Nurse Researcher

BACKGROUND: Models are central to the acquisition and organisation of scientific knowledge. However, there are few explanations of how to develop models in qualitative research, particularly in terms of thematic analysis. AIM: To describe a new technique for scientific qualitative modelling: the Empirical Testing Thematic Analysis (ETTA). Part 2 describes the ETTA model. DISCUSSION: ETTA generates a semantic structure expressed through theme-code, content and functionality...

BACKGROUND: Appropriate costing and allocation of resources is vital to ensure that recruitment to a study is achieved on time and on target. However, there is little guidance concerning the workload associated with qualitative research. AIM: To review the planned versus actual workloads in a qualitative sub-study following elective cardiac surgery in children. DISCUSSION: Parents of children approached for a clinical trial were invited to participate in a semi-structured interview to explore their views about making decisions concerning their children's participation in the trial...

BACKGROUND: Nurses have a significant part to play in research. However, novice nurse researchers face difficulties in transitioning into research roles. These difficulties can affect their sense of identity, their clarity of role and the research process. AIM: To highlight how reflexive processes enable novice nurse researchers to develop self-awareness, overcome tensions and navigate their dual identities as they transition into researchers. DISCUSSION: Participating in reflexive activities when conducting research provides the researcher with a biography of the experience...

BACKGROUND: Analysis can be problematic in research when data are missing or erroneous. Various methods are available for managing missing and erroneous data, but little is known about which are the best to use when conducting cross-sectional surveys of nurse staffing. AIM: To explore how missing and erroneous data were managed in a study that involved a cross-sectional survey of nurse staffing. DISCUSSION: The article describes a study that used a cross-sectional survey to estimate the ratio of registered nurses to patients, using self-reported data by nurses...

BACKGROUND: The strict restrictions implemented in England during the COVID-19 pandemic meant it was no longer possible to recruit or interview participants in person. However, virtual recruitment and interviews are not without their challenges, particularly when exploring sensitive topics. AIM: To discuss how to overcome some of the challenges involved in recruiting and interviewing participants who have been critically ill with COVID-19. DISCUSSION: An exploratory, descriptive study was conducted involving interviews with 20 people who had been critically ill with COVID-19 and had been discharged from two community-based healthcare settings in London, England...

BACKGROUND: Systematic reviews are complex and involve time-consuming, deep research in the academic literature to search, extract data, assess their quality and report the results. Digital tools and software have been developed to simplify different phases of this process but some of these are not free to use. Microsoft Excel is typically accessible to a great many researchers free of charge, so using it involves no further costs. AIM: To explain how to use Microsoft Excel to create transparent and complete reports for systematic reviews...

BACKGROUND: The statistical shortcomings of null hypothesis significance testing (NHST) are well documented, yet it continues to be the default paradigm in quantitative healthcare research. This is due partly to unfamiliarity with Bayesian statistics. AIM: To highlight some of the theoretical and practical benefits of using Bayesian analysis. DISCUSSION: A growing body of literature demonstrates that Bayesian analysis offers statistical and practical benefits that are unavailable to researchers who rely solely on NHST...

BACKGROUND: Nurse researchers are constantly seeking novel methods of maintaining philosophical congruence while advancing their knowledge of the human condition using paradigmatically diverse means. AIM: To provide an overview of the research philosophies underpinning the mixed methods grounded theory (MM-GT) methodology, illustrate its optimal use and introduce a quality-appraisal tool being developed with reference to extant literature. DISCUSSION: The utility of MM-GT has been effectively demonstrated in the nursing and health literature...

BACKGROUND: Interviewing is a vital and common method of collecting data in qualitative research. The interview is usually recorded and a written transcription is created from the recording. The transcription document is then analysed by reading and re-reading to fracture the data and develop initial codes, as in grounded theory methodology. However, this method has disadvantages. AIM: To report on how the authors used the process of generating initial codes during their analysis in a research study...

BACKGROUND: The global COVID-19 pandemic has affected data collection for many researchers, in particular research that involves face-to-face interviews. AIM: To share learning about the challenges encountered when face-to-face interviews could not continue as planned in a study and how to adapt data collection so that it can continue despite severe disruption. DISCUSSION: This article examines the considerations and actions taken by the authors to ensure the continuity of data collection...

BACKGROUND: Societal use of digital technology rapidly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Face-to-face services converted to online provision where possible. This affected many nurse researchers. AIM: To explore conducting research interviews online with children and young people (CYP) about sensitive topics. DISCUSSION: This article considers digital inclusion, as well as ethical issues surrounding safety, support and consent, along with choosing tools for collecting data...

BACKGROUND: The main barrier to engaging nurses in research is the lack of research knowledge and skills. AIM: To explore the influence of research workshops on the research orientation of nurses in a large referral hospital in Qatar. DISCUSSION: This article describes a cross-sectional study involving 564 nurses working in 14 health facilities who attended research workshops in Qatar. The authors collected data using the Edmonton Research Orientation Survey (EROS) as well as questions considering support and barriers to research...

BACKGROUND: Questionnaires are perhaps the most widely used measuring tools in nursing research, as many studies conducted by nurses focus on understanding the underlying complex factors that are amenable to questionnaires. However, most questionnaires used in nursing research continue to display inadequate evidence of validity under the traditional methods while ignoring the modern Rasch techniques with better proofs of objective measurement. AIM: To draw researchers' attention to the recurrent limitations of the classical approach to questionnaire design and to suggest advanced psychometric analysis exemplified in Rasch methodology as a more appropriate alternative...

BACKGROUND: Safety measurement tools have traditionally examined safety climate and culture from the perspective of healthcare professionals. A small number of studies have used tools to measure patients' perceptions of safety. AIM: To develop and check the validity of a questionnaire, the King's Patient Safety Measure (KPSM), that assesses how patients perceive their safety when receiving acute care. DISCUSSION: A cross-sectional survey of 158 patients was undertaken that was constructed to establish the validity and reliability of a 13-item questionnaire...

BACKGROUND: Using a structured process to develop a self-administered questionnaire provides a robust tool for collecting data that enhances the credibility of the results. Describing this process mitigates any complexity and confusion for the nurse researcher which can be generated by many sources of information that either lack detail or have complex statistical approaches. AIM: To discuss the development of a self-administered questionnaire with a focus on face, content, construct validity and reliability testing...

BACKGROUND: COVID-19 raised the profile of nursing globally, with widespread recognition of nurses' valuable roles during the pandemic. There is a unique opportunity to capitalise on this momentum to support nurses to become more engaged in and disseminate their research widely. One way to enable this is to develop academic writing retreats for nurses. AIM: To report on the development of academic writing retreats to engage nurses in research. DISCUSSION: Four writing retreats were set up in the south of England between September 2019 and April 2021...

BACKGROUND: This article focuses on approaches to qualitative research interviewing that draw direct inspiration from psychoanalytic therapy. The reflective discussion piece provides a critical spotlight on this method to promote reflection and ethical application. AIM: To provide clarity regarding the meaning of psychoanalytically informed, psycho-social research and the interpretive nature of qualitative interviews and of therapy, and to reflect on nurse researchers' partiality for using quasi-dynamic interpretative comments and the sharing of formulations in interviews...

BACKGROUND: Mobile phones are familiar to most nurses, but the applications available for voice recording and transfer of audio files in research may not be. AIM: To provide an overview of a pilot study which trialled the use of mobile phones, WhatsApp and phone interviews as a safe and reliable means of collecting data. DISCUSSION: A pilot study was designed to test the use of: mobile phones as a safe and reliable way to record audio diaries as research data; WhatsApp to transmit the audio files; and phone interviews to explore them...

BACKGROUND: Self-administered questionnaires are efficient and low-cost ways of collecting data with wide cohorts. Nonetheless, their use in studies can result in a high occurrence of missing data, which can affect the statistical power, representativeness and generalisability of the findings. Imputation methods have been considered efficient statistical techniques for managing missing data. However, they have also been associated with limits, such as the risk of under-estimation of the effect, lower statistical power and decrease of correlation among variables...

BACKGROUND: Reflexivity is an invaluable skill for nurses and researchers, as it assists in closing the gap between research and practice and improves nursing practice. However, there is some doubt about how well reflexivity is implemented in nursing. There has also been little published showing how reflexivity can be applied in research and nursing. AIM: To provide an example of reflexivity in research to demonstrate that knowledge and experiences are transferable to nursing practice...