NR 449 Week 5 Assignment: Analysing Published Research

Supplemental Information for the Assignment

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this initial paper is to interpret two articles that pertain to an evidence-based practice group project.

This topic of interest is the assigned topic for your group presentation. You should have this narrowed down at this point from dialog and communication within your group to one problem statement and a research question.

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COURSE OUTCOMES:

This assignment enables the student to meet the following course outcomes.

CO 2: Apply research principles to the interpretation of the content of published research studies. (POs #4 and #8)

CO 4: Evaluate published nursing research for credibility and clinical significance related to evidence- based practice. (POs #4 and #8)

Due Date and Points Possible: Refer to the course calendar for due date. This assignment is worth 200 points. The College’s Late Assignment policy applies to this activity.

Let’s look at the assignment a bit more closely so you can follow the purpose/intention of the assignment.

1. The RUA assignment: Analyzing Published Research is a short (3 page plus title and reference pages) research paper interpreting each student’s two articles identified as most important for the group project. This paper builds on group efforts underway through communication by all group members as the group is moving forward with preparing a group presentation (RUA #3).

Many healthcare organizations offer nurses opportunities for career advancement, which includes membership on organization shared governance committees or unit-based workgroups. These committees and workgroups are empowered by the organization to address practical issues and problems that nurses encounter while caring for patients in a variety of settings.

For the purpose of the final presentation (the next RUA assignment): The group is a hypothetical working group of nurses, tasked with presenting a problem or issue to a group of peers with recommendations for a possible nursing practice change based on the best available evidence. The groups collectively identify their focus, (the hypothetical nursing practice setting). Application of best practices based on current research includes presentation of the problem, the significance of the problem (background information) and the clinical research question that drives the project. Recommendations for practice issues or changes are presented based on the research and possible practice guidelines.

Therefore, nurses find and identify significant problems for nursing research for the purpose of improving patient outcomes, which is a primary goal for conducting research.

The research problem flows from the general topic of interest, narrowed sufficiently in scope to form a specific research question. The research question is the “point of reference” that ALL research or EBP projects consistently refer back to. In essence, a solid research question is a necessity to keep the project on track. All points to the research question!

General topic of interest ? problem statement ? research question ? EBP project

2. You are assigned to a small group of students and given a general topic in unit 2 for the RUA assignments in unit 3 and 5 (independent assignments) and unit 7 (a group presentation). By now your group should be well underway with the planning of the presentation that includes narrowing of your topic, a problem statement, and a clinical research question.

3. Successful completion of the RUA assignments requires group collaboration and discussion. This point leads to success with the individual assignments AND the group presentation! Use the team collaboration tab for all group communication and collaboration so transparency of your group collaboration is evident to all group members and to your instructor. DO NOT duplicate articles within your group. If there are duplicate articles in the RUA #2: Analyzing Published Research, both students with the duplicated articles will not receive credit for the analysis. You must be in contact with your group members to check each other’s articles.

4. Refer to the original directions provided within your course for RUA: Analyzing Published Research, including the Directions and Assignment Criteria and the Grading Rubric to be certain all grading requirements are met for the assignment. Paper length is three pages plus the Evidence Matrix Table, plus the title page and reference page.

5. Note: Although the assignment and grading rubric indicates the requirement for full analysis of TWO research articles, you must have ONE research article (minimally) and may choose to replace the second research article to evaluate/discuss a non-research article with either a literature review article, expert opinion, case report analysis, practice standard, or clinical practice guideline. The important point to consider when evaluating the second article, if non-research, is this article must inform the group project by providing background information, or recommendations for EBP.

6. Follow the outline/template for the RUA: Analyzing Published Research (separate document already set up in APA format) to complete the assignment. The Title page (page 1), begins the paper, followed by the body of the paper beginning on page two of your paper. The final page is the References page. Attach the Evidence Matrix Table either directly to your paper following the Reference page, or submit this table as a separate assignment along with your RUA paper #2. The template/outline is already set up with Levels of Headings in correct APA format for the paper – fill in the sections and remove the directions in ( ) following the heading before submission of the paper.

6. Here is a newly arranged format for the assignment with specifics for each section:

Introduction to the Paper (no heading used for Introduction per APA format)
Briefly describe the topic in general

Purpose of the paper

Clinical Question (level one heading)
Describe the problem. (What is the focus of your group’s work?)

Significance of the problem in terms of outcomes or statistical evidence (is this a patient centered, nurse focused/practice issue, organizational, or environmental/societal issue?) Use information from sources to support the significance of the problem (sources likely will include two articles, {your research article and if not another research article, the optional article such as a literature review article you located, or website information from government or professional organizations, or practice standard or clinical practice guidelines). Your articles will provide the best information for discussing the significance of the problem. You must cite all references in text and include on the References page using APA format.

Note: This section will likely be the most lengthy in the paper.
Include a problem statement (by now, the problem statement should be the same for all members of your group), followed by: (d)
Conclude this section with your PICOT or research question (this should be the same for all group members).

III. Description of Findings (level one heading)

a. Summary of Findings (see Evidence Matrix Table) Be certain to complete the Evidence Matrix Table and attach following the References or submit as a separate assignment file.

b. Description of Findings from the Articles (level two heading) ((NOTE: this is a change from the directions, assignment criteria, and grading rubric sub-heading)

Three paragraphs. Describe in one paragraph for each article the following:

For the research article (s) : (1) the name of the study followed by an in text citation; (2) What main concepts or topics are studied or discussed; (3) What methods were used to gather data; (4) What sampling strategy was used? Who or what were the samples? (5) What instruments were used to collect the quantitative data (for a quantitative study) [if no instruments were identified, state no instruments identified in the article] (6) Were reliability and validity mentioned? [generalizability of the results indicate external validity of the study] (7) How do findings in the study answer or assist in the answer of the clinical research question? [This question should include a brief statement indicating the reason for choosing the article for the project].

For the non-research article: (1) the name of the study followed by an in text citation; (2) What main concepts or topics are discussed; (3) Why did you choose to include this article in the group project? How is this article informative for the group project? (4) Were there any recommendations within the article that are applicable to our group project? (5) How can the information in the article provide for positive patient outcomes?

The third paragraph in this section includes: (1) What else is needed to answer the clinical research question that is not addressed in the articles? For example, what else is missing from your articles that are needed to inform the group project. (2) Provide two additional questions or direction based on your research focus that will help guide your group project.

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IV. Conclusion (level one heading)

a. Write a summary paragraph indicating three major findings or recommendations from each of the articles. Points to consider are (1) the major findings/results of the research article, and the main summary/purpose of the content in the non-research article, (2) Was there any evidence of bias noted in either article? If so, discuss fully. [define the negative role of bias in research studies or other reports and how bios can negatively affect the outcomes of your project] (3) What limitations are identified by the authors, or if not directly stated in the articles, identify at least one limitation of the study/article.

b. Conclude the research paper with a final paragraph, relating a personal account of how conducting a literature search that led to a critique of literature either research or practice-focused, enhanced your growth along a personal journey to uncover best practice research and evidence that informs your nursing practice.

References (separate page)

Cite using APA style for reference list.

Evidence Matrix Table (separate page)

Complete the Evidence Matrix Table for the research articles. The non-research articles will not meet all the criteria for completion on the table. If you used a non-research article for your second article, complete the table as much as possible, minimally including: Reference, reason for choice of the article, purpose of the article, study question/problem addressed; Major findings, Limitations, What was missing from the article that would inform the group project? NR 449 Week 5 Assignment: Analysing Published Research

NR 449 Week 5 Assignment: Analysing Published Research