Book Review
Handbook of clinical nursing research
Edited by Jeanette Robertson
ISBN: 0 443 04866 5 191; 1994; 191 pages; Churchill Livingstone Melbourne;
Rita Axford
Monash University, VIC
This is a well written and timely addition to the repertoire of nursing research books available and will probably become indispensable reading for the niche marketit targets. Important clinical questions are being asked by advanced practice nurses currently working in the field and by nurses undertaking further study. The Handbook ofClinical Nursing Research provides a very readable adjunct to more teclmical texts by focusing specifically on issues relating to the investigation of clinical problems. The editor has organised the text around the classic steps in the research process, from problem identification through implementation and dissemination of findings.
She has taken care to highlight funding opportunities, problems relating to clinical access, the importance of research consultation, data management processes and the variety of means to present findings; issues often given short shrift in other texts. Each chapter is written in a well organised and readable format so that the book can easily be read cover to cover. Sufficient detail is provided using non-technical language with each key area identified by an appropriate sub-heading. The text is also well indexed so that it can be used for finding help with specific aspects of clinical research that may be troubling the researcher.
The book does not try to replace books on research design, methods and analysis, but rather supplements them. Other texts are vital to understanding the more technical aspects of quantitative and qualitative research methods and data analysis. One excellent feature is that the book not only identifies additional resources, it also provides extremely useful annotations of these resources. Similarly, this handbook does not attend to theory development and the relationship between theory, research and practice. While the chapter on reviewing the literature is well written and practical, reference to the larger context of knowledge development is not addressed. Identifying further resources as was done for the methods content would have enhanced this section.
Overall, Robertson and her team of authors are to be congratulated for producing a refreshing and useful book for the implementation of clinical nursing research. They have moved beyond the sometimes dry format of classic texts to an engaging book that will undoubtedly assist young clinical researchers and potentially stimulate muchneeded research on practice problems.
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