A comprehensive guide to choosing exceptional nursing research topics

For many decades, nurses have been the backbone of the medical sector. The nurses have to ensure patients receive the best while under their care, they administer medication and clean up after patients. They are also tasked with communicating with the family of the patient on matters about the health and progress of patients. This is why nursing is one of the most demanding careers in the world. 

Before you can become a nurse, you are required to undergo rigorous training. This involves completing your course work and graduating before you can work as a nurse. After three years in university, you will be required to write a nursing research paper. You cannot graduate until you pass this stage. In the research paper, nursing students are required to pick a health problem and analyze it and offer possible solutions. The first step to writing a nursing research paper is choosing a nursing research topic. 

Most students have a hard time picking the right nursing research topics for their paper. This is why it is common for a class to have several students writing about the same topic. Without a unique theme, you risk grading lower than you would have if you took your time to choose a unique topic. 

What is nursing research?

One of the most important things to do before commencing to writing your nursing research paper is to understand nursing research. By having an in-depth understanding of what nursing research is, it will become easier to pick a topic and get the research paper done. Generally, nursing research is a study meant to demonstrate how quality care should be provided by nurses based on research. Usually, nurses working on their research paper are required to investigate different ways of offering quality help to individuals, organizations, groups, or even families and the healthcare system at large.

When writing a research paper, nurses are required to investigate and give options on how nursing services can be delivered from federal to local levels. 

Other definitions of nursing research include:

• Nursing research is a type of research done for practice. It is required to provide evidence to a specific topic in any nursing field or discipline


• Nursing research can be defined as a study conducted by registered nurses and nursing students, covering administration, education, clinical practice, and nursing methodology and evaluation. 


• It can also be defined as a formal, systematic, and meticulous investigative process carried out by nurses to test specific propositions or generate ideas based on a specific topic or research interest.


• You can also define it as a study meant to generate knowledge in healthcare provision throughout an individual’s lifespan. It should cover  action to be taken when delivering high-quality healthcare service as well as proper nursing care for all individuals in a health care facility

Importance of nursing research 

Nursing research has the potential of posing an impact on the progress of service delivery in the nursing area. The main focus of nursing research is on growth and improvements in nursing practice. The main aim of nursing research is to implement studies that have the potential of playing a role in medical advancement in the service provided by nurses. 

By choosing relevant nursing research topics and conducting research on these topics, nursing students can contribute to the medical sphere and improvement in medical aid delivery. The student is expected to study existing reviewed research, get a detailed understanding of the issues, and try to come up with new methodologies meant to improve the patients’ outcomes. 

Types of nursing research 

Before you can pick a topic for your nursing research paper, it is vital to understand the types of nursing research you can conduct. 

Basis research in health and nursing 

This is also referred to as fundamental, pure, or theoretical research. Its main aim is to enrich the theoretical aspect of nursing with new findings. This is the base research to formal deductive analysis that paves the way for the development of new theories. The basic research can either develop new theories or improve on existing ones. 

Applied research 

Also referred to as empirical research, this type of research aims to answer questions relating to the applicability of exiting nursing theories. This research is meant to enrich the practical applications of theoretical research. 

Descriptive research 

This is a non-experimental study aimed at exploring new meanings and generating new data and facts when there lacks sufficient information withing the topic of interest. The main data collection process involves interviewing, observing, and the use of questionnaires. This research is meant to answer the ‘why and what’ questions. It can be related to current issues in the nursing field. 

Formulative/Exploratory research 

This type of research is carried out on a specific field or topic, even when there is not much information to go by. It is also commonly referred to as a pilot study.

Action research 

Nursing students interested in condition action research are required to initiate an action and implement an application. This research is not meant to develop a theory but rather to implement an action. 

Diagnostic research 

This is a type of research paper with some similarities with a descriptive research paper. However, diagnostic research focuses on finding the cause of a specific medical problem and finding relevant solutions. It requires the use of a hypothesis when conducting this type of research. 

Evaluative research 

When conducting evaluative research, you are required to identify and analyze results objectively. Usually, this type of study is ideal for accomplishing some pre-set objectives relating to social, economic, and health problems. 

Generally, any research paper topic chosen should fall under any of these categories. 

What makes a nursing research paper topic exceptional?

When choosing a nursing research topic, you need to ensure:

• The topic is interesting and original. It needs to pique the interest of the professor and reader. 


• You avoid picking the easiest topics. The chances are that other students will go for these topics. Also, easy topics don’t offer much new content to write about. Professors can often tell when a student hasn’t put in much work in their essay paper, which risks failing. 


• In the same breath, avoid picking the most difficult topics. This leaves you with a lot of work to do, which may be difficult with your current workload. 


• Your topic should be on interest in the modern-day. Your research should have the potential to offer value to the academic community.


• The topic is focused on a specific issue as opposed to choosing a broad topic. Professors appreciate specializations as it shows potential in a student. You can do this by narrowing down your topic to cover the issue and how it affects a particular geographical area or community. 

Tips for choosing nursing research topics 

Brainstorming 

To get the perfect topic, you are required to think long and hard on what you would want to research on. The best way to come up with unique ideas is to observe the environment around you and signal out relevant health issues you can write about. This will give you a pool of topics to choose from. Ensure you use the five W’s and H when narrowing down on a topic. 

Your idea needs to be doable 

When choosing a topic, you need to ensure there is enough material to use for your work. This will make your research work easier and give you enough material to reference. 

Outline the topic in a question 

The best research topics are represented in the form of questions. This gives you the leeway to base your research on the goal of answering the topic question while providing possible solutions to the issue at hand. 

Create a thesis statement 

Before settling on a topic, try creating a thesis statement around the topic. The thesis statement should answer the topic question. While the thesis statement is not required to be identical to the topic, it is required to complement it. 

Where to research for the perfect nursing research topics 

Apart from following the steps above, you can also research for nursing research topics online. Visit a nursing website to get a few relevant keywords that you can use to search the internet for possible topics. It is essential to ensure you pick unique topics to prevent duplication, as this will make your work plagiarized. Other sources of research topic ideas include scholarly books and journals.  

Apart from looking at the resource above, nursing students can also look at the current news about the nursing field, or the health issue they seek to address in their research. Whatever topic you choose, try to understand its effect on a particular group of people. You can also pick topics related to socio-economic challenges in the country or health disparities faced in a specific country. Don’t be afraid to explore controversial topics such as medical marijuana and its place in modern medicine, cloning, and even narcotics and their effects in medicine. 

Examples of nursing research topics

Infant care

• Why are mothers advised to practice kangaroo breastfeeding method?


• Why are infants are breastfed exclusively for six months?


• How should you clean and care for an ailing infant?


• Which Baby toys and feeding items have the most germs?


• What is the leading cause of infant mortality and how can it be avoided?

Midwifery Research Topics Ideas

• Giving birth in water: can it be the perfect way of birthing?


• The connections between challenges many women encounter during given birth and their body size?


• Is there a place for Superstitions and the effect of the moon on the process of giving birth?


• Family planning in African countries.

Child Nursing Research Topics Ideas

• Is the main cause of diabetes among the youths relates to the genetic factor?


• Can music therapy have a positive effect when used in providing health care to children in the process of phlebotomy?


• What new approaches have proven to be effective when treating autism spectrum disorders?


• What interventions can be made in order to maintain control of suboptimal diabetes?


• What role does breastfeeding play in decreasing the probability of developing leukemia among young children, if any?

Women Health Research Topics Ideas

• HIV prevalence among lesbians


• The issues of inflammation, sleep deprivation, and sexual dysfunction among women veterans.


• The infertility risks associated with untreated celiac disease


• Barriers that prevent timely breast cancer screening in third-world nations.


• Recent conclusive studies on the increasing cases of fatigue.

Adult Nursing Research Topics Ideas

• Are there new genes discoveries in brain disorders studies?


• Can abdominal massage reduce the risks of gastric residual volumes in seriously-ill patients?


• What is the relation between clinical depression and fatigue caused by cancer diagnosis?


• Importance of self-care management.


• What interventions can be used to prevent unwanted pregnancy, STI, and HIV in adolescence?

Nursing Issues Research Topics Ideas

• The relations of Bioscience in nursing education.


• The influence of culture in the field of nursing.


• Vital strategies and principles required for the improvement of the emotional well-being of nurses.


• important factors to be taken into account in the provision of high-quality care by nurses.


• What role do nurses play in the improvement of the quality of health care provided in a clinical setting?

Pain relief

• Management of ankle pain


• Home remedies of relieving pain for plantar fasciitis patients


• How to deal with pain after a burn


• The safest painkiller for children


• Massage therapy and its role in pain management

Meal planning

• What are the best foods for a terminally ill patient?


• What are the best meals for school going children?


• Top 10 dangerous foods to avoid feeding children at school


• Why is it better to eat plant-based foods or animal and manufactured foods?


• The science behind eating more vegetables than proteins and carbohydrates

Elderly care

• What Meals meet the nutritional needs of an elderly persons?


• Elderly homes vs. home care: Why do the elderly prefer to stay with their family?


• When an older person refuses to take their medicine – what to do


• What causes defiance in the elderly?


• Tell Tale signs of abused in older persons

Lifestyle diseases

• Leading habits that prevent the development of lifestyle diseases


• Diabetes management from home


• Best treatment options for cardiovascular disease patients


• Why are more people developing blood clots?


• Medical recommendations for the treatment of obesity

Mental health

• What are the most ignored signs of mental illness?


• Most common mental illnesses, and the best approach for addressing them


• The stigma associated with mental illnesses


• Mental illness risk factors for pregnant women


• Can mental illness be eradicated medically?

Skin care

• The most life-threatening skin diseases


• Eczema: The silently torturing skin disease


• Should acne be declared an international disaster?


• What are the worst skin care products to use?

Medical service delivery

• Burnout: Why it is most prevalent among nurses


• How does understaffing a hospital affect the quality of service delivery to patients?


• the role of management in helping nurses to provide better services to patients


• Why nurses deserve a salary increment


• Infectious diseases as a challenge in hospitals?

Terminal illnesses

• What is the best way to handle a terminally ill patient?


• What roles does counseling play in helping terminally sick patients?


• What doctors will not tell you about caring for a terminally ill person


• Why are strict meal plans important for terminally sick persons?


• How can one reduce side effects of medicine for terminally ailing individuals?

Regular treatment

• High death rate in post-surgery patients and what medics can do about it


• How can you protect your child from contracting pneumonia?


• Drug use amongst nurses - The untold story of addiction amongst nurses


• Steps hospitals can take to reduce instances of infectious diseases

As evidenced above, there’s a huge pool of nursing research topics to choose from. If ever stuck, you can always seek the services of a custom paper writing service such as customwritershub.  All you need to do is drop a “write my research paper” request on our messaging platform and you can be sure to get the best research paper help available. We also offer tips on how to write a research paper that can come in handy. This includes tips on how to write an introduction for a research paper based on the topic, How to write a conclusion for a research paper and how to write a research paper outline.