Week 1 assignment
Research Foundations
This assignment is designed to guide your thinking about the research process and help you explore topics that may be of interest or relevant in your practice.
Click the Worksheet tab to see examples of research problems and questions.
Complete the Research Foundations worksheet.
Click the Assignment Files tab to submit your assignment.
Week 2 assignment
Ethical Issues in Research
As you develop a research proposal, you must consider the ethical issues related to it.
Determine the ethical considerations related to the research question you developed in Week 1.
Consider the seven main principles of ethical research introduced in this week's learning activity, Research Ethics Guidance:
Social and clinical value
Scientific validity
Fair subject selection
Favorable risk-benefit ratio
Independent review
Informed consent
Respect for potential and enrolled subjects
Summarize the ethical issues related to your topic in one of the following formats:
18-slide presentation
15-minute oral presentation
850-word paper
Another format approved by your instructor
Cite at least one peer-reviewed and one evidence-based resource in APA format.
Click the Assignment Files tab to submit your assignment.
Week 3 assignment
Research Design
This assignment is designed to help you understand the differences between qualitative and quantitative research designs, as well as select the appropriate method for the research question you have been working on throughout the course.
Step 1: State your Week 1 research question as perfected and select the type of research (quantitative or qualitative) that is most appropriate for it.
Step 2: Summarize the major steps in that type of research.
Step 3: Determine the specific type or approach (i.e., quasi-experimental, phenomenological, etc.) you would employ and explain why that is the best selection.
Step 4: Explain potential data.
Step 5: Explain how analyzing and interpreting that data can inform your research question.
Format your assignment as one of the following
18-slide presentation
15-minute oral presentation
850-word paper
Another format approved by your instructor
Cite at least one peer-reviewed resource in APA format.
Click the Assignment Files tab to submit your assignment.
Week 4 assignment
Finding Evidence
Evidence that supports a conclusion is part of the research process. Literature reviews often accompany research papers in the form of a summary and synthesis of the published information about the research topic. Although this week's assignment is not a literature review, it is designed to familiarize you with the practice of finding appropriate sources and information on a topic.
Find three original research articles – do not use systematic reviews, meta-analyses, meta-syntheses or integrated reviews – that apply to your research topic. The articles must be
peer reviewed,
recent (published within 5 years), and
statistically significant (applies to quantitative studies).
Write the requested information about each article using the Literature Review Work Sheet in which you identify
study design (name the basic study design)
participants (number and sample type)
independent variable(s), (if one exists)
dependent variable(s), (what the researcher is most interested in)
analysis methods – name the statistics for quantitative and the analytic method for qualitative), and
results.
Include a PDF of, and APA citation, for each article.
Click the Assignment Files tab to submit the articles and summaries.
Week 5 assignment
Research Dissemination Plan
This assignment is designed to help you understand how to make your research usable and available to other people in your field.
Develop a dissemination plan for your research. Your plan should include discussion about the following:
Audience
Who is most likely to use this research?
What is the practice setting?
End-user needs
How should you present data to make it most usable?
Is there specific language should you use to ensure your audience understands your purpose?
Does the target audience have a specific type of need based on practice setting?
Publications
What specific journals, newsletters, or publications would would you want to publish in to reach your audience?
Presentations at local, state, and national levels
What conferences, meetings, or panels would you want to present at to make sure your ideas were readily available in the field?
Format your dissemination plan as one of the following:
18-slide presentation
15-minute oral presentation
850-word paper
Another format approved by your instructor
Click the Assignment Files tab to submit your assignment.
Week 1 discussion
Understanding Nursing Research, Ch. 1, 5
Read the following from Understanding Nursing Research:
Ch. 1: Introduction to Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice
Ch. 5: Research Problems, Purposes, and Hypotheses
When Should We Change Our Clinical Practice Based on the Results of a Clinical Study? Searching for Evidence: PICOS and PubMed
Read “When Should We Change Our Clinical Practice Based on the Results of a Clinical Study? Searching for Evidence: PICOS and PubMed” from this week's Electronic Reserve Readings.
Note: This is the first article in a three-part series that discusses the research process. Each article builds on the one before and correlates to the topics in the course.
Research Questions, Hypotheses and Objectives
Read “Research Questions, Hypotheses and Objectives” from this week's Electronic Reserve Readings.
Research Resources
There are tutorials to help familiarize you with the available research resources in the University Library.
Watch the two research tutorials: Advanced Research and Advanced Research Methods:
Access the University Library video tutorials center.
Click the Library Overview button at the top of the screen.
PICO Format Research Questions
Formulating a research question is the most important and challenging part of research. In this activity, we will revisit the PICO format used to develop research questions in NSG/302: Professional Contemporary Nursing Role and Practice.
Search the Internet for the University of Illinois Evidence Based Medicine resources and explore the PICO resources.
Click the Exploration tab to read about PICOS elements on page 423 of Understanding Nursing Research.
Researcher Profiles
Watch the four researcher profiles from LabTV to see what compels them to advance nursing research and some key functions of their daily work.
As you watch, reflect on your areas of interest and think of how you could apply your skills as a researcher to better understand them.
Quantitative and Qualitative Research Approaches
Short presentation on research approaches
Please view the video on quantitative and qualitative research. It does contain sound so please have your speakers turned on.
Questions and Hypotheses
A short presentation on questions and hypotheses. It does contain sounds so please have your speakers turned on.
Hello to all. After viewing the presentation and reading the information in chapter 5, particularly the tables addressing quantitative research topics, problems, and purposes and qualitative research topics, problems and purposes, discuss the similarities and differences of the topics, problems and purposes of these two approaches to investigating phenomena of interest to the practicing nurse.
Week 2 discussion
Understanding Nursing Research, Ch. 4: Examining Ethics in Nursing Research
After completing this chapter, you should be able to:
1.Identify the historical events influencing the development of ethical codes and regulations for nursing and biomedical research.
2.Describe the ethical principles that are important in conducting research on human subjects.
3.Describe the human rights that require protection in research.
4.Identify the essential elements of the informed consent process in research.
5.Describe the role of a nurse in the institutional review of research in an agency.
6.Examine the benefit-risk ratio of published studies and studies proposed for conduct in clinical agencies.
7.Describe the types of possible scientific misconduct in the conduct, reporting, and publication of healthcare research.
8.Critically appraise the protection of human rights and the informed consent and institutional review processes in published studies.
9.Critically appraise the treatment of animals reported in published studies.
Research Ethics Guidance
Explore the National Institutes of Health Patient Recruitment web page to understand the seven guiding principles of ethical medical research.
Search the Office for Human Research Protections website to understand its role in research.
Understanding Research Consent
As a BSN-prepared nurse, you will likely be asked to witness patients signing research consent forms. It is important to understand how to advocate for patients.
Consider the following question:
How can you determine if a patient understands a research consent form and how the research trials or study will affect them?
Write a 260-word summary.
Local campus students: Prepare to present and discuss your summary in the next class meeting.
Online students: Post your response and respond to at least one classmate's post.
Informed Consent Examples
Find online examples of informed consent forms for research.
Post the link to one website with a 175-word explanation of the type of study for which the form would be appropriate.
After you look at the sites posted by classmates, post a 90-word comment on the differences among consent forms used for different types of studies.
Activity adapted from Understanding Nursing Research: Building an Evidence-Based Practice (Ch. 4) TEACH Resources
Research and Code of Ethics for Nurses
Please review the presentation and think about the aspects of the Code of Ethics for Nurses that apply to your proposed research question. The presentation does contain sound so please have your speakers turned on.
Week 3 discussion
Understanding Nursing Research, Ch. 2, 3, 12
Read the following from Understanding Nursing Research:
Ch. 2: Introduction to Quantitative Research
Ch. 3: Introduction to Qualitative Research
Ch. 12: Critical Appraisal of Quantitative and Qualitative Research for Nursing Practice
Quantitative Research Study Parts
Click the Discussion tab to review Table 2-3 in Understanding Nursing Research.
Select one of the research or clinical journals in the table.
Ensure the journal is available in the University Library.
Review two quantitative research articles in the journal and compare the sections of the article to the typical six sections used in many research journals.
Identify the journal you selected and list the common sections of the research articles you reviewed.
Write a 250-word summary about your findings.
Submit your articles with your post as .PDF files
Local campus students: Prepare to present and discuss your summary in the next class meeting.
Online students: Post your response and respond to at least one classmate's post.
Activity adapted from Understanding Nursing Research: Building an Evidence-Based Practice (Ch. 2) TEACH Resources.
Qualitative Research Methods
Use the journals suggested in table 2-3 to locate a qualitative study.
Identify the journal, provide the complete citation and the components addressed in the study.
Write a 250-word summary to include the role of the researcher in the study.
Submit the qualitative study as a .PDF file along with your summary.
Local campus students: Prepare to present and discuss your summary in the next class meeting.
Online students: Post your response and respond to at least one classmate's post.
Activity adapted from Nursing Research: Building an Evidence-Based Practice (Ch. 3) TEACH Resources.
Week 4 discussion
Understanding Nursing Research, Ch. 6: Understanding and Critically Appraising the Literature Review
Please use the following link to launch the content: External Content Launch
When Should We Change Our Clinical Practice Based on the Results of a Clinical Study? The Hierarchy of Evidence
Read “When Should We Change Our Clinical Practice Based on the Results of a Clinical Study? The Hierarchy of Evidence” from this week's Electronic Reserve Readings.
Note: This is the second article in a three-part series that discusses the research process. Each article builds on the one before and correlates to the topics in the course.
PICO Linguist
Use the PICO Linguist tool to find salient articles for your research topic.
Use the PICO resources from Week 1 and the results of your PICO Linguist search to prepare for this week's assignment.
Rules of Evidence
Write a 260-word summary in which you explain the following:
Why it is important to employ the highest level of available research evidence in clinical decision making
Why the evidence at the top of Figure 1-3 in Understanding Nursing Research is better than the information at the bottom
Local campus students: Prepare to present and discuss your summary in the next class meeting.
Online students: Post your response and respond to at least one classmate's post.
Week 5 discussion
When Should We Change Our Clinical Practice Based on the Results of a Clinical Study? Study Endpoints
Read “When Should We Change Our Clinical Practice Based on the Results of a Clinical Study? Study Endpoints” from this week's Electronic Reserve Readings.
Note: This is the third article in a three-part series that discusses the research process. Each article builds on the one before and correlates to the topics in the course.
Importance of Dissemination
Consider the following question:
Why is it important to disseminate research?
Write a 260-word summary.
Local campus students: Prepare to present and discuss your summary in the next class meeting.
Online students: Post your response and respond to at least one classmate's post.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Dissemination Planning Tool
Explore the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Dissemination Planning Tool.
The tool is broken down into six parts:
Research findings and products—What is going to be disseminated
End users—Who will apply it in practice
Dissemination partners—Individuals, organizations or networks through which you can reach end users
Communication—How you convey the research outcomes
Evaluation—How you determine what worked
Dissemination work plan—Where you start
Review each section in preparation for this week's assignment.
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute Dissemination and Implementation Framework and Toolkit
Explore the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute's Dissemination and Implementation Framework and Toolkit to see another example of a dissemination framework.
