Nuring

Title of Your Paper (Should Reflect the Topic and Be Identical to Title on Next Page)

Student Name (no credentials)

NSG 502: Advanced Nursing Research

Wilkes University, Passan School of Nursing

Instructor Name (title, first & last name, example Dr. Mary Smith)

Due Date (spelled out, day in digits, with no “th”, “nd”, etc., and full year)

(Note: Each section, with the exception of the introduction (Background, Significance, etc.), should have a leveled heading. Review the guidelines for leveled headings in the APA Publication Manual beginning on page 48, or approved resources.)

Title of Paper (Same as Title on Title Page)

Start all professional papers with an introduction. The heading is the title of the paper - Do not create a heading “Introduction”. The introductory paragraph should contain a mini-outline to tell the reader what your paper will be about. Include a thesis statement that tells the reader what you will discuss in your paper. The thesis statement identifies your main idea and provides a preview to the rest of your paper. The short paragraph or two should introduce the idea, create interest, and make the reader want to look more into the paper. The last sentence of your opening paragraph should contain a transitional sentence which moves the reader to the first paragraph of the body of the paper.

Background

Provide background information. This should be one or two paragraphs long and have references. History of the problem? What led up to it?

Significance

What is the current information on the topic? Why is it worthy of being researched? Why is this information important to nursing practice? What might happen if the problem is not solved?

Problem Statement

Provide a one sentence problem statement. It could start with, “The problem identified in this proposal is….”.

Purpose Statement

Provide a one sentence statement indicating the purpose of the research. It could start with “The purpose of this research is…..”.

PICOT Question

This could start, “The PICOT question is….”. Place (P) (I) (C) (O) (T) where it belongs in the question.

Literature Review

Search Strategies

In the first paragraph describe how articles were selected—what databases were searched, keywords used, inclusion/exclusion criteria, etc. Identify the literature review matrix – this could be stated as, “A literature review matrix table with 10 articles reviewed is provided in the appendix.” (The literature review matrix is included at the end of the paper after the References page.)

Review

Article One

(This is a Level 3 heading and is optional, as long as what article is being reviewed in this section is clearly identified. It does not have to be “Article One”. You can choose your heading, but it must relate to the article being reviewed. And be sure to cite your article so readers will be able to find it!). Describe the article in a paragraph or two with highlights of the research—generally what was being researched, type of research, design, sample, results, etc.

Article Two

(Continue until five articles from the matrix are reviewed.)

Synthesis

In the next paragraph (or two), synthesize the articles relevant to your proposal. Synthesis can sometimes provide a new interpretation of the material or combine new with old interpretations. How are these studies relevant to your topic? Do these studies have interventions that you will use? Why are they important to your topic?

Critical Appraisal

Strengths and Weaknesses

Compare and contrast articles regarding strengths and weaknesses. This section should provide proof of why the article is strong evidence for the research. Also include where the research could be stronger – what is missing or could be better?

Knowledge Gained from Review

Indicate what was learned from the literature review. What information was included in the literature that you didn’t know or think about related to your research?

Gaps in Knowledge

Indicate what knowledge deficits still exist on the topic. Many articles will include a statement about where further research is necessary. Be as specific as possible.

Methodology (New information for Part 3 starts here.)

Research Design

Describe the research design you would use and rationale for selecting this design to answer your question.

Sampling

Describe the methods, strategies, and techniques you will use to find a sample that represents your population of interest.

Data Collection

Describe the data collection methods you will utilize to collect information relevant to you research. Include the setting where data collection will be completed (e.g., in-person, email survey, phone survey).

Data Measurement

Describe the data type and techniques (measures/tools/instruments) most appropriate for the variables of interest (e.g., scales: nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio; ratings/rankings).

Data Analysis

Describe the data analysis strategies you will utilize including statistical tests you might run (e.g., to measure the relationship between variables you can use correlations or, to compare two groups or more groups you could use a T test or ANOVA). Include the software that will be used to interpret data, if any.

Ethical Considerations

Identify any potential bias, Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval, informed consent, voluntary participation, confidentiality, potential for harm, etc. and what steps may be needed to prevent conflicts.

Limitations of Proposed Study

Identify any possible limitations of the proposed study (e.g., poor availability of resources, inappropriate data collection method, small sample size, time limitations).

Conclusion

Academic papers should include a conclusion paragraph that briefly summarizes what was discussed in the paper. The conclusion does not introduce new information. The conclusion should restate the main idea or thesis statement of the manuscript, summarize the main points of the manuscript, and leave the reader with an interesting final impression. A page break is inserted at the end of the conclusion paragraph so that the references will begin at the top of a new page.

References

See APA resources on how to format references. The first line of each reference should be flush with the left margin (as is demonstrated here). Second and all other lines for each reference should be indented.

References should be double spaced with no extra spaces between them.

A break is inserted at the end of the references so that the literature review matrix can be placed in landscape orientation.

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NOTE: There is no running head in student papers.

Appendix

Remove anything in red prior to submitting for grade to avoid falsely elevated Turnitin originality score.

Literature Review Matrix

	(BOTH) Citation (APA 7th style, as an in-text citation. Place full reference in References section.)	(BOTH): include any two: Problem addressed, purpose of research, or research question	(BOTH) Literature Review	(BOTH) Level of Evidence Study Design	(BOTH) Population/ Sampling; (B0TH) Ethics (IRB or other considerations)	Analysis Methods-- (QUAN) Test or (QUAL) method of gathering data	(BOTH) Findings and Conclusions	(BOTH) Discussion and Limitations	(BOTH) Implications for practice
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