Assignment:

Complete an EVIDENCE-BASED NURSING PRACTICE PROJECT.
Purpose
To enable the student to use medical and nursing databases to find research articles that will provide evidence to validate nursing interventions regarding a specific area of nursing practice.
Guidelines
Select a topic from the list below.
Select five research articles from the databases on your topic.
Determine if a national guideline or evidence-based systematic review has been completed on your topic.
Answer the following questions regarding your research articles using APA format.
Identify the article that best supports nursing interventions for your topic.
Discuss how the other four articles either support or refute the findings of the research article identified above.
Of the five research articles, identify which article has developed the best research design. Explain.
Of the five research articles, identify which article has most clearly developed the purpose or problem statement. Explain.
Of the five research articles, identify which article has the best sample size for their research problem. Explain.
Of the five research articles, identify which article has made the best and most accurate conclusions from their findings. Explain.
Compare your analysis of the five articles with the national guidelines and/or evidence-based systematic review. Explain if your analysis is similar or different from the national guidelines and/or evidence-based systematic review.
Format:
Use APA format.
Assignment should be 1000-1250 words in length
Typed: 12-point font.
Include all five articles with paper.
TOPICS FOR EVIDENCE-BASED NURSING PRACTICE PROJECT
Oral care
Restraints
Pain management
IV catheter dwell time
Medication administration
Preoperative teaching
Postoperative complications
Deep breathing and coughing postoperatively
Foley catheters
Automated vital signs
Nausea
Hand washing
Breast-feeding
Home births
Heparin versus saline for catheter flush
Methods of blood collection in neonates
Preoperative fasting
Handling of medication errors
Prevention of needle sticks
Lactation methods
Preoperative skin prep
Massage therapy for pain management
Prevention of pressure ulcers
TED hose versus SCDs
Effectiveness of gloving
Relaxation therapy for hypertension
Neonatal circumcision
Transdermal fentanyl
Transmission of postsurgical infections
Cesarean sections
Postpartum depression
Labor pains and position
Music therapy for pain management
Testing feeding tube placement
Noninvasive methods for reduction of labor pains
Topical anesthetics for IV insertion
Prevention of constipation
Management of wounds
Blood glucose monitoring
Therapeutic touch Alcohol hand sanitizers
Discharge information for surgical patients
Prophylaxis for postoperative DVT
Miscarriage interventions
Documentation

N494: Essentials of Nursing Research

N494 Essentials of Nursing Research introduces the steps of the research process and the role of research in the practice of professional nursing. The methods and analytical tools required to critically evaluate nursing research literature are emphasized. Quantitative and qualitative approaches are highlighted. The focus of this course is developing the foundations for accessing and analyzing current nursing research literature to enable the professional nurse to apply research to current practice and issues. The skills of using technology to locate research information are developed, and the essential role of databases is explored. An understanding of ethical research practices is explored. This course prepares students to be critical consumers of evidence based research, and serves as a foundation for graduate-level nursing research courses.
Course Goals:
By the conclusion of this course, you will be able to:
Articulate the role of research in the development of nursing knowledge.
Describe the basic concepts, techniques, and methodologies underlying the research process and their application in the study of nursing problems.
Identify researchable clinical nursing problems.
Use information technology to retrieve hierarchical levels of evidence that addresses clinical questions.
Utilize effective critical thinking and written communication skills in the critique of research for applicability to nursing practice.
Integrate research findings into nursing practice to meet the changing needs of clients and professional nursing.
Describe current research priorities in nursing.
Identify legal, ethical and cultural considerations in research that involves human subjects.
Prerequisites:
N490, N491
Required Textbook:
American Psychological Association. (2009) Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association. ISBN: 978-1433805615.
Nieswiadomy, R. M. (2012). Foundations of Nursing Research (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson. 978-0-13-211857-6
Module 2 Assignment
Assignment:
Conduct a literature search to select a quantitative research study of interest and conduct an initial critique of the research report. Respond to the critique guidelines for quantitative research, including:
Was a quantitative or a qualitative study conducted?
If the research was quantitative, was the study descriptive, correlational, quasiexperimental, or experimental?
Was the setting for the study natural, partially controlled, or highly controlled?
Were the steps of the study clearly identified?
Can you identify the following sections in the research report: problem, purpose, literature review, framework, variables and definitions of variables, design, treatment (if appropriate), sample, measurement methods, data collection, data analyses, and outcomes?
Were any of the steps of the research process missing?
Were the steps of the study logically linked? Thus the study problem and purpose need to provide a basis for the literature review and the framework presented. The purpose and framework provide a basis for the objectives, questions, or hypotheses identified. The objectives, questions, or hypotheses provide a basis for the study design, measurement, data collection, and data analyses. The findings from the study need to be linked to the framework and to previous studies cited in the literature review.
Provide a reference for the article according to APA format and a copy of the article. Assignment should be 750 – 1250 words in length
Module 3 Assignment
Assignment:
Critique a review of literature, addressing each of the following 12 questions:
Identify the Research Problem
Identify the primary empirical sources cited in the review. How did you determine that they are primary empirical sources? What references cited are primary sources, but are not empirical? How did you determine that they are not empirical? Are secondary sources cited?
Are the references current? What years would be current for the study being critiqued?
Are relevant studies identified and described? What criteria did you use to determine whether the studies are relevant?
Are relevant theories identified and described? What criteria did you use to determine whether the theories are relevant?
Are relevant landmark studies described? How did you determine that the studies you identified are landmark studies?
Are relevant studies critiqued? Identify the critique statements made.
Are the sources paraphrased to promote the flow of the content presented or are there too many direct quotes? Quote three paraphrased statements from the article.
Is the current knowledge about the research problem described? How did you determine that the knowledge is current?
Does the literature review identify the gap(s) in the knowledge base that provides a basis for the study conducted? Provide the statements made by the author that identify the gap in knowledge.
Is the literature review clearly organized, logically developed, and concisely written? Justify your conclusion.
Does the literature review logically build a case for the study being reported? Why or why not?
Assignment should be 750 – 1250 words in length and cite the article you are reviewing.
This week are taking a closer look at the literature review section of research studies. The literature review performed by researchers provides a basis for their research study. It also helps in developing a framework for their study. Choose a study that has a good literature review (more than just a paragraph or two) to review. Remember, the assignment is only looking at the literature review section and how it relates to the study problem and purpose. If you have any questions or need assistance, please let me know.

Module 4 Assignment
Assignment:
Critique the variables in ONE: Provide step-by-step explanation of these research articles:
Gouchon, S., Gregori, D., Picotto, A., Patrucco, G., Nangeroni, M., & DiGiulio, P. (2010). Skin-to-skin contact after cesarean delivery. Nursing Research, 59(2), 78-84.
OR
Chin, K., Fan, J., Wang, H., Wu, S., Li, C., & Lin, H. (2010). Silver yoga exercises improved physical fitness of transitional frail elders. Nursing Research, 59(5), 364-370.

Critique the variables by answering the following questions:
Are the independent or dependent variables or research variables or concepts identified?
Are the variables that are manipulated or measured in the study consistent with the variables identified in the purpose or the objectives, questions, or hypotheses?
Are the variables reflective of the concepts identified in the study framework?
Are the variables clearly defined conceptually and operationally? And, are they based on theory and previous research?
Is the conceptual definition of the variable consistent with the operational definition?
Were the essential demographic variables examined and summarized?
Were the extraneous variables identified and controlled as necessary in the study?
Are there uncontrolled extraneous variables that may have influenced the findings? Is the potential impact of these variables on the findings discussed?
Assignment should be 750 – 1250 words in length.
Module 5 Assignment
Assignment:
Select ONE:
Critique the interventions in the following research study:
Schachman K., Lee R.,: Provide step-by-step explanation of requirements., and Lederman, R. (2004) Baby Boot Camp: Facilitating maternal role adaptation in military wives. Nursing Research, 53(4).
Was the experimental intervention described in detail?
Was justification from the literature providedexpectationsprovided for development of the experimental intervention?
Was the experimental intervention the best that could be provided given current knowledge?
Was a protocol developed to ensure consistent or reliable implementationassessing the student’s learningimplementation of the treatment with each subject throughout the study?
Did the study report indicate who implemented the treatment? If more than one person implemented the treatment, were they trained to ensure consistency in the delivery of the treatment?
Was any control group intervention described?
Was there an intervention theory provided to explain why the intervention causes the outcomes and exactly how the intervention produced the desired effects?
Assignment should be 750 – 1250 words in length
OR
Apply the critique guidelines regarding the adequacy of the sample in quantitative studies to the study:
Pellegrini, J., DeLoge, J., Bennett, J., & Kelly, J. (2009). Comparison of inhalation isopropyl alcohol vs promethazine in the treatment of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV) in patients identified as at high risk for developing PONV. AANA Journal, 77(4), 293-299.
Are the sampling inclusion criteria, sampling exclusion criteria, or both clearly identified and appropriate for the study?
Is the sample size identified? If groups were included in the study, is the sample size for each group discussed?
Is a power analysis reported? Was the sample size appropriate based on the power analysis?
Is the refusal rate and sample mortality addressed? If the refusal rate or mortality is high, does the researcher provide rationales for these?
Are the characteristics of the sample detailed? If two or more groups are used in the study, do the groups have comparable characteristics?
Is the sampling method probability or nonprobability? Identify the specific sampling method used in the study to obtain the sample. Is the sampling method adequate to achieve a representative sample?
Is the sample representative of the accessible and target populations?
What was the possibility of Type II error?
Are the potential biases in the sample discussed?
Does the researcher this week’s objective(s) define the target population to which the findings are generalized?