Developing a Program of Research in Nursing

Provides expert guidance on the development of a program of research

This is the first resource to provide graduate nursing students, students in other health sciences, and novice researchers with the tools and perspective to develop their own programs of research. Grounded in the author's 30 years of experience as a highly esteemed nurse researcher, the book guides nurses step by step through all aspects of program development. It underscores the importance of doing research that is knowledge driven and not limited to a particular method, and describes the characteristics of a successful research program and how to achieve it. It stresses the need for both qualitative and quantitative research methods to develop a valuable program of research. With a major focus on planning for sequential studies and describing potential pathways of a research trajectory, the book addresses options and timing of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method research designs, along with time-management strategies.

Numerous examples of various types of nursing research programs provide insight into potential research paths, and information from the author's own long-term research on postpartum mood and anxiety disorders is used to illustrate concepts throughout the book. The text also includes suggestions for sustaining a research trajectory and provides detailed strategies for publishing successive studies. With an eye to exploring every possible research avenue, the book addresses interdisciplinary collaborative research and international research collaboration.

Key Features:

• Provides specific steps for developing a successful research program in nursing and the health sciences
• Demonstrates how to use both quantitative and qualitative research methods to produce a knowledge-driven research trajectory
• Provides time-management strategies for research productivity
• Explains how to plan for sequential studies and sustain a successful research trajectory
• Uses concrete examples of research programs, including the author's own programs on postpartum mood and anxiety disorders


Author: Cheryl Beck
Publisher: Springer Publishing Company
Published: 10/16/2015
Pages: 178
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.30w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9780826123251

About the Author
Beck, Cheryl: -

Cheryl Tatano Beck, DNSc, CNM, FAAN, is a distinguished professor at the University of Connecticut School of Nursing. She also has a joint appointment in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the School of Medicine. Her bachelor of science degree in nursing is from Western Connecticut State University. She received her master's degree in maternal-newborn nursing from Yale University. Dr. Beck holds a certificate in nurse-midwifery, also from Yale University. Her doctor of nursing science degree is from Boston University. She is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and has received numerous awards, including the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nursing's Distinguished Professional Service Award; the Eastern Nursing Research Society's Distinguished Researcher Award; the Distinguished Alumna Award from Yale University; and the Connecticut Nurses' Association's Diamond Jubilee Award for her contribution to nursing research. She has been appointed to the President's Advisory Council of Postpartum Support International.

Over the past 30 years, Dr. Beck has focused her research efforts on developing a research program on postpartum mood and anxiety disorders. Based on the findings from her series of qualitative studies, she developed the Postpartum Depression Screening Scale (PDSS), which is published by Western Psychological Services. She is a prolific writer who has published over 140 journal articles covering such topics as phenomenology, grounded theory, narrative analysis, metasynthesis, and qualitative secondary analysis. She is coauthor, with Dr. Denise Polit, of the textbook Nursing Research: Generating and Assessing Evidence for Nursing Practice. Editions of this text received both the 2007 and the 2011 American Journal of Nursing (AJN) Book of the Year Award. Their Essentials of Nursing Research textbook won the 2013 AJN Book of the Year Award. Dr. Beck coauthored, with Dr. Jeanne Driscoll, Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders: A Clinician's Guide, which received the 2006 AJN Book of the Year Award. Her recent books include Traumatic Childbirth and The Routledge International Handbook of Qualitative Nursing Research.