week3-B

Acceptable sites for references When submitting scholarly work to Walden University (or any other institution of Higher Education) for approval or a grade you must follow the institution’s rules for submission. If Walden University or the Nurse Practitioner Program does not recognize a reference source or deems it as inadmissible, you cannot use it, no exceptions. As advanced practice nurses, we are scholars, nurse researchers and scientist, and as such should only use Peer-Reviewed scholarly articles and websites designed for health professionals (not designed for patients) to reference scholarly work. We should also use these scholarly works as a basis for our patient education and recommendations to patients in the clinical setting. The Nurse Practitioner Program does not deem websites designed for patients or written in “layman’s terms” as admissible for scholarly work in any course assignment. Even some resources written for professionals, such as Up to Date are not admissible as a scholarly reference. Students should be using the original citation in Up to Date and go to that literature as a reference. The following are examples (not all inclusive) of resources/websites deemed inadmissible for scholarly reference: 1 Up to Date (must use original articles from Up to Date as a resource) 2. Wikipedia 3. Cdc.gov- non healthcare professionals section 4. Webmd.com 5. Mayoclinic.com 6. Babyzone.com 7. americanheartassociation.com 8. Huffington Post Primary and Secondary Sources Review the following information prior to selecting resources for assignments. Primary: A primary source is an original document that is the first account of what happened. A research report is primary, and you can tell because it includes materials and methods demonstrating how the research was done. Some creative work is also primary, such as poetry, novels, and interviews of people who experienced something firsthand. In nursing, which is an evidence-based discipline, we strive to use primary research that is published in scholarly, peer- reviewed journals. Scholarly, peer-reviewed journal: Scholarly journals publish papers by professional authors and experts in the field using a peer-review process to review the work and assure quality before

publishing. The focus of a scholarly journal is to provide accurate information for scholars and other researchers. The focus is on content rather than advertising, a direct contrast to popular media. Scholarly journals publish both primary and secondary papers, the former usually noted as original research and the latter as reviews and commentaries. Letters to the editor may also be published but should be recognized as opinion pieces. Note: When selecting articles for course assignments, you are advised (unless you are referencing seminal information) to focus on work published within the past 5 years. Secondary: A secondary source is one step removed from the original source. This work interprets and often compiles other work, and it includes review articles, textbooks, fact sheets, and commentaries about a topic. It also includes news reports of original research. Secondary work is more prone to error and bias than primary work because it is being filtered through an additional person or persons. Review papers can be useful to glean information about a topic and to find other sources from the reference list, but it is the original, primary research that should be relied on most heavily in demonstrating scholarship, depth, and validation of factual information. Phyllis D. Morgan, PhD, FNP-BC, CNE, FAANP Coordinator FNP Specialty College of Health Sciences School of Nursing Walden University