Discussion: Applying Middle Range Theories to Practice Post your responses to the Discussion based on the course requirements. Your Discussion postings should be written in standard edited English and
Learning Resources
Note: 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 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. (2017). The doctor of nursing practice scholarly project: A framework for success (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Review Chapter 6, "Developing the Scholarly 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.
Nursing Library and Information Resources Cushing/Whitney Medical Library (n.d.). Levels of evidence pyramid. Retrieved from http://guides.library.yale.edu/ld.php?content_id=11940516
This article discusses the use of systematic reviews in evidence-based practice and provides sources for locating this type of research article.
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: Applying Middle Range Theories to Practice
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. Refer to the Essential Guide to APA Style for Walden Students to ensure your in-text citations and reference list are correct. Initial postings must be 250–350 words (not including references).
Submission and Grading Information
Grading Criteria
To access your rubric:
Week 7 Discussion Rubric
Post by Day 3 and Respond by Day 6
To participate in this Discussion:
Week 7 Discussion
sAssignment 1: Literature Review Matrix
This Assignment expands upon the work you have been conducting for this week’s Discussion. For this Assignment (which you will start this week, and submit by the end of Week 7), you will conduct a search for literature on your selected practice problem. A Literature Review Matrix template will be used to identify gaps in the literature.
To prepare:
Consider the practice problem you addressed in this week’s Discussion. (You may select a new issue if necessary, but it is not recommended.)
Review the guidelines in the Literature Review Matrix, included in the Learning Resources. Formulate a research question around your issue as indicated in Part I. Then complete Part II of the Matrix, identifying the resources you will use, search terms and criteria, and Boolean search strings.
Using the Walden Library, locate 10 articles related to your research question. At least one article must be a systematic review. All of the articles should be primary sources. NOTE: If appropriate, you may use the four articles you reviewed for this week’s Discussion.
By Day 7 of Week 7
Complete Part I and Part II of the Literature Review Matrix template.
Begin working on Part III.
