The Role of Research in Enhancing Nursing Practice and Patient Care NSG202

Front Sheet

Please complete the summative assessment front sheet and submit this as the first page of your assessment.

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Introduction

What is research and why is it important?

This section should define research, demonstrate your knowledge of different types of research, and highlight the importance of research to evidence-based practice. Make sure you use references to support the points you make (research textbooks, peer-reviewed articles about research etc.). You should also briefly introduce your chosen area of practice, providing a rationale for your choice. This should be one or two sentences at most.

Approximately 400 words

Main Body

How can research help improve the care of people within your chosen area of practice?

The main body is where you address the essay title. We want you to illustrate the practical importance of research by discussing at least 4 primary and/or secondary research studies that focus on your chosen area of practice. Try to include studies that relate to each other (are broadly on the same topic) so your writing has a clear focus. We will think about this a little more in week 6. Make sure you also clearly demonstrate how the research is relevant to nursing practice how might the findings of the research studies be used to improve the nursing care we deliver?

In second year, we want to start seeing you move away from just describing what you read, to developing discussion that begins to offer some critique. Therefore, in the main body we expect you to:

1. Think about the ways the research studies were conducted, and discuss any potential sources of bias. The seminars in weeks 1-5 will help you with this, in addition to your wider reading (see the resource list).

2. Try to compare and contrast the different studies, rather than simply describing them one after the other. What do they have in common? Are there any differences in what they found?

When writing this section, the key is to clearly (and critically) demonstrate how research findings can inform improvements in nursing care in your chosen practice area.

Approximately 1000 words

Barriers to

Using

Research in

Practice

Why dont nurses always fully utilise research evidence in their practice?

This brief section should consider why nurses find it hard to use research to inform their care. This isnt just your opinion make sure you draw on contemporary research and research textbooks to support the points you make. The work we cover in week 7 will help you here.

Approximately 300 words

Conclusion

Bringing it all together.

Your conclusion will very briefly summarise the key points of your essay, and make evidence-based recommendations for practice. These recommendations should clearly link back to the research you discussed in your main body.

Approximately 300 words

References

Your essay should be fully referenced, using in-text citations appropriately. A reference list should be included at the end, using Cite Them Right Harvard style. Your reference list should be in strict alphabetical order.

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