•The uses of computers and software applications are ubiquitous throughout the research process.

•The computer has been a tool for researchers in various aspects of the research process and has gone beyond its historic application.

Proposal Development, Preparation, and Implementation• The idea is typically based on the nurse

researcher’s identification of a problem that is amenable to study using a philosophical and theoretical orientation. The philosophical aspect sets the stage for selecting one’s approach to investigating the problem or developing the idea. Good clinical ideas often come from personal experiences, based on the researcher’s foundation of knowledge that aids in drawing inferences from real clinical situations.

Quantitative and Qualitative ApproachesQuantitative research is derived

from empiricism and logical positivism philosophical orientations (Weiss, 1995), with multiple steps bound together by precision in quantification.

General Considerations in Proposal Preparation•Several computer applications

have become indispensable in the development of the research proposal and generally in planning for the activities that will take place when implementing the study.

The Quantitative Approach• Data Capture and Data Collection• Questionnaires/Paper and Pencil• Physiologic Data• Unique Nursing Care Data in Research• Data Coding• Data Analysis• Descriptive and Exploratory Analysis• Hypothesis Testing or Confirmatory Analysis• Model Building• Meta-analysis• Graphical Data Analysis

The Qualitative Approach• Data Capture and Data Collection• Qualitative Data Collection• Data Coding• Qualitative Data Analysis• Computer Application Programs• General-purpose software• Special-Purpose Software• Logic-Based Systems• Conceptual Network Systems

Data Analysis for Qualitative Data• Often occur on an ongoing basis with data collection

in a reflexive and iterative fashion.• Strauss and Corbin (1990) suggest that, in the later

stages of research, the researcher may engage in axial coding. In this stage, the research elaborates and explains key categories considering the conditions under which the event occurs, the process that take place, and possible consequences.

• Glaser(1978) indicates that the researcher may engage in theoretical sampling, which is a deliberate search for episodes in incidents that enlarge the variances of properties and place boundaries around categories.

Uses and Caution

•Taft believes that there may be cause for concern when researchers assume the reality of the concepts identified and emphasize their frequency rather than their meaning [1993].

Examples of Research StudyExamples of Quantitative Research• In a study by Atherton, Feeg, and El-Adham(2003), a

secondary analysis was done on a publicly available data set from the federal government. The researchers hypothesized that race, ethnicity, and insurance coverage would be determinants of pregnant women receiving epidural anesthesia during delivery. They designed the study as an exploratory examination of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) HC-046(1996-2000 Pregnancy Files), a nationally representative survey of the U.S civilian non institutionalized population .

• In another study using several quantitative techniques and software applications, Kodadek and Feeg (2002) presented subjects with two rounds of questions eliciting their values and preferences for treatment of a loved one at end of life.

Examples of Qualitative Research• A phenomenological approach was

used to examine parents’ experiences of conflict with healthcare providers (Moore and Beckwitt, 2003).

• In another qualitative study, Moore and Beckwitt (2004) examined the self-care practices of children with cancer and the dependent-care practices of their parents.

• These resources aid in keeping current with the published literature, in developing a list of sources for practice, research and/or education, and in collaborating with colleagues.

• To maintain professional credibility, nursing professionals must:

• 1. Keep current with the published literature,• 2. Develop and maintain a list of bibliographic

and other sources on specific topics of interest for practice, research, and/or education, and

• 3.Collaborate and network with colleagues regarding specifics of professional practice.

• Essential Computerized resources are defined as those resources that are vital and necessary to the practitioner to accomplish the specific goal.

Maintaining Currency with the Published Literature• It is obvious that one of the most important

obligations a nurse must meet is to maintain currency in her or his field of practice. When using the resource, check that:

• 1.The resource covers the required specialty/field.• 2. The primary journals and peripheral material in

the field are included.• 3. The resource is updated regularly and is

current• 4. The resource covers the appropriate period• 5. The resource covers material published in

different countries and languages • 6. There is some form of peer review, reference

checking, or other means of evaluation.

Essential Computerized Resources•Essential computerized resources

for maintaining currency include bibliographic retrieval systems for the journal literature, current awareness services, and review services of the journal literature and currently published books.

Bibliographic Retrieval Systems• One of the most useful resources for accessing information about

current practice is the journal literature. A bibliographic retrieval systems database allows the nurse to retrieve a list of citations containing bibliographic details of the material indexed. Most bibliographic retrieval systems have a controlled vocabulary, also known as a thesaurus or subject heading list, to make electronic subject searching much easier. The main bibliographic retrieval systems that should first be considered are:

• MEDLINE/PubMed• CINAHL• ERIC• PsycINFO• Social SciSearch

Current Awareness Services• These services provide access to tables

of contents of journals and allow individuals to request articles of interest. Current Contents Connect from ISI provides a current awareness service to over , 8, 000 journals and 2, 000 recently published books and conference proceedings in the fields of science, social science, technology, and arts and humanities.

Review Services>provide information to searchers about recently published books,

journal articles, audiovisuals, and software.

Doody’s Review Service- is a service offered as a membership benefit to those belonging to Sigma Theta Tau and other nursing professional groups.

Doody’s Book Review Service develops a profile on its members and sends a weekly electronic mail bulletin describing books and software that meet the parameters of the profile.

Supportive Computerized Resources that assist the nurse in maintaining currency provide additional information and enhance the value of the essential computerized resources.

Document Delivery Services- obtaining a bibliographic list of citations is only the first step in obtaining information on a particular topic.

Electronic Publishers>another resource option is publications,

such as electronic journals and Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), Sparks (1999) presents an excellent case for the importance of including electronically published information in a search for information.

Lippincott Williams and Wilkins has placed over 30 journals including the American Journal of Nursing, Nursing Research, CIN: computers, Informatics, nursing, and JONA: journal of Nursing Administration, among others, on their journals page with issues from January1996 to the present.

Developing and Maintaining a List of Sources for Research/Practice/Education• Essential Computerized Resources• Bibliographic Retrieval Systems

• Search Strategies>one of the most important aspects of searching the literature is formulating

the exact strategy to obtain the information from a resource.

Six Steps in Planning the Search Strategy:1. Plan the search strategy ahead of time.2. Break down the search topic into components.3. Check for terms in a subject list, if available.4. Select “operators” which are words used to connect different or

synonymous components of the search.5. Run the search.6. View the results.

Practice Guidelines and Position Statements- these are extremely useful documents that present information on the scope of practice, qualifications, and education among other important details.

Continuing Education and Computer-Assisted Learning

>many nurses do not have the time or money to attend conferences and workshops to keep latest information or to complete the necessary units or credits for continuing education (CE) re licensure or recertification. Nurses use computers for many purposes, Computer-assisted instruction (CAI), computer-assisted learning (CAL), and interactive videodisc (IVD) provide easy learning experiences using a computer.

Supportive Computerized Resources>that assist in practice, research, and education

contain all types of health information including drug and treatment information, anatomy, physiology.

Collaboration and Networking Regarding Issues of Professional Practice>Nurses frequently gather information from

their personal networks, information retrieved by this method enables nurses to learn form their colleagues’ experiences.

Essential Computerized ResourcesEx. Electronic Mail and Listservs-important

fundamental computerized resource for collaboration and networking is e-mail, which is at the core of almost any electronic communication.

Supportive Computerized ResourcesEx. Electronic Bulletin Boards, Forums,

Newsgroup, and Chat rooms.