Nursing research is aimed to improve healthcare delivery, quality of life for the patients, to prevent diseases, promote patients safety, reduce medical errors, etc. The scope of nursing research encompasses various intricate subjects, which are supported and funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research, the Agency for Healthcare Policy and Research, etc (AHRQ, 2009; Fain, 2004) nowadays. Such advancement of nursing research is achieved due to its evolution over the past 50 years. Firstly, more nurses received their education in university settings in the 1960s and the 1970s and, being doctorally prepared, conducted researches, concerning improvement of patient care, teaching, curriculum and administration (Baxter, et al, 2008). Secondly, computerization in the 1980s added greatly to the collection and analysis of the data, making the research an indispensible and significant part of professional nursing (Baxter, et al, 2008). Such topics as quality of life, pain, decubitus ulcerus, urinary incontinence, etc. were investigated due to qualitative researches, conducted by teams of researchers. Therefore, nursing research contributed greatly to medical research in general. In the 1990s health care reform turned to be an important part of nursing research and in the 2000s such topics as access, cost and quality of healthcare delivery, apart from other significant topics preoccupy in nursing research. Evidence-based practices, naturalistic paradigm and comprehensive findings make nursing research the basic for clinical decisions nowadays.
I think that the improvements of coping techniques and pain management for chronically ill patients should be the priority of nursing research because it is directed at the practical experience and the improvement of quality of life. Moreover, the findings can be interdisciplinary and applied almost in all medical settings. Since, the number of patients in need of end-of-life care increases, it is crucial to find possible ways and aspects to improve this care due to nursing research. Such topic and health promotion is also prior because it is aimed to teach the patients and population regardless of its socio-economic status, occupation, etc. to follow the healthy way of life and reduce the risk of illnesses by self-care and self health promotion (AHRQ, 2009).
Quantitative and qualitative researches differ in various aspects. The aim of the first is the determination of cause-and-effect relationship, whereas the second describes an on-going process. Therefore, hypothesis in quantitative research is stated before the investigation and based on deductive methods, whereas in qualitative research it is developed during the investigation and theories are built inductively. The difference in data collection and analyses makes the first type of research objective and the other one subjective, involving participants through interviewing. Moreover, numerical form for data summery and representation in quantitative research is opposed to narrative and verbal form in qualitative research. As a result, conclusions of quantitative researches are certain and in qualitative tentative (Polit, et al, 2012; Fain, 2004).
Nursing research is very useful for clinical practice since it examines and investigates different phenomena, intermingling practical and scientific knowledge. Evidence, generated by nursing research adds greatly to intricate interdisciplinary studies and improves …