Discussion: NURS 350 Research in Nursing
Discussion: NURS 350 Research in Nursing
NURS350 Research in Nursing
Week 1 Discussion
DQ1 How does the focus of research and evidence-based practice (EBP) differ? Discuss the application of research findings into evidence-based nursing practice.
DQ2 Provide a specific example of evidence-based practice used in your work facility or within the nursing profession. Were there any challenges or barriers to implementing the evidence-based practice? If so, how were they overcome?
NURS350 Research in Nursing
Week 2 Discussion
When you critically evaluate a study, you must decide whether you agree or disagree with the researcher’s theoretical framework (the underlying assumption or theory that supported the formation of the hypothesis and the development of the research design). The following scenarios have two possible hypotheses, each driven by a different theory.
Choose one scenario and one hypothesis from that scenario. Identify your personal assumptions about this hypothesis and choose a nursing theory to support your assumptions. You may use information from http://www.nursing-theory.org/theories-and-models/ to help you. Defend your answer.
Scenario 1: A patient with chronic back pain requests a narcotic prescription.
1. Hypothesis: In patients with chronic back pain not caused by injury, what is the effect of eight weeks of physical therapy compared to oral narcotic medication on the patients’ perception of pain?
2. Hypothesis: Are patients with chronic back pain who are denied narcotic pain medications at increased risk of depression as compared to patients on a prescribed pain regimen using oral narcotics?
Scenario 2: A diabetic patient misses several follow-up appointments.
1. Hypothesis: In patients with type 2 diabetes, does the use of an educational diabetic phone app improve compliance with appointments, diet, and medication regimens?
2. Hypothesis: Do patients with type 2 diabetes with a low economic status miss more follow-up appointments than patients with type 2 diabetes with a high economic status?
NURS350 Research in Nursing
Week 3 Discussion
DQ1 Describe quantitative research designs that are used to support changes in nursing practice. Choose one and explain why you chose it. Give an example of how this research design is used to drive change in nursing practices.
DQ2 What is the difference between statistical significance and clinical significance? Explain why statistically significant results in a study do not always mean that the study is clinically significant. Provide an example.
NURS350 Research in Nursing
Week 4 Discussion
Compare and contrast quantitative versus qualitative research designs. Provide an example of each and explain why your examples meet the criteria for these designs.
NURS350 Research in Nursing
Week 5 Discussion
Visit the Center for Disease Control website and go to the Diseases and Conditions pages.
Choose a topic of interest and review any data or statistics provided under that topic. Discuss how evidence-based practice and epidemiology are used to improve prevention and health promotion in your chosen topic.
NURS350 Research in Nursing
Week 6 Discussion
DQ1 Using examples, compare and contrast the sampling strategies of qualitative versus quantitative research designs. Describe some advantages and disadvantages of each.
DQ2 How is data used to evaluate health outcomes within your work environment and at the national level? Provide an example for both.
NURS350 Research in Nursing
Week 7 Discussion
How would you critically use research to resolve a discrepancy between professional standards and actual practice observed within your facility?
NURS350 Research in Nursing
Week 8 Discussion
Conducting research with strong ethical principles is a critical component of being an effective nurse researcher. In the research simulation activity, which character(s) did you play? What did you learn about ethical principles in research? Are ethics in research clear cut, or do you think there are some gray areas? Provide examples from the simulation activity.
NURS350 Research in Nursing
Week 2 Assignment
The Clinical Issue and Research Questions Using PICOT
PICOT is an acronym used to help develop clinical research questions and guide you in your search for evidence:
P = Patient population
I = Intervention or issue of interest
C = Comparison of interventions or comparison of interests
O = Outcome
T = Time frame
For example, you may wish to research if the timing of IV tubing changes affects the development of CLABSI, using this PICOT model:
In _____(P), what is the effect of _____(I) on ____(O) compared with _____(C) within ______ (T)?
In patients on the acute care medical surgical floor (P), what is the effect of changing continuous IV tubings every 96 hours (I) on the incidence of CLABSI (O) versus every changing continuous IV tubings every 48 hours (C) during a 6-month tracking period (T)?
Assignment Directions
Begin by selecting a topic in nursing or medicine that is of interest to you. Next, use PICOT to format possible research questions about that topic. Provide three possible PICOT research questions related to the chosen topic (each question will have a different direction on the same topic).
Include the following:
Provide a brief description of the topic and background information.
Explain the significance of the topic to nursing practice.
Provide three clearly stated PICOT questions.
Your paper should:
Include a Title page and a Reference page.
Be 2–3 pages (not including the title page and reference list).
Use current APA Style to format your paper and to cite your sources.
Review the rubric for further information on how your assignment will be graded.
NURS350 Research in Nursing
Week 4 Assignment
Abstracts: Quantitative and Qualita
This week, you will submit summaries of quantitative and qualitative studies. The purpose of this assignment is to become familiar with published research, research designs, and methodologies. For the assignment, you will select two original or primary research studies: one quantitative research study and one qualitative study related to the field of nursing. You will write an abstract of each study.
The selected articles should be original research studies.
Review articles, concept analysis, meta-analysis, meta-synthesis, integrative review, and systemic review should NOT be used.
Mixed-methods studies should not be used.
Assignment Instructions:
Your abstracts should begin with the APA Style reference to the research article that is reviewed
Your abstracts should be written in your own words. (The abstracts within the studies your choose will not answer all of the assignment questions.)
Your abstracts should be accurate, brief, clear, between 150–250 words, and include only the most essential information.
Use current APA Style to format your paper and to cite your sources.
You are required to attach both research studies (the full articles) that you use to write your abstracts.The original research study articles may be copied onto a Word document or saved in a PDF format.
NOTE: Because submission of the original articles is part of the assignment requirements and is necessary for grading, any assignment submitted without the accompanying articles will be considered incomplete. An incomplete assignment will be initially assigned a zero. The student has the opportunity to submit articles to complete the assignment. However, if these are submitted after the due date and time, the late penalty will apply. After five days, submissions will not be accepted per University policy, and the grade will remain a zero.
Address the following questions in each of your abstracts:
1. What type of research is it (quantitative, qualitative)?
2. What was the research question(s) or hypothesis?
3. What is the sample (population), the sample size, and sample attributes (characteristics)?
4. What is the setting (facility type, location, and country) of the study?
5. What were the researcher’s results and findings? (Identify one that clearly measures the dependent variable or objective of the research.)
Review the rubric for further information on how your assignment will be graded.
NURS350 Research in Nursing
Week 5 Assignment
Literature Search, Rapid Critical Appraisal, and Summary
For this assignment, you will locate a minimum of four research articles related to the topic and PICOT questions that you developed in Week 2. The articles must be published in the last five years (2014 to the present). Two articles must be quantitative, and two articles must be qualitative.
Articles used for one assignment cannot be used for the other assignments. (Students should find new research articles for each assignment.)
The selected articles should be original research articles. Review articles, meta-analysis, meta-synthesis, and systemic review should not be used.
Mixed-methods studies should not be used.
There are two parts to this assignment.
Part 1: Complete a Rapid Critical Appraisal Checklist chart for each research article (4 total).
Download the Rapid Critical Appraisal Checklist here (PDF—use with Adobe Acrobat)
Download the Rapid Critical Appraisal Checklist here (Word document)
Part II: Write a summary (2–3 pages)
Compare and contrast the similarities and differences among the four research articles.
Submit the 4 completed CHECKLISTS along with your summary.
You should:
Use current APA Style to format your paper and to cite your sources.
Review the rubric for further information on how your assignment will be graded.
Discussion: NURS 350 Research in Nursing
NURS350 Research in Nursing
Week 7 Assignment
Research Article Critique
A research critique demonstrates your ability to critically evaluate an investigative study. For this assignment, choose an original or primary research study related to nursing or medicine. The purpose of this assignment is to review a research study in-depth and to decide whether or not it is a valid research study that can be used in practice. It is your written evaluation of the study, not just a summary of the study.
The body of your paper should follow APA Style guidelines, and it should 4–6 pages double-spaced plus a cover page and reference list. The full article must be attached to the critique for credit.
Discussion: NURS 350 Research in Nursing
Note: Because submission of the article is part of the assignment requirements and is necessary for grading, any assignment submitted without the accompanying article will be considered incomplete. An incomplete assignment will be initially assigned a zero. The student has the opportunity to submit the article to complete the assignment. However, if it is submitted after the due date and time, the late penalty will apply. After five days, submissions will not be accepted, as per University policy, and the grade will remain a zero.
Articles used for one assignment cannot be used for the other assignments. (Students should find new research articles for each assignment.)
The selected articles should be original research studies. Review articles, concept analysis, meta-analysis, meta-synthesis, integrative review, and systemic review should not be used.
Mixed-methods studies should not be used.
Your critique should include the following:
Research Problem/Purpose
Discussion: NURS 350 Research in Nursing
Describe the problem as it is presented in the study.
State the purpose of the research.
Have the investigators placed the study problem within the context of existing nursing or healthcare knowledge?
Will the study solve a problem relevant to nursing?
Review of the Literature (may be part of the author’s introduction or conclusion)
Identify the concepts explored in the literature review.
Are the references current in relation to the publication date of the study? If not, what are the possible reasons for using older sources?
Theoretical Framework
Do the authors identify their overall assumptions or a theoretical framework for the study? Are these assumptions appropriate for the study?
Does the research draw only on nursing theory, or does it draw on theory from other disciplines?
If a formal theory is not identified, suggest one (preferably a nursing theory) that might be suitable for the study. Various nursing theories can be found at http://www.nursing-theory.org/theories-and-models/
Variables/Hypotheses/Questions/Assumptions
What is the research question or the hypothesis? Is it clearly stated or implied?
What are the independent and dependent variables in the hypothesis or research question?
Are the variables clearly defined so that the reader understands the researchers’ interpretation of the variables?
Is the dependent variable concrete and measurable?
Methodology
Discussion: NURS 350 Research in Nursing
What type of design (quantitative, qualitative) was used in this study?
Was inductive or deductive reasoning used in this study?
State the sample size and study population, sampling method, and study setting.
Did the investigator choose a probability or non-probability sample?
Describe how the independent variable was tested or surveyed in the study.
Describe how the dependent variable was measured.
Discuss the reliability and the validity (quantitative) or the credibility (qualitative) of the measurement tools.
How were ethical considerations addressed? What ethical considerations were necessary for this type of study?
Data Analysis
What data analysis method was used?
How were the results in the study presented to the reader?
Discuss at least one (1) finding from the authors’ results and relate it to the dependent variable of the study.
Summary/Conclusions, Implications, and Recommendations
What are strengths and limitations of the study other than those stated by the authors?
Can the researcher generalize the findings to other populations? Explain.
What is the significance of the findings and conclusions for you in your personal nursing practice? For nursing as a profession?
The body of your paper should be 4–6 pages double-spaced plus a cover page and a reference page. The critique must be attached to the article and follow APA Style guidelines.