course materials

1. Assignment: Nursing Research for Evidence-Based Practice
Assignment: Nursing Research for Evidence-Based Practice ON Assignment: Nursing
Research for Evidence-Based PracticeNursing Research for Evidence-Based
PracticeAlice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?The Cat: That
depends a good deal on where you want to get to.Alice: I don’t much care where.The
Cat: Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go.—Lewis Carroll, Alice in
WonderlandEffective research begins with the careful formulation of a research question.
Because this question will guide the entirety of the research process, it is important for the
question to be specific, answerable, meaningful, and manageable. The question, “What is the
cure for cancer?” is extremely significant, but it is not specific or manageable enough to
promote effective research. Conversely, the question, “Are individuals who play the violin
on Fridays in March more likely to contract hepatitis?” is very specific but lacks clinical
significance. In order for research to generate meaningful, precise findings, researchers
must begin by carefully crafting a question. In addition, researchers must also explore
ethical concerns related to the question that they select. Taking the time to craft a relevant,
well-constructed question will enable the researcher to have an unambiguous focus as he or
she proceeds. Assignment: Nursing Research for Evidence-Based PracticeThis week, you
examine different models for developing a researchable question and reflect on the ethical
considerations of research. You also formulate a research question using the PICOT
model.Reference:Carroll, L. (1865). Alice in wonderland. London, UK: Macmillan.Learning
ObjectivesStudents will:Analyze ethical aspects of research studiesEvaluate the significance
of a health care issue to nursing practiceDevelop an answerable PICOT question for an EBP
studyPhoto Credit: [JGI/Jamie Grill]/[Blend Images]/Getty ImagesLearning
ResourcesNote: To access this week’s required library resources, please click on the link to
the Course Readings List, found in the Course Materials section of your Syllabus.Required
ReadingsPolit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2017). Nursing research: Generating and assessing
evidence for nursing practice (10th ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer.Chapter 3, “Key
Concepts and Steps in Qualitative and Quantitative Research” (for review)Chapter 4,
“Research Problems, Research Questions, and Hypotheses”This chapter focuses on the steps
in planning a study to generate evidence. These include developing a research question,
identifying variables, articulating a problem statement, and generating hypotheses. Chapter
7, “Ethics in Nursing Research”In this chapter, the focus is on the ethical dilemmas that
occur when planning and conducting research and the ethical principles that have been
enacted for protecting study participants.Fouka, G., & Mantzorou, M. (2011). What are the

2. major ethical issues in conducting research? Is there a conflict between the research ethics
and the nature of nursing? Health Science Journal, 5(1), 3–14. Assignment: Nursing
Research for Evidence-Based PracticeRetrieved from the Walden Library databases.This
article describes a literature review conducted to determine the most important ethical
issues that nurses encounter when undertaking or participating in research. The authors
detail the results of the review and make recommendations for solving some of the
problems highlighted.Newcomb, P. (2010). Evolving fairness in research on human
subjects. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 23(3), 123–124.Retrieved
from the Walden Library databases.In this article, the author describes some of the ethical
controversies that may arise in conducting research in human subjects, especially with
respect to ownership of genes. The author also stresses the importance of educating
research subjects and their families about the ultimate purpose of research.Yakov, G., Shilo,
Y., & Shor, T. (2010). Nurses’ perceptions of ethical issues related to patients’ rights
law. Nursing Ethics, 17(4), 501–510.Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.The
authors of this article detail a study conducted to determine how nursing staff deal with
ethical issues in relation to the law. The article emphasizes the difficulty staff had in
distinguishing between legal and ethical problems. The authors make several
recommendations to deal with legal and ethical problems. Delwiche, F. (2008). Anatomy of a
scholarly research presentation in the health sciences. Retrieved from
http://dana.uvm.edu/Anatomy/ This presentation highlights the primary components of
scholarly research articles. The presentation details the distinguishing factors of scholarly
journals, the peer-review process, and the definition of “primary literature.” American
Nurses Association. (2001). Code of ethics for nurses with interpretive statements.
Retrieved from http://nursingworld.org/DocumentVault/Ethics-1/Code-of-Ethics-for-
Nurses.html This website provides the code of ethics for nurses to be used in carrying out
their responsibilities. There is also a detailed explanation of each provision. Document:
Literature Review Summary Table Template (Word document) Note: You will use this
document to complete the Project throughout this course.Media Laureate Education
(Producer). (2012a). Anatomy of a research study. Baltimore, MD: Author.This multimedia
piece explains the “anatomy” of both quantitative and qualitative research studies. In
addition, there is a brief quiz at the end of the tutorial to measure knowledge about
research articles.Laureate Education (Producer). (2012d). Evidence-based practice and
research. Baltimore, MD: Author.Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 6
minutes.In this video, Dr. Marianne Chulay talks about the significance of evidence-based
practice and research in nursing. She explains how nurses should apply research findings to
health care decisions to improve outcomes.Laureate Education (Producer).
(2012h). Overview of evidence-based practice. Baltimore, MD: Author.Note: The
approximate length of this media piece is 5 minutes.In this video, Dr. Kristen Mauk explains
evidence-based practice and its importance to nursing. She also provides a brief overview of
the process of conducting original research.Optional Resources National Institutes of Health
Office of Extramural Research. (2011). Protecting human research participants. Retrieved
from http://phrp.nihtraining.com/users/login.php This website provides a course on
ethical research for those involved in research in human subjects. The course supplies basic

3. concepts, principles, and issues relevant to protecting research participants. University of
Oxford. (2005). PICO: Formulating an answerable question. Retrieved from
http://learntech.physiol.ox.ac.uk/cochrane_tutorial/cochlibd0e84.phpAssignment 1:
Ethical Dimensions of Research StudiesIn the best-selling book, The Immortal Life of
Henrietta Lacks (Skloot, 2010), the author highlights the true story of an African-American
woman who died in 1951 from cervical cancer. What makes her story unique is that prior to
her death, cells from her tumor were removed and successfully grown in a petri dish. This
was the first time scientists were able to successfully replicate cells outside the body, and it
is estimated that billions of Lacks’ cells have been used in medical research. However,
Henrietta Lacks was never asked for permission to take a sample and her family was never
made aware of the widespread use of her cells. Although the culturing of her cells has been
pivotal for advancing research, strong ethical concerns later arose about using these cells
without patient or family approval.This week’s readings describe historical examples of
unethical research, such as a study of syphilis among African-American men in which
treatment was withheld and a study in which live cancer cells were injected into elderly
patients. Today, stricter controls that seek to protect study participants are placed on
researchers, but breaches still occur. Careful attention must be given toward preventing
unethical behavior. In this Discussion, you explore ethical considerations and issues in
research.To prepare:Select a current health-related case involving research ethics. (If none
come to mind, browse the Internet to familiarize yourself with recent cases.)As you review
the case that you have selected, reflect on the ethical principles discussed in “What Are the
Major Ethical Issues in Conducting Research?” article found in this week’s Learning
Resources. Which principles were breached in the case you have identified?Write a
description of the case that you selected and the ethical issues involved. Analyze the ethical
principles that were breached by the researchers or organizations in your selected case as
well as the possible cause of the breach(es). Suggest how the research might have been
conducted differently to avoid or minimize the ethical problems. Discuss how research can
be done on sensitive issues while still protecting the rights of the research
subjects.Assignment 2—Literature ReviewThis 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.To prepare:Review
the information in Chapter 5 of the course text, focusing on the steps for conducting a
literature review and for compiling your findings.Using the question you selected in your
Week 2 Project (Part 1 of the Course Project), locate 5 or more full-text research articles
that are relevant to your PICOT question. Include at least 1 systematic review and 1
integrative review if possible. Use the search tools and techniques mentioned in your
readings this week to enhance the comprehensiveness and objectivity of your review. You

4. may gather these articles from any appropriate source, but make sure at least 3 of these
articles are available as full-text versions through Walden Library’s databases.Read through
the articles carefully. Eliminate studies that are not appropriate and add others to your list
as needed. Although you may include more, you are expected to include a minimum of five
articles. Complete a literature review summary table using the Literature Review Summary
Table Template located in this week’s Learning Resources.Prepare to summarize and
synthesize the literature using the information on writing a literature review found in
Chapter 5 of the course text.To complete:Write a 3- to 4-page literature review that includes
the following:A synthesis of what the studies reveal about the current state of knowledge on
the question that you developedPoint out inconsistencies and contradictions in the
literature and offer possible explanations for inconsistencies.Preliminary conclusions on
whether the evidence provides strong support for a change in practice or whether further
research is needed to adequately address your inquiryYour literature review summary
table with all references formatted in correct APA styleNote: Certain aspects of conducting a
standard review of literature have not yet been covered in this course. Therefore, while you
are invited to critically examine any aspect of the studies (e.g., a study’s design,
appropriateness of the theoretic framework, data sampling methods), your conclusion
should be considered preliminary. Bear in mind that five studies are typically not enough to
reflect the full range of knowledge on a particular question and you are not expected to be
familiar enough with research methodology to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of all
aspects of the studies.