Research Guides: NURS 7002 Advanced Nursing Research: Research in Health Sciences

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Research in Health Sciences

Identifying Primary Articles and Research Methods

Since "empirical" research is a good proxy for primary research articles, the Empirical Research guide is a good introduction to how to identify and find them. Just make sure your empirical article describes a method of collecting new data in the Methods section and is not reusing existing data sets.

For overviews and definitions of major concepts in research methods, use the SAGE Research Methods Video database.

Empirical Research: Defining, Identifying, & Finding
by Carl Hess Last Updated Sep 1, 2022 2513 views this year

SAGE Research Methods Video This link opens in a new window
Video introductions to basic research methods and related concepts.

Difference Between Qualitative and Quantitative Research

Step-by-step guide to critiquing research Part 1: Quantitative Research
When caring for patients, it is essential that nurses are using the current best practice. To determine what this is, nurses must be able to read research critically. But for many qualified and student nurses, the terminology used in research can be difficult to understand, thus making critical reading even more daunting. It is imperative in nursing that care has its foundations in sound research, and it is essential that all nurses have the ability to critically appraise research to identify what is best practice. This article is a step-by-step approach to critiquing quantitative research to help nurses demystify the process and decode the terminology.
Step-by-step guide to critiquing research Part 2: Qualitative Research
As with a quantitative study, critical analysis of a qualitative study involves an in-depth review of how each step of the research was undertaken. Qualitative and quantitative studies are, however, fundamentally different approaches to research and therefore need to be considered differently with regard to critiquing. The different philosophical underpinnings of the various qualitative research methods generate discrete ways of reasoning and distinct terminology; however, there are also many similarities within these methods. Because of this and its subjective nature, qualitative research it is often regarded as more difficult to critique. Nevertheless, an evidenced-based profession such as nursing cannot accept research at face value, and nurses need to be able to determine the strengths and limitations of qualitative as well as quantitative research studies when reviewing the available literature on a topic.

Part II, Chapter 8 of Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing : Foundations, Skills, and Roles provides useful guidelines for reviewing quantitative (p. 142) and qualitative (p. 147) research.

Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing: Foundations, Skills, and Roles by Thomas L. Christenbery
Call Number: eBook
Publication Date: 2018
Delivers unique systematic guidelines for understanding and applying EBP in nursing programs A fundamental, reader-friendly guide to evidence-based practice (EBP) for BSN, MSN, and DNP nursing students, Evidence-Based Practice in Nursing explains the conceptual underpinnings of EBP and demonstrates how nurses can put EBP concepts into practice. Replete with critical knowledge, skills, tools, and scholarly development to enable nurses to fully and confidently deliver the highest-quality EBP care, this book eschews a one-size-fits-all approach in favor of unique systematic guidelines for understanding and applying EBP. Building blocks of information grow progressively more complex, enabling their application to any point along nursing's academic trajectory.

Descriptive Statistics

Descriptive statistics are those that "simply describe, summarize, and illustrate the trends that exist in the data" (Santucci, 2023).

The resources below will help you gain a better understanding of descriptive statistics. Use the videos below for an introduction to descriptive statistics and how they compare to inferential statistics and use Chapter 5 of Statistics in Medicine (3rd edition) for an overview of common descriptive statistics.

Santucci, A. C. (2023). Data description in research. Salem Press Encyclopedia of Health. http://ezproxy.memphis.edu/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ers&AN=93871877&site=eds-live&scope=site

An Introduction to Descriptive & Inferential Statistics [video]
Dr. Elbert P. Almazan presents an overview of descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics organize and summarize data. Inferential statistics can be used to explain how social characteristics connect with observed data.
Descriptive Verses Inferential Statistics [video]
Jason Gibson presents and defines basic statistics terminology. He discusses the difference between descriptive and inferential statistics, then provides examples of each.

Statistics in Medicine (3rd ed.) by Robert H. Riffenburgh
Call Number: eBook
Publication Date: 2012
Statistics in Medicine, Third Edition makes medical statistics easy to understand by students, practicing physicians, and researchers. The book begins with databases from clinical medicine and uses such data to give multiple worked-out illustrations of every method. The text opens with how to plan studies from conception to publication and what to do with your data, and follows with step-by-step instructions for biostatistical methods from the simplest levels (averages, bar charts) progressively to the more sophisticated methods now being seen in medical articles (multiple regression, noninferiority testing). Examples are given from almost every medical specialty and from dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, and health care management. A preliminary guide is given to tailor sections of the text to various lengths of biostatistical courses.