La investigación y análisis cienciométrico en el Grado en Enfermería y la enseñanza de la misma

Abstract

Introduction: Nursing’s curricular and training development was haphazard until the arrival of the Diploma in Nursing in 1977. The adaptation to the EHEA in 2007 and the Diploma’s conversion to undergraduate studies led to the promotion of research activity; however, there is a decline in the reading of doctoral theses by nursing staff, which puts the replacement of university lecturers in the discipline at risk. There is a need to link nursing students’ lack of interest in research to its various causes: the teaching methodology; planning and motivation; differences in research interest between nursing students and students of other disciplines; differences between the methodologies used and scientific output in nursing. Objectives: To determine the attitude towards research of nursing students and compare it with the Educational Sciences field; to analyze various syllabuses for the Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing; to relate nursing students’ low interest in research with the teaching methodology; to find out what teaching methodologies are used in research subjects in the Degree in Nursing and in other degrees in Educational Sciences; to introduce new teaching methodologies and evaluate their impact on the research attitude of students compared with that of students in the same and in other disciplines; and to analyze the doctoral theses on nursing defended in Spain over the last five years. Methodology: A bibliometric analysis was conducted to analyze scientific output. A quantitative causal and cross-sectional analysis was carried out, followed by a relational study to determine the degree of dependence between the variables. A quasi-experimental analysis was also carried out for the introduction of new teaching methodologies. Finally, a qualitative documentary study was carried to examine doctoral theses, study plans and teaching guides. Results: Spain’s nursing scientific output is ranked eighth in the world, which is a good position but one that could be improved upon. Students of the Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing are less interested in conducting research than are students of Education Sciences, although the general sample had a neutral attitude, which stems from the need for motivation and recognition of research. The teaching staff opt for traditional teaching methodologies as opposed to the use of new ones, the latter being commoner in Education Science degrees. The use of the ‘flipped classroom’ methodology boosts students’ interest in research compared to the traditional methodology used in Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing and the Bachelor’s Degree in Primary Education. The doctoral theses defended in Spain on Nursing over the last five years are mainly on care, with a predominance of descriptive studies. In terms of study plans and teaching guides, there are significant differences between the planning of monographic research subjects in the various degrees and universities, with the traditional lecture-based methodology and assessment by exam and assignments predominating. Conclusion: There is a need to change the university teaching paradigm in research methodology in the Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing, including a standardization of the monographic research subjects at the various universities offering the degree. New teaching methodologies fostering students’ interest in research also need to be introduced.