Instructor Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
This section contains some additional background information for instructors, based on the authors’ experiences in teaching undergraduate and graduate students research and in conducting professional workshops.
Q: Is Reading Research: A User-Friendly Guide for Nurses and Other Health Professionals used only in research courses?
A: No, in fact we have found that Reading Research is particularly useful in first-year courses and elective courses that may be taken before the research course is scheduled. In these courses, the students’ ability to read and use research-based literature for their papers and discussions begins to engender attitudes and skills that will support their course and professional work. The guide is also useful in continuing education courses for professionals.
Q: What proportion of marks should be allocated to the Reader’s Companion Worksheets?
A: You will have to decide this for yourself. It will depend on the objectives of your course. We have seen the worksheets used in different ways, from zero marks to a substantial portion of the course evaluation. You might consider using the worksheets as a bonus assignment for 5%, or for group discussion exercises that receive no marks or pass/fail. It can be used multiple times throughout the course with marks assigned each time.
Q: How can Nurse Administrators best make use of this resource?
A: There are a number of helpful ways to use the Reading Research guide; of course, most depend on resources. The book is particularly useful when provided to new members of any committee that has the responsibility for professional practice, for example, the nursing research or quality improvement committee. Clinical Nurse Specialists or Advanced Practice Nurses can be advised that the book is useful for getting staff started in the direction of evidence-based practice. Nurse Managers can make a copy available on the unit and can encourage its use for clinical projects. Setting up a journal club in which articles that are of particular interest to the staff is useful. This is particularly effective when the staff is small and all work the same shift.
Q: How can hospital or community agencies use the book to support the move towards evidence-based practice?
A: Providing orientations, short courses, and workshops, and building it into many different kinds of staff development activities are a few strategies that healthcare agencies can use to actively promote ongoing evidence-based practice. Managers as well as front-line staff will find this book helpful to maintain their knowledge and understanding of basic research terms. Hospital accreditors have suggested to some agencies that it would be a helpful source to promote best practice.
Q: What’s the fastest or easiest way to find research articles that can be used with the Reading Research guide?
A: Use the health library nearest to your school or workplace, or go to the list of journals on page 38 in the Fourth Edition of Reading Research: A User-Friendly Guide for Nurses and Other Health Professionals. The Internet addresses for journals can be found in the Web Links section of this site.
