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PhD · Nursing

Nursing — PhD reading list.

The advanced references a doctoral scholar in Nursing works from, and what each one is for.

7Titles listed
4Worked right through
3–6 yrsProgramme length
12Coursework credits
The subject

Nursing as a research subject

ScopeClinical nursing interventions and outcomes, nursing education and curriculum research, patient safety and quality of care, community and psychiatric nursing, and health-behaviour and self-management studies.
Who can registerMSc Nursing in any speciality; some programmes also admit MPhil Nursing holders and senior nursing faculty on the part-time route.
How you get inEither the fellowship route — CSIR-UGC NET, ICMR, DBT-BET, DST-INSPIRE — straight to interview, or the institute entrance test, half research methodology and half nursing.
CourseworkOne semester, at least 12 credits: research methodology and biostatistics, plus Research and Publication Ethics, before the research phase proper begins.
How this list is used

Reading for Nursing

A PhD in nursing in India is examined heavily on research methodology and theory, and the reading reflects that. Polit and Beck is the primary methods text and the one supervisors set chapter-wise for proposal writing; Burns and Grove is read alongside it because its appraisal and synthesis chapters are pitched differently and often answer what Polit leaves brief. Alligood is the theory book behind the conceptual framework chapter, which Indian examiners routinely ask you to defend in the viva. LoBiondo-Wood and Haber is used for critique assignments, Grove and Cipher for the statistics workbook exercises, and Suresh Sharma for the Indian syllabus framing and worked examples; the INC PhD regulations matter because programme structure, guide eligibility and thesis requirements are set there.

Titles are tagged core reading — the ones scholars work right through — or reference, the ones they look things up in. Editions are given where the current edition is what you want to buy.

  1. Polit & Beck's Nursing Research: Generating and Assessing Evidence for Nursing Practicecore readingJane M. Flanagan, Cheryl Tatano Beck · Wolters Kluwer / Lippincott Williams & Wilkins · 12th edition (2024)The primary methods text — sampling, design, measurement and qualitative traditions, worked chapter by chapter during proposal writing.
  2. Burns and Grove's The Practice of Nursing Research: Appraisal, Synthesis, and Generation of Evidencecore readingJennifer R. Gray, Susan K. Grove · Elsevier · 9th edition (2021)Read against Polit for appraisal, evidence synthesis and intervention research; its measurement chapters are the more usable ones.
  3. Nursing Theorists and Their Workcore readingMartha Raile Alligood · Elsevier · 10th edition (2021)The source for the conceptual or theoretical framework chapter that Indian examiners question closely in the viva.
  4. Nursing Research: Methods and Critical Appraisal for Evidence-Based Practicecore readingGeri LoBiondo-Wood, Judith Haber · Elsevier · 10th edition (2021)Used for structured critique assignments — its appraisal checklists are what most course seminars are graded against.
  5. Statistics for Nursing Research: A Workbook for Evidence-Based PracticereferenceSusan K. Grove, Daisha J. Cipher · Elsevier · 4th edition (2024)Exercise-based statistics practice with nursing datasets — worked through before running the thesis analysis.
  6. Nursing Research and StatisticsreferenceSuresh K. Sharma · Elsevier India · 4th edition (2022)The Indian text matching INC syllabus language, with examples and formats that fit Indian thesis and synopsis requirements.
  7. Guidelines for Starting Ph.D. in Nursing Programme in Universities Approved by the Council (Regulations)referenceIndian Nursing Council · Indian Nursing Council · 2024 revision editionSets eligibility, guide requirements, coursework and thesis conditions for a PhD in nursing in India — read before registration.

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Alongside the subject list

The two lists every scholar also needs

Whatever the subject, the coursework semester is examined on research methodology, biostatistics and publication ethics, and the bench work runs on a handful of protocol volumes. Both lists are kept separately so you are not buying them twice.

Other PhD subjects

Also on the site

Related on the site

Nursing at postgraduate level

Printing your Nursing reading?

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Frequently asked

PhD Nursing — questions

Which books does a PhD scholar in Nursing read?

The 7 titles on this page, of which 4 are worked right through and the rest are kept as references. Most scholars own two or three and use the department copy for the others.

Who can register for a PhD in Nursing?

MSc Nursing in any speciality; some programmes also admit MPhil Nursing holders and senior nursing faculty on the part-time route.

What does a PhD in Nursing cover?

Clinical nursing interventions and outcomes, nursing education and curriculum research, patient safety and quality of care, community and psychiatric nursing, and health-behaviour and self-management studies.

Is the coursework examined?

Yes. One semester of at least 12 credits, assessed before the research phase begins, covering research methodology, biostatistics and Research and Publication Ethics.

Can you print this reading for me?

We print from the PDF you send us. Send the file on WhatsApp with your page count and whether you want colour, black and white or mixed, and we print, bind and deliver anywhere in India. We do not supply copyrighted book files.