Research Foundations

Assignment Content

 

 

This assignment is designed to guide your thinking about the research process and help you explore topics that may be of interest or relevant in your practice.

See examples of research problems and questions.

 

Complete the Research Foundations Worksheet.

 

 

Research Topic, Problem, and Question

 

Complete this worksheet to develop your research focus for this course. To help you better understand the main parts of research, this topic will be the basis for other assignments in the course.

 

Identify a Research Topic

Grove, Gray, and Polit (2015) define a research topic as “a concept or broad issue that is important to nursing, such as acute pain, chronic pain management, coping with illness, or health promotion” (p. 131).

 

Define your broad research topic in one to two sentences.

 

 

Identify your Research Problem

Grove, Gray, and Polit (2015) explain that a research problem “is an area in which there is a gap in the knowledge needed for nursing practice” (p.131).

 

Write your research problem and explain the significance and background in a 175- to 260-word narrative.

 

 

Develop your Research Question

Research questions should be short, probing, and take variables into account (Grove, Gray & Polit, 2015). Although the PICOS format is not required, your question should address patient, intervention, comparisons, outcomes for practice, and study design.

 

Develop a one-sentence research question.

 

 

 

Resources

 

·         Costantino, G., Montano, N., & Casazza, G. (2015). When should we change our clinical practice based on the results of a clinical study? searching for evidence: PICOS and PubMed. Internal and Emergency Medicine, 10(4), 525-527.

·         Farrugia, P., Petrisor, B., Farrokhyar, Forough, M., Bhandari, M. (2010). Research questions, hypotheses and objectives. Canadian Journal of Surgery, 53(4), 278-281.

·         Van Cott, A., & Smith, M. C. (2009). Nursing research: Tips and tools to simplify the process. Dermatology Nursing, 21(3), 138-40.

·         Winsett, R. P., & Cashion, A. K. (2007). The nursing research process. Nephrology Nursing Journal, 34(6), 635-43.