Write down in bullet points what you have learned about research and evidence based practice during the course of this book or studying a research/evidence based practice module. To help you complete this task, you may wish to refer to the book’s index to remind you what we have covered. 

Compare what you have written for Website Activity 1 with what you should know now, in other words what we have covered in this book. The quizzes and puzzles that support each of the chapters which you can find on the website will help you to identify gaps in your knowledge. 

See the following websites for examples of funding opportunities:

www.iolanthe.org/ (midwifery)

www.florence-nightingale-foundation.org.uk/

www.btfn.org.uk/ (Burdett trust)

www.gnct.org.uk/ (General Nursing Council Trust)     

International funding opportunities are also available. Examples include:

http://cnf-fiic.ca/what-we-do/research/ (Canadian Nurses Foundation)

http://www.nursing.health.wa.gov.au/projects/research_funding.cfm

(Government of Western Australia, Department of Health)

https://www.ninr.nih.gov/researchandfunding#.VuK0po_XLIU (United States)

Identify an aspect of practice in your current place of work that you could research in a small-scale study. Write a research question or hypothesis. What do you need to do in order to make this research happen? What (if anything) is stopping you from doing this now? Are any barriers that you might have identified real, or are they self-imposed?

For guidance / information sources about pursuing a research-focused career and links to relevant resources see:

http://www.rcn.org.uk/development/research_and_innovation

https://www.rcm.org.uk/content/midwifery-research

http://nursing.nhscareers.nhs.uk/skills/academic

http://www.nhscareers.nhs.uk/explore-by-career/midwifery/

http://www.ukcrc.org/workforce-training/clinical-academic-careers-for-nurses-midwives-and-allied-health-professionals/

http://www.nihr.ac.uk/our-faculty/clinical-research-nurses.htm

http://www.nes.scot.nhs.uk/education-and-training/by-discipline/nursing-and-midwifery/managers-and-educators/clinical-academic-research-careers.aspx

For insight to the development and implementation of a research strategy read:

Kenke, J. Wallace, C. Davies, R. Bale, S. and Thomas, S. (2013) Developing and implementing a Community Nursing Research Strategy for Wales, British Journal of Community Nursing 18(11): 561–566.

Read:

Clark, A.M. and Thompson, D.R. (2013) Succeeding in research: insights from management and game theory, Journal of Advanced Nursing Research 69(6): 1221–1223.

The authors offer suggestions of ways in which research programmes can be established and developed. What do you think about these suggestions? Are they realistic and achievable? 

See: http://www.ref.ac.uk

If you think a career with a strong research focus is for you, be brave and write a five-year career plan to help you achieve your aim.