Instructor Resources
Tips for Instructors

1. Instructors of first-year or elective courses will find Reading Research: A User-Friendly Guide for Nurses and Other Health Professionals a useful book on the supplemental or optional reading list. The book can be used in workshops on evidence-based practice for clinical nurses and other health professionals. The book introduces students or clinicians to the notion of using research literature to support what they are doing, for example, assignment or work projects. Our intention is to stimulate an interest and enthusiasm for reading research.
   
   
2. Typically, for credit classes in an educational program, the students will use the Reader’s Companion Worksheets as assignments for marks. With professional workshops, the worksheets are used as group work exercises, with the facilitator leading the discussion that follows.
   
   
3. For graduate students, it has been helpful to use the book and worksheets as a warm-up exercise in the first class. This will get students talking and remembering previous learning, as well as structure their critical appraisal skills.
   
   
4. Select articles for use with the worksheets that will appeal to your class or workshop group. Little is as tedious as spending time reading something that does not hold your interest. For example, you may choose health or work-life topics that are (or should be) of interest to any practicing clinician. HIV/AIDS, client education, or the nursing shortage would be suitable; however, assess the group who will be using the worksheets and determine the topic from their collective characteristics. For example, select breast-feeding articles for a maternal-child course or a workshop for maternity clinicians.
   
   
5. It is important for workshop participants to have received copies of the articles prior to the workshop, as well as instructions to come prepared to work through the worksheets.
   
   
6. Select two articles that are on the same topic for use with the two Reader’s Companion Worksheets. This gives students/participants the opportunity to compare the qualitative and quantitative research approaches.
   
   
7. Students/participants frequently complain that the research articles do not follow the format of the Reader’s Companion Worksheet, so it is important to reinforce the reality that it is a guide, and that each professional journal has its own criteria for publication.
   
   
8. When discussing research, we have found that it is useful for students to understand that authors of articles do not always make a clear statement about the research design that was used and students may have to conclude this information from other information in the article.
   
   
9. For graduate students, it has been helpful to use the book and worksheet as a warm-up exercise in the first class. This will get students talking and remembering previous learning, as well as structure their critical appraisal skills.
   
   
10. If you or someone in your local area has published research, it is a good idea to use that article with your class or work group if the topic is of interest to them. Also, you can talk about the “story” behind the research or publication.
    
    
11. Be cautious about being overly critical about less important details of the article, since there are many other factors involved. It has worked better to concentrate on the major strengths and “fatal flaws.”