WHAT DOES IT MEAN

“TO RESEARCH”?

If I were asked to explain, as simply as

If I were asked “What does it mean, to

My answer would be to research means to:

possible, the research process,

research”?

Review the literature. Evolve a theoretical framework. State the problem, purpose,

Evolve a methodology for

Analyze and interpret the data

Report conclusions and recommendations. Communicate results. Help to implement findings.

For research shouldn’t be complex and

Rather, remember eight little letters - Clues to remembering and simplifying.

and hypothesis.

data gathering.

gathered.

mystifying.

by ALBERTA R. KOVACS

NURSING FORUM 395

child’s illness experience is a crisis to him and to all the A members of his family. It is a crisis with which the child has to learn to cope and, to some degree, master if the ex- perience is to be growth promoting. But the child cannot be expected to manage alone. He needs as much understanding and assistance as possible from parents and those profes- sionals directly involved with his care. Their goal: the child’s return to a certain level of health and well-being.

I use the term “cope” in Murphy’s sense, as pointing “to the steps or sequences through which the child comes to terms with a challenge or makes use of an opportunity.”’ As the young child comes to terms with the challenges or oppor- tunities that occur every day in his life, he uses the tools with which he has already become familiar. When helping a child master his illness and the experiences associated with it, we, as nurses, should provide him with tools that are meaningful to and manipulable by him. By doing so we are likely to ob- tain quite a complete picture of that particular child‘s skills, abilities, fears, and fantasies.

Almost 100 percent of a preschool child’s past experiences had to do with the activities of daily living: rituals, environ- mental exploration, and interactions with parents and siblings.

396 VOLUME XI NO. 4 1972