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Read
about the job
of a nurse
researcher. Overview of Chapter 1:
Exploring Nursing Research The purpose of this
introductory chapter is to establish a foundation
for understanding the role of disciplined research
in the nursing profession. The chapter provides a
brief history of nursing research and discusses the
types of problems that nurse researchers have
attempted to solve. A fundamental goal of the
chapter is to show that research methods have
relevance to the practice of nursing. The authors
hope that you will come to appreciate that nursing
research is not just for academics; it is for
everyone who wants to solve problems or answer
questions in a systematic way. It is also for
practicing nurses who must evaluate whether study
results should be used as a basis for clinical
practice. Chapter One discusses the many
research-related roles that nurses might adopt
along the consumer-producer continuum. The chapter also presents an
overview of the two paradigms (positivist and
naturalistic) within which nursing studies are
being conducted. It provides a basis for
understanding the fundamental philosophical
differences between the two paradigms and links the
paradigms to methodologic strategies for acquiring
knowledge. Throughout the textbook, distinctions
between qualitative and quantitative research are
noted. It is important for you to grasp the
paradigmatic underpinnings of these different
approaches. The textbook adopts the view that both
quantitative and qualitative research have
important roles to play in nursing. However, both
approaches have limitations, and these should also
be understood by students. Study
Chapter 1 in the
text, pages 3-28. Use the forum
for Questions for Instructor on Part 1 in
WebCT for Nurs
400A
or Nurs
400B
to post questions about things you don't understand
in Chapter 1. Your
instructor will respond. Of course, this becomes an
even better learning experience if people in the
course answer each other's questions. |