A total of 42,770 titles were identified, of which 501 were retrieved. Of these 501 articles, 45 satisfied our
inclusion criteria. Articles assessed research utilization in general (n = 39) or kinds of research utilization (n = 6)
using self-report survey measures. Individual nurse characteristics were classified according to six categories: beliefs
and attitudes, involvement in research activities, information seeking, education, professional characteristics, and
socio-demographic/socio-economic characteristics. A seventh category, critical thinking, emerged in studies
examining kinds of research utilization. Positive relationships, at statistically significant levels, for general research
utilization were found in four categories: beliefs and attitudes, information seeking, education, and professional
characteristics. The only characteristic assessed in a sufficient number of studies and with consistent findings for
the kinds of research utilization was attitude towards research; this characteristic had a positive association with
instrumental and overall research utilization