Networking: putting research at the heart of professional practice.

Nursing staff in Scotland have access to five local multidisciplinary health services research Networks. These offer nurses guidance, advice and support on relevant but unanswered questions relating to their clinical practice, thus helping them to take forward their enquiry. This article explores the origin, usefulness and developing role of these Networks with particular reference to the North of Scotland Network. Networking is recommended as an effective intervention to facilitate the development of research, to promote the quality, quantity and usefulness of research, and to place research into patient care at the heart of nursing practice.