Research support in doctoral-granting schools of nursing: a decade later

Many nursing schools invest resources in offices to support research efforts and to strengthen research programs for external funding. This article will describe the resources available for research support in schools of nursing with doctoral degree-granting programs. Using a descriptive survey design, invitations and links to the online survey were sent to deans of nursing schools offering doctoral degrees as identified by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Response rate was 70.6% (120/170 eligible institutions), and 75% had a research office. Presence of a research office was associated with being in an academic health sciences center, being located in a public institution, and offering a doctor of philosophy (PhD) program. In 2009-2010, the average budget for the research offices was $390,000. Research offices were staffed by a director (88.6%), a grant administrator (78%), a statistician (74%), and a clerical staff (58.6%) and provided an array of services including grant support, scholarly support, and faculty development services. Nursing schools provided various support services for research productivity. Of those schools reporting that they had a research office, 59% had received National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding in the past year. Greater NIH funding was associated with those research offices employing more staff and offices existing for longer periods.