Hi All out there in the nursing Research/EBP universe.
Notice that TO SEE COMMENTS on the blog post, there is a comments link under blogpost title. In the most recent post, I added info in a comment about Scholar Scams.
Couldn’t resist sharing our beautiful flowers here in SoCal!
I’m not a New Year’s resolution person. I used to be and then I realized that I wanted to hit the restart button more often than every 365 days. So…my aim for this blog remains pretty much unchanged: Make research processes and ideas understandable for every RN.
Although “to be simple is difficult,” that’s my goal. L
et me know what’s difficult for you in research, because it probably is for others as well. Let’s work on the difficult together so that you can use the BEST Evidence in your practice.
The 2019 journey begins today, and tomorrow, and the tomorrows after that!
FOR MORE: Go to PubMed. Search for a topic of interest. Send me the article & we’ll critique together.
Any research project not worth doing is not worth doing well.
In honor of Nurse Week, I offer this tribute to the avante garde research work of Florence Nightingale in the Crimea that saved lives and set a precedent worth following.
Nightingale was a “passionate statistician” knowing that outcome data are convincing when one wants to change the world. She did not merely collect the data, but also documented it in a way that revealed its critical meaning for care.
As noted by John H. Lienhard (1998-2002): 
“Once you see Nightingale’s graph, the terrible picture is clear. The Russians were a minor enemy. The real enemies were cholera, typhus, and dysentery. Once the military looked at that eloquent graph, the modern army hospital system was inevitable. You and I are shown graphs every day. Some are honest; many are misleading….So you and I could use a Florence Nightingale today, as we drown in more undifferentiated data than anyone could’ve imagined during the Crimean War.” (Source: Leinhard, 1998-2002)
As McDonald (2001) writes in the BMJ free, full-text, Nightingale was “a systemic thinker and a “passionate statistician.” She insisted on improving care by making policy & care decisions based on “the best available government statistics and expertise, and the collection of new material where the existing stock was inadequate.”(p.68)
Moreover, her display of the data brought its message home through visual clarity!
Thus while Nightingale adhered to some well-accepted, but mistaken, scientific theories of the time (e.g., miasma) her work was superb and scientific in the best sense of the word. We could all learn from Florence.
CRITICAL THINKING: What issue in your own practice could be solved by more data? How could you collect that data? If you have data already, how can you display it so that it it meaningful to others and “brings the point home”?
FOR MORE INFO:
HAPPY NURSE WEEK TO ALL MY COLLEAGUES.
MAY YOU GO WHERE THE DATA TAKES YOU!
I love sharing a great resource, don’t you?
Today, I stumbled onto Study Design 101 at https://himmelfarb.gwu.edu/tutorials/studydesign101/index.html
If you’re a research afficianado, then you probably already know that some types of research studies are considered stronger than others. Stronger ones are those that support a hypothesis that X really did cause a change in Y. [For example, study results that suggest that a pain script (X) really does improve patient satisfaction with pain management (Y)]
You may even know that meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials are the strongest type of research evidence and that case studies are considered the weakest. (Expert opinion that is not research at all is even below that.)
But….are you clear on what a meta-analysis, a case study, a cohort study or a randomized
controlled trial is? If not or if you want a review, Study Design 101 is for YOU! Check it out. Short descriptions followed by 2 question quizzes for self-testing will keep you on track. Enjoy.
Is it just the thought that counts? or not? (Probably depends on the relationship between giver & recipeient as per Paul Tournier’s The Meaning of Gifts that I highly recommend.)
In the meantime enjoy this article in the Washington Post on the holiday evidence for picking the best kinds of gifts. OR as it is actually titled: “The trick to not giving a terrible gift this year”
Critical Thinking: Note the outcome measures cited for each study:
For more info: Ask yourself what you would most like for Christmas & check out your friends wishlists! Check some of the studies cited in the Washington Post article, including Gino & Flynn (2011) evidence on preferences for $, solicited gifts, & unsolicited gifts. The findings might surprise you: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022103111000801
Want to write for publication? CHECK OUT NURSE AUTHOR & EDITOR as one of the best places to learn to improve your writing: http://naepub.com/
A few suggestions from me
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Check our Nurse Author & Editor for sure! http://naepub.com/
