A structured pipeline for building nursing research capacity through experiential and mentored research engagement

To critically examine and advance a structured, mentored approach for integrating nursing students into active research programs to support research capacity development.

Integrating undergraduate and graduate nursing students into research is essential for developing future nurse researchers and advancing science. Few papers describe how to engage and support student participation in funded and non-funded research programs.

Discursive paper.

This paper critically engages with literature on research capacity building, experiential learning and participatory research approaches. Drawing on an applied research context within a teaching-focused academic setting and an ongoing instrument development project, a structured mentoring approach is examined as a means of addressing gaps in traditional research education.

Embedding students within active research programs in this context provided insights into how structured mentorship and experiential learning support the development of research competencies and emerging scholarly identity. Engagement across multiple phases of the research process highlighted opportunities for skill development in research design, ethics, data management and dissemination.

A structured research integration approach is proposed as a transferable model to bridge the gap between theoretical learning and applied research practice. Integrating students into all aspects of research supports a culture of scientific inquiry. This applied model provides a transferable approach for nursing faculty to expand student engagement and strengthen scholarly capacity within teaching-focused environments.

This paper advances a structured and practice integrated approach to research capacity development, offering a scalable strategy for strengthening nursing research engagement.