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Research Design Alignment Table | Using an alignment table can assist with ensuring the alignment of your research design.

Research Design Alignment Table Video Tutorial (YouTube) | Doctoral Research Design Alignment Appointments or Office Hours

Note . At prospectus stage, not all items in the table below can be identified (e.g., data points, data analysis). Please complete the items that you have identified in this prospectus form. During proposal development, you will revisit this form to adjust, as needed, and finalize your research design.

Note. The information in the first column must align with all rows, and each individual RQ row must show alignment across the columns for that row.

Once your Research Design Alignment Table is completed, reflect on your design alignment. Ask yourself:

1. Is there a logical progression from the research problem to the purpose of the study?

2. Does the identified framework ground the investigation into the stated problem?

3. Do the problem, purpose, and framework in the left-hand column align with the RQ(s) (all rows)?

4. Does each RQ address the problem and align with the purpose of the study?

5. Does the information across each individual row match/align with the RQ listed for that row?

5. By row, will the variables listed address the RQ?

5. By row, will the analysis address the RQ?

5. By row, can the analysis be completed with the data points that will be collected?

Appendix

The Doctoral Prospectus

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Probably the most important step in the research process is searching recent, peer-reviewed literature and reading articles related to the general area you want to investigate. The area is based on an identified social problem. As you read and learn, you will narrow your focus. This is how you will identify a discipline-specific research problem.

[Note: Scholarly, empirical articles and how to find them.]

First, you’ll need to determine your search terms or keywords and the databases you should search. As you conduct your search of the literature, stay organized by keeping a search log.

Example for this Form

The keywords and databases searched included hospital nurse leader retention , nurse leader intent to leave employment, nursing burnout, nursing stress and nursing turnover in the databases MedLine, PubMed, and NIH.

As you read and evaluate literature, you also need to organize your research. A literature review matrix is one way to help you visualize what has and hasn't been done in your field. It will help you understand the scholarly works related to your area of interest. The importance of organizing and recording your review of literature cannot be overstated. You will refer to your notes as you write, so start on the right track from the beginning!

[Suggestion: If you keep your search log in an Excel workbook, use the second tab in the same workbook for your literature review matrix.]

For this prospectus form, include the complete, APA reference entry and (a) an in-text citation; (b) what they studied; (c) what they found; and (d) why this is important in relation to your study. This evidence provides the justification for your research problem. These sources provide justification that this problem is meaningful to the discipline or professional field. The background literature must include the following:

1. 3-5 credible sources within the last 5 years that all talk about the same professional practice problem

1. Reference entries related to the framework

1. Reference entry related to the Nature of the Study.

1. Additional reference entries that support and justifying the research problem.

[Note: During proposal development, you will conduct an exhaustive review and synthesize your sources, rather than summarize.]

Supporting Literature Examples

Justification Literature

William, C. & Looker, H. (2020). The influence of frontline manager job stress on burnout, commitment, and turnover intention: A cross-sectional study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 49, 1800-1833. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2015.09.006

(a) William and Looker (2020); (b) studied the relationship between nurse manager job strain, burnout, lower organizational commitment, and higher turnover intention; (c) they found that nurse leaders have a high turnover, job strain and burnout; (d) this in important in relation to my study because establishes direct relationship between an operational problem and conditions influencing the problem.

Heido, S., Bron, P., Frazer, K., & Wing, C., (2019). Factors influencing nurse leader’s intent to stay or leave employment: a quantitative analysis. Journal of Nursing Management, 23, 105-106. https://doi.org/10.1111/ 12252

(a) Heido et. al, 2019; (b) studied the prevalence of nurse leaders intending to leave their jobs; (c) they found that up to 40% of nurse leaders will leave their jobs in the next two years as a result of burnout and work dissatisfaction; (d) this is important in relation to my study because it supports the currency and significance of the operational problem.

Adral, J., Link, A., & Bog, T. (2018). Predictors of occupational stress, health and well-being in nurse managers: A cross-sectional survey study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 12, 81-92. https://doi.org/10.1016/ ijnurstu.2017.05

(a) Adral et al., (2018); (b) studied predictors of occupational stress with nurse leaders; (c) they found that nurse leaders are making the difficult decision to leave their jobs while reporting increasing levels of burnout due to increasing occupational stressors; (d) this is important in relation to my study because it provides justification of the operational problem and future magnitude of the problem.

Wing, C. & Lasky, H. (2019). The influence and impact of frontline manager job strain on burnout, commitment, and turnover intention: A cross-sectional study. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 18, 1500-1533. https://doi.org/10.985/j.ijnurstu.2015.09.006

(a) Wing & Lasky (2019); (b) studied the causes and influences nurse leader burnout and commitment; (c) they found that job strain and stress had a direct relationship to nurse leaders commitment to employment and intent to leave employment; (d) this is important in relation to my study because it provides justification that an operational problem exist with job stress, burnout and intent to leave employment for nurse leaders.

Supporting Literature

Teal, Y., Zack, S., Gate, X. Andrew, Z., Wang, S., Link, H., Lang, Y., Goatz, L., Lutz, L. & Donalds, Z. (2020).

General self-efficacy modifies the effect of stress on burnout in nurses with different personality types. BMC Health Services Research, 81, 367-385. doi: 10.1186/s12913-018

(a) Teal et al., (2020); (b) studied self-efficacy as one type of self-influence that moderates burnout in professionals who serve others; (c) they found that increasing self-efficacy may serve as a protector against burnout or a way to heal from existing burnout; (d) this is important in relation to understanding the connection between protecting and healing from burnout that results with intent to leave employment.

Figueroa, C., Harrison, R., Chauhan, A., & Meyer, L. (2019). Priorities and challenges for health leadership and workforce management globally: a rapid review. BMC Health Services Research, 1, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-019-4080-7

(a) Figueroa et al. (2019); (b) studied challenges healthcare leaders are facing with workforce management; (c) they found that health care executives are challenged with sustaining a health services leadership workforce that provides safe, accessible, high quality, people-centered care across the health care services continuum; (d) this is important in relation to my study because it supports the social health problem facing healthcare administrators.

McFitz, G., Jackvilee, D., Vickson, M., & Williams, L. (2019). Surviving workplace adversity: a qualitative study of nurses and midwives and their strategies to increase personal resilience. Journal of Nursing Management, 24, 123-131. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.12293

(a) McFitz et al. (2019); (b) studied how strategies used by nurses and midwives to increase personal residence to workplace stress; (c) they found that nursing professionals can survive workplace adversity using their own internal self-motivation, self-organization, and involvement in support networks; (d) this is important in relation to my study because it support the positive impact intrinsic motivation, organization and support network may have mitigating the negative effects of burnout.

Framework Literature

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman and Company.

(a) Bandura (1997); (b) studied the ability a person to regulate one’s own level of motivation and behavior; (c) he found that individuals who could regulate one’s own motivation and behavior were defined by their destiny whereby and not external environment that might cause them to fail due to stress; (d) this is important in relation to my study because it establishes a framework that connects the conditions surrounding employment burnout and to possible intent to leave employment.

Nature of Study Literature

Frankfort-Nachmias, C., Leon-Guerrero, A., & Davis, G. (2020). Social statistics for a diverse society (9th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

(a) Frankfort-Nachmias, Leon-Guerrero & Davis (2020); (b) published textbook on quantitative linear regression research design; (c) found how a Pearson correlation can help to understand the magnitude or impact of one variable on another; (d) this is important in relation to determining a statistical significance between the dependent and independent variable in the study.

AONL (2019). American Organization of Nursing Leadership. Database for nursing employment, job satisfaction, self-efficacy and retention. Retrieved from https://www.aonl.org

(a) AONL (2019); (b) the AONL houses secondary data on nurse leaders; (c) will provide access to secondary data collected from nursing managers using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI-HSS) and Leader Efficacy Questionnaire (LEQ); (d) it is important in relation to my study because it will provide data points for the dependent and independent variable to be analyzed.

Rubric Standard | Justified > Is evidence presented that this problem is significant to the discipline and/or professional field?

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Problem

Social Problem

Social Problem Example

The issue that prompted me to search the literature is that hospital executives are challenged with sustaining a health services leadership workforce that provides safe, accessible, high quality, people-centered care across the health care services continuum.

The need to address an identified gap in the research literature must be clear and there must be current relevance to the discipline and area of practice. Keep in mind that a gap in the research is not, in and of itself, a reason to conduct research. The gap relates to the rubric standard: Meaningful.

Research Gap Example

Although researchers have investigated this issue, there is very little or no literature on the role self-efficacy plays with the nurse leader burnout, employment stressors and intent to leave employment.

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Rubric Standard | Meaningful > Has a meaningful problem and gap in the research literature been identified?

Rubric Standard | Original > Does this doctoral study have potential to make an original contribution?

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The framework includes the theories and/or concepts relevant to your topic. Align the framework with the problem, purpose, research questions, and background of your study. This theoretical or conceptual framework is the basis for understanding, designing, and analyzing ways to investigate your research problem (data collection and analysis). Provide the original scholarly literature (citing original authors) on the theory and/or concepts, even if it is more than 5 years old. Please do not cite secondary sources.

Example Theoretical Framework

The theories and/or concepts that ground this study include Bandura’s (1997) theory of self-efficacy, focusing specifically on one’s perception of how well one can achieve something that appears beyond their reach.

Next, explain how these theories and/or concepts relate to your research problem, purpose, and the nature of your study. Your topic/approach should align with the identified framework so that you will either build upon or counter the previously published findings on the topic.

Example Connection for the Conceptual Framework

The logical connections between the framework presented and my study approach include Bandura’s (1997) theoretical work which shows that an individual can influence their own self-efficacy. Further, subsequent research application of Bandura’s theory offers guidance that increasing self-efficacy may serve as a protector against burnout (Teal et al., 2020).

Rubric Standard | Grounded > Is the problem framed to enable the researcher to either build upon or counter the previously published findings on the topic?

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Research Question(s) and Hypotheses

List the overarching question and/or a series of related questions that are informed by the study purpose, that will be used to address the research problem. A research question informs the research design by providing a foundation for the generation of null and alternative hypotheses in quantitative studies.

Research Questions Example

RQ1 – Is there a correlation between higher self-efficacy scores for nurse leaders and lower scores for burnout, occupational stress and intent to leave?

Then, for your planned research design, present the type of data you will need, and a list of possible secondary data sources that could be used to address the proposed research question (s). At this point, you should have an idea of the type of data needed to address your research question(s). Identify the data source and how the data will be accessed. Possible secondary data sources, by program, are available on the Center for Research Quality website. [Note. This is your tentative plan, so keep in mind that things might need to be modified during the proposal stage—particularly after you have completed your exhaustive review of the literature.]

Data Source Example

For my planned research design, I will need to request access to the American Organization for Nursing database where the secondary data exist for the Maslach Burnout Inventory Human Services Survey (MBI-HSS) and Leader Efficacy Questionnaire (LEQ).

Next, provide the specific data points that you plan to use to answer your research question(s). Data points are the specific variables or type of information that you will use in your analysis. For example, items on a survey or types of interview questions (not the actual survey or interview questions). When using secondary data, you must ensure the data include the dependent and independent variables or data points that you need to address your research question.

Example

The MBI-HSS will provide data points for nursing leader burnout, occupational stress and intent to leave and LEQ will provide data for nursing leader self-efficacy ratings.

Finally, provide information on limitations, challenges, and/or barriers that may need to be addressed when conducting this study. These may include access to participants, access to data, separation of roles (researcher versus employee), instrumentation fees, etc. If you are thinking about collecting data on a sensitive topic or from a vulnerable population, an early consultation with the Institutional Review Board (IRB; [email protected]) during your prospectus process is recommended to gain ethics guidance that you can incorporate into your subsequent proposal drafts and research planning. [Note. Find more information on research ethics and potential “red flag” issues on the IRB Guides and FAQs.]

Example

Limitations include participant responses may vary from one organization to another that is not captured in the existing dataset. Also, the statistical analyses include multiple variables from two different scales. Both challenges can be overcome; however, the researcher must take time to work through the challenges when conducting the study. The researcher has consulted with an instructional specialist from Walden’s Center for Research Quality (CRQ) and will continue to work with committee mentors and CRQ tutors during the doctoral study process.

Rubric Standard | Feasible > Can a systematic method of inquiry be used to address the problem; and does the approach have the potential to address the problem while considering potential risks and burdens placed on research participants?

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Significance

Here you explain how your study addresses the meaningful, discipline-specific issue that you identified and will therefore contribute to your field, discipline, professional practice, etc. contributing to positive social change. Detail how your findings might support professional practice or allow practical application (answer the So what? question).

Example

This study is significant in that it will add to the growing body of knowledge on self-efficacy, burnout, occupational stress and turnover of nurse leaders. Depending on the results, healthcare leaders can implement strategies to support the development of self-efficacy in nurse leaders or encourage healthcare leaders to look at variables or strategies to reduce burnout and turnover for nurse leaders. Providing nurse leaders with the skill to develop higher levels of self-efficacy may reduce turnover while stabilizing the patient care environment, creating social change.

Rubric Standard | Impact > Does this doctoral study have potential to affect positive social change?

Research Design Alignment Table Video Tutorial (YouTube) | Doctoral Research Design Alignment Appointments or Office Hours

Note . At prospectus stage, not all items in the table below can be identified (e.g., data points, data analysis). Please complete the items that you have identified in this prospectus form. During proposal development, you will revisit this form to adjust, as needed, and finalize your research design.

Note. The information in the first column must align with all rows, and each individual RQ row must show alignment across the columns for that row.

My Doctoral Research (MyDR)

If you have not done so already, you should familiarize yourself with the My DR system. The MyDR system was designed to assist you and your committee in navigating your doctoral research journey, from the very beginning through the final approval. The various landing pages in MyDR will track your progress and will serve as a central location for resources to support that progress. There is a process flow tool in which you exchange and store faculty evaluations of and feedback on your work as you progress along that journey.

You will be entered into the MyDR system when both your committee chair and second member nominees are approved by the academic program. At that point, you will be able to access MyDR from the homepage of your dissertation completion course in Blackboard. The first document that you will submit for approval in MyDR will be your prospectus.