Research 101: demystifying nursing research

As home health nurses begin to more fully embrace evidence-based practice, we need to be reading research articles in addition to those being published in Home Healthcare Nurse. Many of us have been out of school for several years or have never studied nursing research, and the terminology can be daunting. Evidence-based practice strengthens our ability to provide nursing care based upon the best scientific and researched information. The evidence gleaned from research demonstrates best practice methods rather than those we have traditionally used with little or no scientific basis. The purpose of this article is to provide new knowledge or dust the cobwebs from our past studies of nursing research. A review of the types of research, as well as its language, can help home health nurses be consumers of research with greater understanding. Use of the Internet and ways to access nursing research will be discussed. This article is a brief overview only and more in-depth principles can be accessed by one of the many nursing research resources.