Good research ideas for clinicians.

While the conduct of nursing research is an important professional value, it is an activity rarely performed by nurses employed in the service setting. Whether the reason is a lack of commitment to a scientific basis for nursing practice or an inability to operationalize the research process in the clinical setting, the outcome is a dearth of clinically relevant studies to guide patient care. Clinicians must be involved in asking and answering clinically relevant questions to maximize patient outcomes. This article provides suggestions to assist clinicians to identify the types of clinical questions that are most likely to result in successful completion of research projects by busy, service-setting clinicians. Strategies are described that will assist clinicians to identify research questions of relevance to their practice areas.