Nursing research

Nurse education places focus upon the use of evidence from research in order to rationalise nursing interventions. In England and Wales, courts may determine if a nurse acted reasonably based upon whether their intervention was supported by research.

Areas of research

Nursing research falls largely into two areas:

• Quantitative research is based in the paradigm of logical positivism and is focused upon outcomes for clients that are measurable, generally using statistics. The dominant research method is the randomised controlled trial.
• Qualitative research is based in the paradigm of phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography and others, and examines the experience of those receiving or delivering the nursing care, focusing, in particular, on the meaning that it holds for the individual. The research methods most commonly used are interviews, case studies, focus groups and ethnography

Recently in the UK, action research has become increasingly popular in nursing.