Course Project: Identifying a Researchable Problem

One of the most challenging aspects of EBP is to actually identify the answerable question.

-Karen Sue Davies

Formulating a question that targets the goal of your research is a challenging but essential task. The question plays a crucial role in all other aspects of the research, including the determination of the research design and theoretical perspective to be applied, which data will be collected, and which tools will be used for analysis. It is therefore essential to take the time to ensure that the research question addresses what you actually want to study. Doing so will increase your likelihood of obtaining meaningful results.

In this first component of the Course Project, you formulate questions to address a particular nursing issue or problem. You use the PICOT model-patient/population, intervention/issue, comparison, and outcome-outlined in the Learning Resources to design your questions.

To prepare:

• Review the article, "Formulating the Evidence Based Practice Question: A Review of the Frameworks," found in the Learning Resources for this week. Focus on the PICOT model for guiding the development of research questions.
• Review the section beginning on page 71 of the course text, titled, "Developing and Refining Research Problems" in the course text, which focuses on analyzing the feasibility of a research problem.
• Reflect on an issue or problem that you have noticed in your nursing practice. Consider the significance of this issue or problem.
• Generate at least five questions that relate to the issue which you have identified. Use the criteria in your course text to select one question that would be most appropriate in terms of significance, feasibility, and interest. Be prepared to explain your rationale.
• Formulate a preliminary PICO question-one that is answerable-based on your analysis. What are the PICO variables (patient/population, intervention/issue, comparison, and outcome) for this question?
• Using the PICOT variables that you determined for your question, develop a list of at least 10 keywords that could be used when conducting a literature search to investigate current research pertaining to the question.

To complete:

Write a 3- to 4-page paper that includes the following:

• A summary of your area of interest, an identification of the problem that you have selected, and an explanation of the significance of this problem for nursing practice
• The 5 questions you have generated and a description of how you analyzed them for feasibility
• Your preliminary PICOT question and a description of each PICOT variable relevant to your question
• At least 10 possible keywords that could be used when conducting a literature search for your PICOT question and a rationale for your selections

Reference: Davies, K. S. (2011). Formulating the evidence based practice question: A review of the frameworks. Evidence Based Library and Information Practice, 6(2), 75-80. Retrieved from https://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/viewFile/9741/8144

Assignment: Application: Using the Data/Information/Knowledge/Wisdom Continuum

Have you ever gone online to search for a journal article on a specific topic? It is amazing to see the large number of journals that are available in the health care field. When you view the library in its entirety, you are viewing untapped data. Until you actually research for your particular topic, there is little structure. Once you have narrowed it down, you have information and once you apply the information, you have knowledge. Eventually, after thoughtful research and diligent practice, you reach the level of wisdom-knowledge applied in meaningful ways.

Are there areas in your practice that you believe should be more fully explored? The central aims of nursing informatics are to manage and communicate data, information, knowledge, and wisdom. This continuum represents the overarching structure of nursing informatics. In this Assignment, you develop a research question relevant to your practice area and relate how you would work through the progression from data to information, knowledge, and wisdom.

To prepare:

• Review the information in Figure 6-2 in Nursing Informatics and the Foundation of Knowledge.
• Develop a clinical question related to your area of practice that you would like to explore.
• Consider what you currently know about this topic. What additional information would you need to answer the question?
• Using the continuum of data, information, knowledge, and wisdom, determine how you would go about researching your question.
• Explore the available databases in the Walden Library. Identify which of these databases you would use to find the information or data you need.
• Once you have identified useful databases, how would you go about finding the most relevant articles and information?
• Consider how you would extract the relevant information from the articles.
• How would you take the information and organize it in a way that was useful? How could you take the step from simply having useful knowledge to gaining wisdom?

Write a 3- to 4-page paper that addresses the following:

• Summarize the question you developed, and then relate how you would work through the four steps of the data, information, knowledge, wisdom continuum. Be specific.
• Identify the databases and search words you would use.
• Relate how you would take the information gleaned and turn it into useable knowledge.
• Can informatics be used to gain wisdom? Describe how you would progress from simply having useful knowledge to the wisdom to make decisions about the information you have found during your database search.

Your paper must also include a title page, an introduction, a summary, and a reference page.