Constructing a research strategy in a university nursing department : A cooperative inquiry.

This doctoral report details the findings of a ten month project conducted in a university nursing department. The project used cooperative inquiry to engage teachers of professional occupational courses in research. This project has relevance for all university departments exploring ways to develop a research culture in a predominantly teaching environment.The New University, where the project was set, committed the organisation to raising income through research and teaching where previously it had been through primarily teaching contracts. The inclusive research strategy required all teachers to become 'research active' and produce research outputs that met the Research Excellence Framework (REF) benchmarks. This approach was part of the university strategy of 'authority to teach' that required all teachers credibility to be provided through the primary research the academics were engaged in. This was a significant change for teachers whose credibility came through occupational professional qualifications and expertise and who had little experience of research.The project focused on the collaborative development of a departmental applied research. It was hoped staff would have ownership of the strategy that would facilitate the engagement in research and create a cultural change. The project findings highlighted that an occupational teacher identity was deeply imbedded as part of an occupational career trajectory. This led to a recognition that change would need to address the teacher identity not simply focus on raising the status of research as part of an academic role. The project addressed this through the development of a research strategy that incorporated a 'Scholarship Model' that broadened the notion of scholarship. Instead of research providing academic credibility, the model valued teaching and a variety of scholarly endeavours that included research to provide academic credibility. This was used to create a scholarly culture that moved the department towards a longer term goal of developing research active staff for the REF submission.