Research is a systemic investigation used to answer questions. For nursing, research uses the scientific process to study nursing questions for nursing practice. “Research promotes accountability, which is one of the hallmarks of the nursing profession and a fundamental concept of the American Nurses Association Code of Nurses,” (Haber, 2018, p.7). An example of this would be exploring how patients rate their pain on a numeric scale. This type of research helps with evaluating the experience patients feel post-operative.   Evidence-based practice (EBP) is the collection and evaluation of valid research, clinical expertise, and patient values to make a clinical decision. “The IOM has issued a challenge to change the way nursing is practiced by bridging the chasm between research knowledge and practice.” (Brower, 2017, p.18). EBP can ensure the best practice of care for patients, along with decreasing mortality rates. An example of EBP would be a nurse gathering research based on how health care clinics bring about lowering hospital-acquired infections, and using that evidence from the research to provide the best possible outcome. Quality improvement (QI) is using data from different outcomes of care and improvement processes to improve the quality of health care. Current nursing knowledge and methods are researched, alongside with outcomes of certain care processes to answer a question in order to make improvements in nursing care for patients. An example of QI would be a nurse conducting research for an outcome of care involving patient injuries. The nurse would use already existing studies on how health care facilities prevent patient injuries, compare this knowledge to the methods the health care facility they work at use with the outcomes presented, and then create a possible new method of care that can be an improvement. 

Brower, J., E., & Nemec, R. (2017). Origins of evidence-based practice and what it means for nurses. International Journal of Childbirth Education, 32(2), 14-18. 

Haber, J., & Lobiondo-Wood, G. (2018). Nursing research: Methods and critical appraisal for evidence-based practice (9th ed.). St. Louis: Elsevier.