in Finland and the UK. This information is vital as it delimitates the study to specific areas of interest.  Evidently, the journal articles describe an excellent research objective that gives the researcher direction and focus on how to achieve their goal.

Critique of questions

            There is no doubt that a research process hinges on a topic of interest, but a deep understanding of the topic gives rise to research questions. In any research, research questions offer researchers an opportunity to investigate a concept and possibly gain a novel understanding of the subject matter (Farrugia et al., 2010). In the journal article, the researchers have identified several research questions. Among the question is What are the views of nursing staff on research? and What are the views  of nursing staff  on using research? These research questions demonstrate that the researchers have a robust understanding of the topic of interest. In addition, they bind to the topic because they expose areas where the researchers have interest in gaining new insight. The researchers have an interest in comparing “nurses’ knowledge and practice  in relation  to using research in the  UK  and  Finland” (Heaslip, Hewitte-Taylor & Rowe, 2012, p. 1341). With relation to the aim of the paper, the questions build on the primary questions and complement the question rather than compromising its effectiveness. Most important, the research questions reflect a systematic review of previous works on the topics because it bridges the gap of knowledge in existing studies.   

 Critique of hypotheses

            There is a strong relationship between the research question and hypotheses. Exemplary research should have some hypotheses that connect to the research questions guiding the study. In the journal article, the researchers fail to state their research hypotheses. However, they seem to build on previous research that hypothesized that many nurses do not use research to inform their practice (Heaslip, Hewitte-Taylor & Rowe, 2012). Nonetheless, in ideal research, the hypothesis should point at research variables and how testing will take place in the study. This forms an essential part of the research design that offers nurses the opportunity to glean from new research findings in their areas of interest.

Read More