DISCUSSION

Learning Objectives

Students will:

Employ basic and advanced search techniques to locate research literature on a practice problem

Critically appraise research literature related to a nursing treatment or prevention intervention (include an article presenting a systematic review)

Learning Resources

Required Media

Walden Library Webinars:

Conducting a Literature Search on a Clinical Research Question

Evidence-Based Health Research

Introduction to Health Science Research

Medical Research: Finding Reviews

Medical Research: Finding Studies by Type

Medical Research: Health Policies and Legal Cases

Recommended Webinars:

Webinars on Library Skills

Required Readings

Gray, J.R., Grove, S.K., & Sutherland, S. (2017). Burns and Grove’s the practice of nursing research: Appraisal, synthesis, and generation of evidence (8th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Saunders Elsevier.

Chapter 3, "Introduction to Quantitative Research"

Chapter 3 provides an overview of quantitative research, the concepts associated with this type of research, and different quantitative research designs.

Chapter 4, "Introduction to Qualitative Research"

Chapter 4 describes the philosophy of qualitative research and provides examples of how it is used in nursing research. Understanding the basic principles of quantitative and qualitative research is necessary to effectively critique research literature.

Chapter 7, "Review of Relevant Literature"

Chapter 7 examines the process of preparing for a literature review to support research efforts.

Chapter 13, "Outcomes Research"

Moran, K., Burson, R., & Conrad, D. (2020). The doctor of nursing practice scholarly project: A framework for success (3rd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Chapter 6, "Developing the DNP Project"

Armola, R., Bourgault, A., Halm, M., Board, R., Bucher, L., Harrington, L., & ... Medina, J. (2009). AACN levels of evidence: What's new? Critical Care Nurse, 29(4), 70-73. doi:10.4037/ccn2009969

This article provides a hierarchical evidence rating system which can be used as a guide to determine the quality and level of evidence presented in different types of research studies.

Elkins, M. Y. (2010). Using PICO and the brief report to answer clinical questions. Nursing, 40(4), 59-60. doi:10.1097/01.NURSE.0000369871.07714.39

The article explains how to use the PICO method to develop clinical questions.

Fineout-Overholt, E., Melnyk, B., Stillwell, S., & Williamson, K. (2010). Critical appraisal of the evidence: Part I an introduction to gathering, evaluating, and recording the evidence... fifth in a series. American Journal of Nursing, 110(7), 47–52. doi: 10.1097/01.NAJ.0000383935.22721.9c

This article discusses the process of rapid critical analysis of research and literature through the categorization of studies and utilization of an evaluation table.

Fineout-Overholt, E., Melnyk, B., Stillwell, S., & Williamson, K. (2010). Critical appraisal of the evidence: Part III the process of synthesis: Seeing similarities and differences across the body of evidence. American Journal of Nursing, 110(11), 43-51. doi:10.1097/01.NAJ.0000390523.99066.b5

This article continues the discussion of critical analysis of evidence and concludes with how nurses can then make decisions based on a synthesis of the findings.

Duke University Medical Center Library. (2009). Evidence-based clinical practice resources: Hierarchy of evidence-based medicine (EBM) resources. Retrieved from http://guides.mclibrary.duke.edu/content.php?pid=274373&sid=2289252

Duke University provides this visual representation of levels of evidence.

University of Illinois at Chicago. (n.d.) Evidence-based practice in the health sciences: Levels of evidence. Retrieved from http://ebp.lib.uic.edu/nursing/node/12

This web-based tutorial provides an overview of evidence-based practice and includes a section on developing practice questions for evidence-based projects.

Evidence-Based Nursing. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://ebn.bmj.com/

This website surveys a wide range of international clinical journals and includes only those research articles that demonstrate high quality and validity.

Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library (n.d.). Finding evidence in PubMed. Retrieved from http://library.medicine.yale.edu/tutorials/577

The Joanna Briggs Institute (n.d.). Retrieved from http://joannabriggs.org/

This international organization was created by the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Adelaide in South Australia and provides members with access to systematic reviews and other research efforts.

Walden University. (2017). Library webinar archives: Nursing. Retrieved from https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/library/webinararchives/nursing

Document: Literature Review Matrix (Word document)

Optional Resources

Boss, C., & Wurmser, T. A. (2009). Searching for evidence: Mission-critical tips. Nursing Management, 40(9), 12. doi: 10.1097/01.NUMA.0000360766.29235.8e

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Coughlan, M., Cronin, P., & Ryan, F. (2007). Step-by-step guide to critiquing research: Part 1: Quantitative research. British Journal of Nursing (BJN), 16(11), 658–663.

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

This article provides strategies for critiquing quantitative research and includes definitions of frequently used research terms.

Cronin, P., Ryan, F., & Coughlan, M. (2008). Undertaking a literature review: A step-by-step approach. British Journal of Nursing (BJN), 17(1), 38–43.

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

This article details an approach for nurses to use when analyzing research, synthesizing data, and writing and reporting research findings.

Dale, J. C. (2005). Critiquing research for use in practice. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 19(3), 183–186. doi:10.1016/j.pedhc.2005.02.004

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Engle, M., Blumethal, A., & Cosgrave, T. (2010). How to prepare an annotated bibliography. Cornell University Library Olin & Uris Libraries: Ask a Librarian. Retrieved from http://olinuris.library.cornell.edu/ref/research/skill28.htm

Evans, D. (2003). Hierarchy of evidence: A framework for ranking evidence evaluating healthcare interventions. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 12(1), 77–84. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2702.2003.00662.x

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Hanson, D., Hoss, B. L., & Wsorick, B. (2008). Evaluating the evidence: Guidelines. AORN Journal, 88(2), 188–196.

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Holopainen, A., Hakulinen-Viitanen, T., & Tossavainen, K. (2008). Systematic review – A method for nursing research. Nurse Researcher, 16(1), 72–83.

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Kleinpell, R. M., Gawlinski, A., & Burns, S. M. (2006). Searching and critiquing literature essential for acute care NPs. Nurse Practioner, 31(8), 12–13.

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Parahoo, K., McCaughan, E., Noyes, J., & McDonough, S. (2010). The effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for men with prostate cancer: A systematic review. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (6). doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD008529

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

This systematic review provides results of psychosocial theories utilized in assisting men with prostate cancer.

Sherrod, R. A., Ford, C., & Oliver, J. (2010). Using data from the Internet to teach ethical principles for critiquing research studies. Nurse Educator, 35(1), 17–1 9. doi: 10.1097/NNE.0b013e3181c41f8d

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Tatano-Beck, C. (2009). Critiquing qualitative research. AORN Journal, 90(4), 543. doi: 10.1016/j.aorn.2008.12.023

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Traynor, M. (2009). Humanism and its critiques in nursing research literature. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 65(7), 1560–1567.

Note: You will access this article from the Walden Library databases.

Consortium Library University of Alaska Anchorage (2011). Nursing research guide. Retrieved from http://libguides.consortiumlibrary.org/content.php?pid=44173&sid=330967

The Writing Center (2007). Literature reviews. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved from http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/literature-reviews/

Discussion: Searching and Critiquing the Evidence

Post your responses to the Discussion based on the course requirements.

Your Discussion postings should be written in standard edited English and follow APA guidelines as closely as possible given the constraints of the online platform. Be sure to support your work with specific citations from this week's Learning Resources and additional scholarly sources as appropriate. Initial postings must be 250–350 words (not including references).