This is the first resource to provide graduate nursing students, other students in the health sciences, and novice researchers with the tools and perspective to develop their own program of research. Grounded in the author's 30 years of experience as a highly esteemed nurse researcher, the book guides nurses step-by-step through all aspects of program development. It underscores the importance of doing research that is knowledge driven and not limited to a particular method, and describes the characteristics of a successful research program and how to achieve it. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods are necessary to develop a valuable research program in a practice discipline. With a major focus on planning for sequential studies and describing potential pathways of a research trajectory, the book addresses options and timing of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research designs along with time management strategies that foster productivity.
