The Research Process and the Nursing Process: Distinctly Different
Abstract
Research IssuesThe Research Process and the Nursing Process: Distinctly Different SAGE Publications, Inc.1989DOI: 10.1177/089431848900200404 Nancy Burns RN; PhD University of Texas at Arlington, TX Is the research process simply a specialized form of the nursing process or are there important differences between the two processes ? Some nursing faculty apparently do not believe there are significant differences and present this view to their students. Phil- lips (1986) states that some claim that "the nurse is conducting research each time the nursing process is used (p. 23)." This view is the result of an extreme simplification of the research process, reflecting orrly a surface knowledge of research. Clearly, there are important differences. Unfortunately, these differences are sometimes not explicitly pointed out in nursing research texts even though the similarities between the two processes are often discussed. The authors seem to assume that the differences are apparent. Introducing the research process to nursing students is a difficult task. Students tend to be either frightened or uninterested. Nursing research seems very different to them from the other content they are being taught. In a sense, learning the research process required that the students learn a new language. Many have poor educational