There is a growing movement for research data to be accessed, used, and shared by multiple stakeholders for various purposes. The changing technological landscape makes it possible to digitally store data, creating opportunity to both share and reuse data anywhere in the world for later use. This movement is growing rapidly and becoming widely accepted as publicly funded agencies are mandating that researchers open their research data for sharing and reuse. While there are numerous advantages to use of open data, such as facilitating accountability and transparency, not all data are created equally. Accordingly, reusing data in qualitative research present some epistemological, methodological, legal, and ethical issues that must be addressed in the movement toward open data. We examine some of these challenges and make a case that some qualitative research data should not be reused in secondary analysis.
Objectives
The aim of this study was to explore nursing faculty experiences in integrating digital tools to support undergraduate students’ learning and development of nursing informatics competencies.
Methods
This focused ethnography study used a combination of semi-structured interviews, document reviews, and field visits. Convenience and snowball sampling were applied to recruit participants. Data were analyzed concurrently with data collection, using thematic analysis.
Results
Twenty-one faculty members from nine undergraduate nursing programs in Western Canada participated. Themes discussed include: 1) meaning of the term nursing informatics, 2) faculty perceived nursing informatics competence, 3) developing students’ nursing informatics competencies, 4) facilitators, and 5) challenges.
Conclusions
Nursing faculty are relatively engaged in developing students’ informatics competencies. However, challenges must be addressed and faculty need more support to improve their own informatics capacity. Implications for Practice and Research: This study has implications for faculty, nursing program administrators, and nursing organizations.
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