Assignment : Weighing the Evidence

Assignment : Weighing the Evidence

NOW FOR AN ORIGINAL PAPER ASSIGNMENT: Assignment : Weighing the Evidence

Week 10 discussion

Weighing the Evidence

When conducting original research, the final step researchers must complete is weighing the evidence and interpreting the meanings of their data, statistics, and analyses. This is the culmination of the research process in which all of the research methods and designs can be synthesized into a meaningful conclusion. In this stage, researchers should formulate explanations for what their data indicates, determine whether the data answers their initial research question, identify areas of uncertainty, and consider directions for further research.

In this Discussion, you focus on one of the research articles that you identified for Part 2 of the Course Project (Literature Review). You then explore the process of how the researchers generated conclusions based on their data, consider other possible interpretations of their data, and formulate ideas for further research.

To prepare:

Review this week’s Learning Resources, focusing on how researchers find meaning in their data and generate sound conclusions. Pay particular attention to Table 2 in the article, “Study Design in Medical Research.”

Revisit the 5 articles that you identified in Part 2 of the Course Project. Select one to consider for the purpose of this Discussion.

Read sections of the chosen article where the data is presented, analyzed, and interpreted for meaning. What reasoning process did the researchers use to formulate their conclusions? What explanation did they give to support their conclusions? Were there any weaknesses in their analysis or conclusions?

Consider possible alternate conclusions that the researchers could have drawn based on their data.

Examine the findings that the article presents and consider how well they addressed the researcher’s initial question(s). What additional research could be done to build on these findings and gain a fuller understanding of the question?

By Day 3

Post an APA citation and brief summary of the research article that you selected. Describe the data and the results of any statistical tests or analyses presented in the article. Explain how the researchers formulated their conclusion, any weaknesses in their analysis or conclusions, and offer at least one alternate interpretation of their data. Propose at least one additional research study that could be done to further investigate this research topic.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.

By Day 6

Respond to at least two colleagues on two different days using one or more of the following approaches:

Ask a probing question, substantiated with additional background information, and evidence.

Share an insight from having read your colleagues’ postings, synthesizing the information to provide new perspectives.

Offer and support an alternative perspective using readings from the classroom or from your own review of the literature in the Walden Library.

Expand on your colleagues’ postings by providing additional insights or contrasting perspectives based on readings and evidence.

Week 11 discussion

Creating a Culture of Evidence-Based Practice

An abundance of evidence can be found on almost any medical issue or health topic. Often, the availability of information is not the concern, but rather nurses struggle with how to convey the evidence to others and change practices to better reflect the evidence. Deep-rooted organizational cultures and policies can make some resistant to change, even to changes that can vastly improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of health care. However, there are many strategies that nurses can employ to bring about changes to practice.

In this Discussion, you focus on how to create an organizational culture that supports evidence-based practice.

To prepare:

Review the information in this week’s Learning Resources. Examine the various suggestions for promoting an organizational culture that embraces the use of EBP.

Reflect on your own organization’s (or one in which you have worked) support of evidence-based practice. Examine how culture and policies impact the adoption of changes to practice based on evidence. What barriers exist?

Consider the models and suggestions for promoting evidence-based practice featured in this week’s Learning Resources. Identify models and suggestions that would work well in your organization.

Reflect on the significance of evidence-based practice in health care. What responsibility do nurses have to promote EBP and change practices to better reflect evidence and research findings?

Reflect on how nurses can disseminate findings from evidence-based practice research.

By Day 3

Post an evaluation of your organization’s use of EBP and how it is furthered or hindered by organizational culture and policies. Describe how you could disseminate the findings. Propose a strategy for strengthening the culture of EBP within the organization. Discuss a nurse’s responsibility to further the use of EBP, providing a rationale supported by specific information from the Learning Resources.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.

By Day 6

Respond to at least two of your colleagues on two different days using one or more of the following approaches:

Ask a probing question, substantiated with additional background information, and evidence.

Share an insight from having read your colleagues’ postings, synthesizing the information to provide new perspectives.

Offer and support an alternative perspective using readings from the classroom or from your own review of the literature in the Walden Library.

Validate an idea with your own experience and additional sources.

Make a suggestion based on additional evidence drawn from readings or after synthesizing multiple postings.

Expand on your colleagues’ postings by providing additional insights or contrasting perspectives based on readings and evidence.

Week 2 project

Introduction to Course Project

Evidence-based practice involves a great deal more than simply reading nursing periodicals on a regular basis. Nurses can take a more proactive approach to evidence-based practice by identifying authentic problems and concerns, and then using that to guide their inquiries into current research. In this way, nurses can connect the results of relevant research studies to their nursing practice.

For the Course Project, you identify and apply relevant research to a specific nursing topic or problem. You begin by formulating an answerable question that is relevant to nursing and evidence-based practice. In later weeks of this course, you continue the Course Project by conducting a literature review and then determining how the evidence from the literature can be applied to nursing practice.

Before you begin, review the Course Project Overview document located in this week’s Learning Resources.

Note: This Course Project will serve as the Portfolio Assignment for the course. In addition to submitting portions of this Project in Weeks 2 and 5, you will turn in all three deliverables in Week 10.

Course Project: Part 1—Identifying a Researchable Problem

One of the most challenging aspects of EBP is to actually identify the answerable question.

—Karen Sue Davies

Formulating a question that targets the goal of your research is a challenging but essential task. The question plays a crucial role in all other aspects of the research, including the determination of the research design and theoretical perspective to be applied, which data will be collected, and which tools will be used for analysis. It is therefore essential to take the time to ensure that the research question addresses what you actually want to study. Doing so will increase your likelihood of obtaining meaningful results.

In this first component of the Course Project, you formulate questions to address a particular nursing issue or problem. You use the PICOT model—patient/population, intervention/issue, comparison, and outcome—outlined in the Learning Resources to design your questions.

To prepare:

Review the article, “Formulating the Evidence Based Practice Question: A Review of the Frameworks,” found in the Learning Resources for this week. Focus on the PICOT model for guiding the development of research questions.

Review the section beginning on page 71 of the course text, titled, “Developing and Refining Research Problems” in the course text, which focuses on analyzing the feasibility of a research problem.

Reflect on an issue or problem that you have noticed in your nursing practice. Consider the significance of this issue or problem.

Generate at least five questions that relate to the issue which you have identified. Use the criteria in your course text to select one question that would be most appropriate in terms of significance, feasibility, and interest. Be prepared to explain your rationale.

Formulate a preliminary PICO question—one that is answerable—based on your analysis. What are the PICO variables (patient/population, intervention/issue, comparison, and outcome) for this question?

Note: Not all of these variables may be appropriate to every question. Be sure to analyze which are and are not relevant to your specific question.

Using the PICOT variables that you determined for your question, develop a list of at least 10 keywords that could be used when conducting a literature search to investigate current research pertaining to the question.

To complete:

Write a 3- to 4-page paper that includes the following:

A summary of your area of interest, an identification of the problem that you have selected, and an explanation of the significance of this problem for nursing practice

The 5 questions you have generated and a description of how you analyzed them for feasibility

Your preliminary PICOT question and a description of each PICOT variable relevant to your question

At least 10 possible keywords that could be used when conducting a literature search for your PICOT question and a rationale for your selections

By Day 7

Submit your Project. It will also be a component of your Portfolio Assignment for this course, which is due by Day 7 of Week 10.

Reference:

Davies, K. S. (2011). Formulating the evidence based practice question: A review of the frameworks. Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, 6(2), 75–80. Retrieved from https://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/viewFile/9741/8144

Submission and Grading Information

To submit your completed Project for review and grading, do the following:

Please save your Project using the naming convention “WK2Proj+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.

Click the Week 2 Project Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Project.

Click the Week 2 Project link. You will also be able to “View Rubric” for grading criteria from this area.

Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK2Proj+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open.

If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.

Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.

Week 5 project

Course Project: Part 2—Literature Review

This is a continuation of the Course Project presented in Week 2. Before you begin, review the Course Project Overview document located in the Week 2 Resources area.

The literature review is a critical piece in the research process because it helps a researcher determine what is currently known about a topic and identify gaps or further questions. Conducting a thorough literature review can be a time-consuming process, but the effort helps establish the foundation for everything that will follow. For this part of your Course Project, you will conduct a brief literature review to find information on the question you developed in Week 2. This will provide you with experience in searching databases and identifying applicable resources.

Assignment : Weighing the Evidence

Assignment : Weighing the Evidence

Assignment : Weighing the Evidence