CONTACT - Volume 9, Number 1
Center for Nursing Research

Carol A. Patsdaughter, Ph.D., RN, ACRN
Center for Nursing Research Director

Steps are underway to invigorate the Center for Nursing Research. The purpose of the CNR is to expand the boundaries of nursing research within the Division of Nursing. The goals of this center are threefold: to foster a climate within the Division of Nursing that promotes research and scholarship; to augment faculty and student scholarship activities, including data-based and practice-oriented publications in refereed journals and presentations at local/regional, national, and international conferences; and to increase intra- and extramural funding for faculty research endeavors. Toward these goals, the CNR provides a variety of services including:

• brainstorming sessions;
• matchmaking between Division of Nursing faculty, SON faculty and students, SON faculty and faculty in other units across campus, SON faculty and faculty from other universities, and SON faculty and clinical agencies;
• notification of requests for proposals, requests for applications, and calls for applications from other intramural and extramural funding sources;
• assistance with literature searches and retrieval;
• assistance with preparation of poster and paper presentations;
• proposal and manuscript critiques;
• database management and statistical consultation;
• referrals for other research consultations within and outside the university;
• support of research and scholarship forums (e.g., faculty research meetings, scholarship circles) within the Division of Nursing;
• sponsorship of scholarly lectures for the professional community.

The CNR is also compiling a variety of in-house resources such as files on funding opportunities and calls for abstracts for upcoming professional conferences; statistical and publication manuals; and research-related texts.

Since the beginning of this academic year, a group of nursing faculty with expertise and interest in nursing research has been meeting to identify research priorities, provide input regarding research needs and required resources, and plan research-related forums including the annual Scholar's Lecture. An infrastructure for the CNR is being developed including short-term and long-term goals, an operations plan, and research policies and procedures. A research assistant for the CNR has been hired to help with such tasks as literature retrieval and data entry.

Numerous individual faculty members and teams have taken advantage of CNR services and are moving forward with various research activities and endeavors. The enthusiasm for and commitment to nursing research and scholarship has been contagious!