NIU NURS312 EBP Paper

The purpose of this paper is to systematically review the literature regarding a specific nursing problem and discuss recommendations for clinical practice. The paper must adhere to APA standards (use your APA manual and the APA stylesheet handout for guidance. Be sure to have the following headings in the paper: Introduction, Problem Statement, Review and Evaluation of the Research, Summary and Clinical Evaluation, and References. The title page, abstract, and references should be on separate pages. The paper should be no longer than 5 pages in length, excluding the title page, abstract, and references. Every page must include a header and page number.

When saving your file to your computer or flash drive, use the following format:

312yourlastname_ebp paper

For example, if I were the student, my document would be labeled: 312oldenburg_ebp paper

Title Page (up to 5 points)

The title page should have a running head, title of the project, your name and affiliation. See APA manual for specific guidelines. The title should be a reflection of your project (i.e., do not use the title ‘Evidenced-Based Paper’).

Abstract (up to 10 points)

The abstract is a concise summary of the key points of your paper on the page following the title page. At a minimum, your abstract should contain your research topic, research questions, and conclusions. You may also include possible implications and future work you see connected with your findings. Your abstract should be a single paragraph double-spaced. Your abstract should be between 150 and 250 words.

Introduction (up to 5 points)

This section should contain a discussion of why this topic merits investigation. It is based on the Significance Paper that you submitted in Unit 7. You want to sell the reader regarding why this is such an important issue, to you personally and to nursing. Why would nurses be interested in reading your paper? What can be learned from your project that will improve nursing care? You will need to include references in this section, but NOT research articles from your literature review. For example, if you are talking about pain relief for cancer patients and want to discuss the incidence of cancer, you might want to refer to the American Cancer Society for statistics on the incidence of cancer. You MUST include at least two relevant websites and/or literature references.

Problem Statement (up to 5 points)

Clearly state the research problem. Be sure to include the independent variable(s) and dependent variable(s) and your target population. This is your refined problem statement. This section should only be one sentence.

Review of the Literature (up to 30 points)

This will be the major section of the paper. Summarize 5 articles including details of the study. You must include the following information for each of the studies: purpose of the study, study design, methods, and major findings. State whether the findings are significant (for quantitative research only). There must be enough detail so the reader understands the study. Try to limit the discussion of each study to approximately two paragraphs. You need a minimum of 5 research studies in this section. Three of the research studies MUST be nursing research. Be sure you cite PRIMARY sources that are empiric (research) studies. You can use review papers in your introduction (i.e., significance paper), but you can only use primary sources for this section of your paper. Studies should be current (published within the past 5 years). If you want to include an older study, send me a message explaining your rationale.

Summary and Clinical Evaluation (up to 20 points)

Evaluate the studies discussed using the Evidence Hierarchy (covered in Unit 2) using seven levels of graded evidence. Discuss the body of literature as a whole, not each individual research article. Critique this body of literature as a whole. Evaluate the clinical usefulness of the research findings. Are the findings clinically relevant? Are the recommendations cost-effective? Can the recommendations be integrated into clinical practice? Offer some recommendations for future research.