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should guard against unthinkingly carrying out the instructions of a senior member of staff or doing things in accordance with tradition: “… we need to view research as a necessarily flawed item of work which one would respond to ... with some cynicism and distrust. Research should be subject to stringent criticism”. Rundell also notes that there may be a particular danger of uncritical acceptance of research findings “where the research appears to back up our own prejudice”. 1.4 What is research awareness? Research awareness is concerned with the knowledge nurses need to understand research issues. It is not primarily concerned with educating nurses to a level at which they are competent to conduct research themselves. “Research appreciation” and “research-mindedness” are alternative terms. In a report on nurse education from the Royal College of Nursing (10) the latter term is used. We understand the term research-mindedness to imply a critical, questioning approach to one’s own work, the desire and ability to assess its value to the situation and apply it as appropriate. It also implies a recognition of the importance of research to the profession and to patient care, and a willingness to support nurse researchers in their work. All qualified nurses should be researchminded. This quotation highlights several points: • Research awareness (like research) involves critical thinking about issues in nursing. • Research awareness involves an acknowledgement that knowledge gained through research may have important implications for both nurses and patients. • Clinical nurses/nurse educationalists should give their support to nurse researchers. • All qualified nurses should develop research awareness. Hockey (4) states that awareness of and involvement in research is likely to develop at different rates in different countries. She places an emphasis on “a recognition that questions can and should be asked, that reading of research articles and research based texts is essential, and that research findings should be assessed in terms of their usefulness, their relevance, and their potential for implementation”. In addition, as noted by Rundell (9), research studies and research documents vary in terms of quality. Readers need to develop the ability to identify flaws that undermine the claims that researchers make for their findings. Section 3 on “Reading and evaluating research reports” will help to develop your critical skills and research awareness. The next section, however, gives information on how to identify and obtain research documents for critical scrutiny. Carrying out a literature search page 5 2. Carrying out a literature search A literature search is carried out to find out what has been written about a chosen subject. This may be with a view to performing further research on the subject, or informing and/or questioning the knowledge base of certain aspects of practice. This section shows you how to carry out a literature search. 2.1 Identify a topic relevant to your clinical practice Try to think of different terms that might define your topic of interest, such as “pressure area care” or “pressure sores”. Identify related terms that might be relevant, such as “infection control”, “dressings” and “wound care”. Try brainstorming the topic with colleagues and/or use a dictionary to identify synonyms. Time used on identifying alternative and related terms may be well spent, as it may lead to a thorough literature search. 2.2 Identify a suitable library You may be able to gain access to a local university, college or hospital library or a national library where you can do your search. Some libraries have staff who will show you how to use the library and its various resources. Some libraries may allow you to borrow books and reports, while others will restrict you to reading material in the library. 2.3 Find indexes, abstract journals and other works of reference Indexes are works of reference that allow you to search in a subject index for details of material relevant to your chosen topic. You can use your research terms (e.g. “pressure sores” and/or “wound care”) to do this. You can also search in an author index for documents by specific authors. Abstract journals are similar to indexes, but a short and often useful summary of each document (an abstract) is also given. Indexes and abstract journals may be in book form, although in the United Kingdom and some other countries they are now available on CD-ROM for computer use. In libraries where CD-ROM facilities are available, a librarian will usually show new users how to use it. You may also find relevant articles by scanning through copies of journals. Some journals are more likely to provide relevant articles than others. For example, the Journal of wound care might be expected to contain articles relevant to the topic identified above. page 6 Research awareness in nursing and midwifery: a workbook 2.4 Obtain selected articles, books and reports Abstracts will help you to identify which articles, books and reports are most relevant and worth obtaining. The documents obtained may provide further references that can be followed up. A librarian may be available to help you find your way around the library, to understand its classification system and to obtain other materials not kept in the library. Books and reports will usually have to be read in the library, although some libraries may allow you to
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