1. Evidence based practice is the conscientious use of current best evidence in making clinical decisions about patient care.

De-emphasizes decisions based on custom, authority and focuses on integrating best research into practice. Tidbits about EBP a. Cochrane collaboration- aims to help providers make good decisions by preparing, maintaining and disseminating systematic reviews of the effects of different interventions in health care. b. Using EBP requires accessing, evaluating, synthesizing and using new research evidence. c. Research must be rigorous (difficult to determine because different people evaluate rigor differently) d. Randomized Clinical Trials (RCTs) are considered the best, but some RNs nervous that this will devalue qualitative results e. Evidence hierarchies exist, most view systematic review of RCTs as the best, and expert opinions as worst. However, cannot rely on this hierarchy, still need to evaluate the study being done, may not have been executed appropriately etc. f. Barriers to EBP generally are due to quality and nature of research, nurses characteristics, and organizational factors. Strong leadership needed in clinical sites to implement EBP. Also, some RNs may lack the skills or resources to access research. g. Systematic review is crucial, in quantitative studies, metaanalysis- integrates quantitative research findings statistically. Findings from multiple studies are treated as one large finding and reviewed. Provides convenient, objective method of integrating findings and observing patterns that otherwise could have gone undetected. Metasynthesis- Integrates qualitative findings on specific topic. Instead of reducing the information as it does in meta-analysis, it amplifies and interprets. h. To perform the research, you must 1. Ask an answerable clinical question, 2. Search & collect evidence, 3. Appraise & synthesize the evidence, 4. Integrate evidence with your own expertise, patient preferences and local context, 5. Assess effectiveness of intervention Assess PIO Population, intervention, outcomes i. Determine, is this relevant? Magnitude of effects? Financial issues? Question will arise and be either problem focused or knowledge focused. Do others agree this is pertinent to be researched (implementation potential)? j. Following the research, a pilot test will be completed (trial run) and outcome will be evaluated 2. Results vs. Conclusions: The results are the findings that were obtained from an analysis of the study data. All results have basic descriptive information (including descriptive info on participants). The conclusions are about the meaning and implications of the findings. Includes an interpretation of the results, clinical &

research implications, and study limitations and ramifications for the believability of the results. 3. Electronic sources representing key databases for nursing research: Bibliographic databases. Must ask a focused question, know synonyms and alternative search terms, use an appropriate site (CINAHL, Ovid, EbscoHost etc.), retrieve relevant info, Use APA citation. A keyword is necessary for the search, use Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT) 5. Independent and Dependent variables: Independent- Variable that is believed to cause or influence the dependent variable (manipulated treatment variable). Dependent- Variable hypothesized to depend on or be caused by another variable (the outcome variable of interest). Term variable only used in quantitative studies. 8. Cronbach s Alpha- Tool to compute coefficient alpha. Used to determine internal consistency which answers the question Do items in questionnaire hang together Alphas greater than or equal to 0.80 are highly desirable. Range is 0.00-1.00 10. & 18. Components of a standard research report: IMRAD. Introduction, Method, Results, and Discussion. Also, title & abstract Title & Abstract- A research title will succinctly convey in 15 or fewer words the nature of the study. In qualitative this will include the central phenomenon & group under investigation and in quantitative studies, the title indicates the independent & dependent variables and the population. The abstract is a brief description of the study placed at the beginning of the article. It is 100-150 words and it answers what the research questions were, what methods were used, the findings and implications. Used so readers can determine if full article will be of use to them. Intro- Acquaints readers with research problem and its context. Describes: central phenomena, concepts or variables under study, study purpose, research questions, or hypotheses to be tested, review of related literature, theoretical/conceptual framework, significance of and need for a study. Methods- describes methods researcher used to answer the questions. Includes research design, sampling plan, and description of study participants, methods of operationalizing variables and collecting data, and specific instruments used, study procedures including what was done to protect rights of participants, analytic procedures and methods. Results- This section presents the findings obtained from analysis of the study data. Includes key findings and basic descriptive information. What statistical tests were used? Value of the calculated statistic, significance of the result (statistical significance), and level of significance (index of how probable that findings are reliable) and the precision and magnitude of effects. Discussion- Researcher draws conclusions about the meaning and implications of the findings. Will include an interpretation of the results, clinical and research implications, and study limitations and ramifications for the believability of the results

11. Sampling methods- Probability and Nonprobability. Probability- involves random selection of elements: each element has an equal & independent chance of being selected. Nonprobability- Not random. Nonprobability types: Convenience, snowball, quota, purposive. Convenience- most widely used, but most vulnerable to sampling biases and use of most conveniently available people. Snowball- referrals from others already in study, used in quant and qual. Quota- convenience sampling within a specified strata (more representative, infrequently used). Consecutive- all people from an accessible population who meet eligibility criteria. PurposiveSample members hand picked by researchers to achiever specific goal (more in qual than quant) Probability types: Simple random, stratified random, cluster, systematic. Simple random- random selection of elements from sampling frame (list of all population elements), cumbersome. Stratified- Population is first divided into strata, then random selection done from the stratified sampling frames, enhances representativeness, Cluster- successive random sampling of units from larger to smaller, widely used in nat l surveys, larger sampling error than in simple random sampling, but more efficient. 12 & 22. How should a hypothesis be worded? What is research question, purpose and problem statement? A hypothesis states and expectation, predicted answer to research question. Should almost always involve two or more variables, and suggests predicted relationship between indep & dep variable. Simple, complex, research, null, directional non-directional. Simple is one indep and one dep variable, complex is two or more of each. Directional predicts direction of relationship, nondirectional predicts a relationship but not its direction. Research states actual prediction of a relationship and a null predicts absence of one. Problem statement- Statement articulating research problem and making an argument to conduct a new study. Purpose is researcher s overall goal Aims are the specific accomplishments to be achieved by doing study. 17. Quantitative vs. Qualitative- Quantitative is: Formal, objective, systematic process, numerical data for questions posed, statistical analyses, theory testing. Qualitative is: Formal, subjective, systematic process, descriptions of life experiences, meanings given to these experiences, theory developing. Both require rigor 21. Conceptual and operation definitions- Conceptual- Conceptual definition is the abstract or theoretic meaning of the concepts being studied. Operational specifies the operations that researchers must perform to collect the required information. References Polit, D. F., & Beck, C.T. (2010) Essentials of nursing research: appraising evidence for nursing practice (7th ed.) Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincot Williams & Wilkins