Coghlan D, Casey M
Lecturer in Business Studies, School of Business Studies, University of Dublin, Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland.
J Adv Nurs. 2001 Sep;35(5):674-82. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2648.2001.01899.x.
Nurses are increasingly engaging in action research projects to improve aspects of nursing practice, education and management and contribute to the development of the profession. Action research involves opportunistic planned interventions in real time situations and a study of those interventions as they occur, which in turn informs further interventions. Insider action research has its own dynamics which distinguish it from an external action researcher approach. The nurse-researchers are normally already immersed in the organization and have a pre-understanding from being an actor in the processes being studied. There is a paucity of literature on the challenges that face nurse action researchers on doing action research in their own hospital.
The aim of this article is to address this paucity by exploring the nature of the challenges which face nurse action researchers. Challenges facing such nurse-researchers are that they frequently need to combine their action research role with their regular organizational roles and this role duality can create the potential for role ambiguity and conflict. They need to manage the political dynamics which involve balancing the hospital's formal justification of what it wants in the project with their own tactical personal justification for the project.
Nurse-researchers' pre-understanding, organizational role and ability to manage hospital politics play an important role in the political process of framing and selecting their action research project. In order that the action research project contribute to the organization's learning, nurse action researchers engages in interlevel processes engaging individuals, teams, the interdepartmental group and the organization in processes of learning and change.
Consideration of these challenges enables nurse-action researchers to grasp the opportunities such research projects afford for personal learning, organizational learning and contribution to knowledge.
护士越来越多地参与行动研究项目，以改善护理实践、教育和管理的各个方面，并为该专业的发展做出贡献。行动研究涉及在实际情况中进行机会主义的计划干预，并对这些干预进行实时研究，这反过来又为进一步的干预提供信息。内部行动研究有其自身的动态机制，这使其有别于外部行动研究者的方法。护士研究者通常已经融入组织，并且作为被研究过程中的参与者有一定的预先理解。关于护士行动研究者在自己医院开展行动研究时所面临挑战的文献很少。
本文旨在通过探讨护士行动研究者所面临挑战的性质来解决这一文献匮乏的问题。这类护士研究者面临的挑战是，他们经常需要将行动研究角色与常规组织角色相结合，而这种角色双重性可能会导致角色模糊和冲突。他们需要应对政治动态，这涉及在医院对项目期望的正式理由与他们自己对项目的策略性个人理由之间取得平衡。
护士研究者的预先理解、组织角色以及管理医院政治的能力，在构建和选择行动研究项目的政治过程中起着重要作用。为了使行动研究项目有助于组织学习，护士行动研究者参与多层次过程，使个人、团队、跨部门小组和组织参与学习和变革过程。
考虑这些挑战能使护士行动研究者抓住此类研究项目为个人学习、组织学习和知识贡献所带来的机会。
