Aim of The Study

Research Question
Research Hypothesis
 Formulating a
clear aim in
nursing
research

It clearly and concisely articulates the overall

purpose of your research and what you intend
to achieve.
 Aim of the study
Use strong action verbs to describe what you aim to achieve in
your research. Common verbs include:
• To investigate
• To explore
• To examine
• To determine
• To identify
• To evaluate
• To compare
• To develop
Focus on the overall goal:
• While your research might involve various objectives, the aim should provide
a singular, overarching statement of your research purpose.
 Example

• To investigate the association between nurse

communication style and patient satisfaction with
pain management practices in a hospital setting.
 Example

• Descriptive research:
Aim: to describe the prevalence and
characteristics of medication errors among nurses
working in long-term care facilities, identifying potential
contributing factors.
 Example

• Exploratory nursing research:

Aim: to explore the experiences of nurses working in
long-term care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic,
focusing on challenges and coping mechanisms
employed to manage the crisis.
 Example

• Action Research:
Aim: To implement and evaluate a collaborative
pain management strategy involving nurses and
patients in a post-operative unit, aiming to
improve patient satisfaction and reduce pain
levels.
 Example

• Qualitative Research - Phenomenological Study:

Aim: To explore the lived experiences of patients
with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD) undergoing pulmonary rehabilitation,
focusing on the challenges and facilitators to
adherence to the program.
 Example

• Quantitative Research - Randomized Controlled

Trial (RCT):
Aim: To investigate the effectiveness of an
educational intervention on nurses' knowledge
and practice regarding pressure injury prevention
in intensive care units (ICUs), compared to
standard care.
ADDITIONALLY, YOUR RESEARCH QUESTION MIGHT CONSIDER USING THE PICOT FRAMEWORK, WHICH HELPS
STRUCTURE YOUR QUESTION BY SPECIFYING:
P: POPULATION (WHO?)
I: INTERVENTION (WHAT?)
C: COMPARISON (TO WHAT?)
O: OUTCOME (WHAT ARE YOU MEASURING?)
T: TIME (WHEN?) (NOT ALWAYS APPLICABLE)
REMEMBER, A WELL-FORMULATED RESEARCH QUESTION IS CRITICAL FOR A SUCCESSFUL NURSING RESEARCH STUDY. TAKE
TIME TO REFINE YOUR QUESTION, ENSURING IT IS SPECIFIC, FEASIBLE, ANSWERABLE, AND ETHICALLY SOUND.

• Correlational nursing research study:

Aim: To explore the potential association between
nurse empathy and patient satisfaction with
postoperative pain management in a surgical
ward.
 Formulating a
Research
question

A proper research question in nursing research is

well-defined, clear, and specific, feasible and
manageable, Researchable
• Additionally, your research question might consider using the
PICOT framework, which helps structure your question by
specifying:
• P: population (who?)
• I: intervention (what?)
• C: comparison (to what?)
• O: outcome (what are you measuring?)
• T: time (when?) (Not always applicable)
• Remember, a well-formulated research question is critical for a
successful nursing research study. Take time to refine your question,
ensuring it is specific, feasible, answerable, and ethically sound.
 Example

• Correlational research:
Research question:
Is there an association between nurse burnout and
patient safety incidents in intensive care units ?
 Example

• Action research:
Research question:
Can implementing a collaborative pain
management strategy involving nurses and
patients in a post-surgical unit improve both:
 Example

• Qualitative Research (Phenomenological Study):

Research Question:
How do patients with chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (COPD) experience and
describe the challenges and facilitators
associated with adhering to a pulmonary
rehabilitation program?
 Example

• Quantitative research (RCT):

Research question:
Does a nurse-led educational intervention on
medication adherence compared to standard care
lead to a significant reduction in hospital
readmission rates among patients with heart
failure within a 6-month follow-up period?
 Example

• Descriptive research:
Example of research question :
What is the prevalence and distribution of pressure
injury stages (I-IV) among patients admitted to the
intensive care unit (ICU) of a general hospital?
• Exploratory research:
Example of research question :
What are the perceptions and experiences of nurses
working in a telemedicine clinic for chronic disease
management regarding the challenges and
opportunities associated with this service delivery
model?
• Research question/s --------------broad in scope,
open-ended.

• Research hypothesis / hypotheses ---------narrow,

focused, and predicts a specific outcome.
 Yes, the choice
between using
Does choosing a research
either research question or a
question or hypothesis in
hypothesis is nursing
related to type research is
of nursing partially
research ? related to the
type of
research you
are
conducting.
• Research question:
Always used: regardless of the research type,
you always need a well-defined research question in
nursing research. It sets the foundation for your study by
identifying the knowledge gap and guiding your
investigation.
• Hypothesis:
Only used in quantitative research: you
will only formulate a hypothesis in quantitative
research.
 Research Hypothesis

• Specific and testable

• Simple and clear
• Based on existing knowledge and theory
• Falsifiable
 Example

• Research question: does implementing a standardized

communication protocol impact the rate of medication errors in
an oncology unit?

• Hypothesis: implementing a standardized communication

protocol in an oncology unit will lead to a significant decrease
(by at least 10%) in the rate of medication errors compared to
the current practice of using individual communication styles.
 Directional versus Non-Directional
Hypothesis
Directional hypotheses:
• These specify the expected direction of the relationship
between the independent and dependent variables. They predict
whether the independent variable will increase, decrease, or
have no significant effect on the dependent variable.

• Example: "implementing a standardized communication

protocol (independent variable) in an oncology unit will
lead to a significant decrease (directional, decrease) in
the rate of medication errors (dependent variable)."
Non-directional hypotheses:
• These simply predict that there will be a relationship between the
independent and dependent variables, but without specifying the
direction of that relationship. This is often used when the existing
research is limited or inconclusive, and the researcher doesn't have a
strong prediction about the direction of the effect.

• Example: "there will be a significant

relationship between implementing a standardized
communication protocol (independent variable) and the rate of
medication errors (dependent variable) in an oncology unit."
 Example ( research question & hypothesis)

• Research question: does implementing a music therapy program improve

sleep quality in elderly patients residing in long-term care facilities?

• Hypothesis (directional): implementing a music therapy program for

elderly patients in long-term care facilities will lead to a significant increase
in their average sleep duration by at least 30 minutes per night compared
to those not receiving the program.
 Example ( research question & hypothesis)

• Research question: is there an association between nurses'

educational level and their self-reported levels of job stress?

• Hypothesis (non-directional): there will be a significant

relationship between nurses' educational level (independent variable)
and their self-reported levels of job stress (dependent variable).
Example ( research question with both
hypotheses)
• Research question: does a relaxation technique intervention
offered to pre-operative patients impact their anxiety levels
before surgery?
• Hypothesis (directional): pre-operative patients who
participate in a relaxation technique intervention will experience
a significant decrease in their anxiety levels compared to those
who receive standard care.
• Null hypothesis (h₀): there is no significant difference in
anxiety levels between pre-operative patients who participate in
a relaxation technique intervention and those who receive
 Null hypothesis (H₀)

• In nursing research, the null hypothesis (H₀) is a statement

that assumes no difference exists between groups or no
relationship exists between variables. It serves as the baseline
assumption that is statistically tested against the
alternative hypothesis (H₁), which proposes the opposite.
 Example

• Null hypothesis (H₀):

There is no significant difference in hospital
readmission rates between patients with heart failure
who receive a nurse-led educational intervention on
medication adherence and those who receive standard
care.