Learners will have opportunities to develop research knowledge by reflective writing to identify research questions relevant to psychiatric nursing practice and apply research findings, critical appraisal of refereed psychiatric nursing articles, participant presentations, classroom discussions, and guest speakers.
The focus of this course is to introduce the learner to research concepts and methods. The learner will gain an understanding of research utilization to guide, inform, and support evidenced-based psychiatric nursing practice. Course concepts are addressed in the context of primary health care, health promotion, psychosocial rehabilitation, and the Douglas College Psychiatric Nursing Conceptual Framework. Course concepts include:
- Research Process
- Self as researcher
- Ethics (beneficence, respect for human dignity, justice, informed consent, review processes)
- Research steps
- Dissemination of research findings
- Informatics to support research inquiry – literature reviews and program analysis (SPSS, Nudist)
- Interdisciplinary collaboration research
- Research Design
- Basic and applied research
- Data collection, triangulation
- Data analysis
- Research Methodology
- Qualitative (phenomenology, ethnography, case study, grounded theory, participatory action research, interpretive descriptive)
- Quantitative (descriptive, relationships [correlational, explanatory {experimental & quasi-experimental]})
- Mixed Methods- combination of qualitative and quantitative methods
- Concepts of Rigor
- Qualitative - Trustworthiness, Auditability, Significance
- Concepts of Measurement
- Quantitative - Measurement, Reliability, Validity, Significance
- Critical Analysis
- Analysis and synthesis of psychiatric nursing research literature
- Psychiatric nursing refereed and non-refereed literature
- Analysis of primary and secondary theoretical sources
- Psychiatric nursing evidence based – practice
- Evaluation research and quality assurance
- Research Dissemination
- Criteria related to application and implementation of psychiatric nursing research findings to clinical practice contexts
- Research strategies to support research dissemination in clinical practice contexts
In this course, learners will have opportunities to:
- Develop their knowledge of research concepts and applications to holistic health care needs
- Examine qualitative and quantitative research methodologies as applied to health care research
- Demonstrate application of research findings to guide and inform psychiatric nursing practice in order to support health outcomes.
Course evaluation is consistent with Douglas College Development and Approval Policy. An evaluation schedule is presented at the beginning of the course. There will be a minimum of three assessments which will include: written assignments, exams, participation, and classroom presentation.
This is a graded course.
A list of required and optional textbooks and materials is provided for students at the beginning of each semester.
Students in the BSPN program are required to maintain a passing grade of 65% (C+) in all courses in order to progress in the program.