Case
Abstract
In the spring of 2012, I took a class titled Research Methods in Healthcare. This one-semester course covered how to conduct research in health care. Students were asked to identify their own research topics, perform a literature review, and design research, subsequently collecting and analyzing the data. At the end of the class, students submitted a research proposal. Lectures offered information about the essential elements of qualitative and quantitative research methods; students were asked to choose a method based on their study objectives. Given the one-semester time limitation, learning the entire spectrum of conducting research is very demanding, and most students produced a research proposal but were not interested in producing a complete research paper. With the guidance and help from my professor, I decided to complete my research and was able to complete a major portion of my research project during the semester, address the subsequent comment-response work during two Capstone courses, and complete final edits post-graduation. This case study describes the implementation of a health information technology project and issues related to survey research and focuses on the challenges associated with a student conducting a survey addressing the impact on productivity and user satisfaction as a result of technology interruptions within a hospital environment. A quantitative survey was performed with the aim of publication under the mentorship of the professor, turning a one-semester research project into a journal article, demonstrating student research is feasible. Although studies performed by students have significant challenges and tight time frames, the payoff is great for students interested in leveraging resources available to students to undertake the publication path.
