Part I:

1. Reflect on your practice and identify a significant clinical issue that you would like to search for evidence in online sources. This issue will be the basis for the Research Database Assignment. Describe what makes your issue significant, for example, the seriousness, the number of people affected, the gaps in knowledge, and so forth. Remember to integrate references.

Part II:

1. Using your Significant Clinical Issue from Week 2, describe the knowledge gap that research could fill. Identify the PICO(T) elements that might be found in a research question related to the problem.

Part III:

1. The most common sampling method is the convenience sample; therefore, many of the studies that you find for evidence use this sampling method. What are the implications for using a convenience sample on the way you interpret and use the findings?

2. Read one of the case studies from Your Genes, Your Choices: Exploring the Issues Raised by Genetics Research (a PDF of this may be downloaded from Doc Sharing). Consider the legal and ethical issues that may occur as the result of genetics research. Identify the name of the case and explain something new that you learned about ethical and legal issues regarding research by completing this statement, "I didn't know _____."

Part IV:

1. Describe what reliability means in terms of research and why it is important. How does a researcher ensure that reliability is maintained in instruments and between raters?

Part V:

1. Consider a policy or procedure at your facility that you believe may be not following best practices. Search for at least two research reports (preferably systematic reviews) that address the policy or procedure. Cite your sources. After reading the results sections of the reports, would you recommend to keep or change your current policy or procedure? Defend your decision based on the strength of the evidence.

Part VI:

1. How does a nurse know what (if any) knowledge in a research study is useable for clinical practice? What would a critical thinker look for in the evidence before deciding to change? What influence do credibility and significance have on your decisions to integrate research-based evidence into your practice?

2. Discuss the research databases that you discovered related to the clinical issue that you chose for the Research Databases Assignment. Summarize the evidence you found in your Research Database Assignment. Explain how you would share this with your clinical practice area.

Part VII:

1. How has your thinking changed about nursing research and evidence-based practice as the result of this course?