The process of evidence-based practice begins with evaluating the nursing practice environment to identify any existing nursing problems within the clinical area. Once a problem has been identified, the next step is to develop a clinical guiding question that will address that specific nursing practice problem. In this assignment, you will create a clinical guiding question known as a PICOT question, which stands for Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, and Time.
The PICOT question you create must be relevant to a nursing practice problem. It is important to choose a question that is specific and focused, as this will help guide your search for relevant research articles. To support your PICOT question, you will need to identify and analyze six peer-reviewed research articles.
When conducting your search for research articles, it is helpful to use specific keywords that narrow or broaden your main topic. For example, if your topic is diabetes in pediatric patients undergoing dialysis, you could search for articles using the keywords “diabetes,” “pediatric,” and “dialysis.” Removing the words “qualitative” and “quantitative” from your search can also help you find articles that include a variety of research designs.
As you review the articles you find, pay close attention to the abstract and methods section to determine the research design used. The author will typically describe the data collection methods as either qualitative or quantitative. It is important to understand the type of research design used in each article, as this will inform the level of evidence provided.
When selecting research articles, it is important to note that systematic reviews, literature reviews, and metanalysis articles are considered secondary sources and do not count as primary research articles. While these types of articles can be valuable resources, they should not be included in this assignment.
When completing this assignment, you will need to use the “Literature Evaluation Table” to organize and summarize the information from each research article. This table will help you stay organized and ensure that you have all the necessary information to support your PICOT question.
While APA style formatting is not required for the body of this assignment, it is important to maintain solid academic writing. This includes using proper grammar, syntax, and structure. Additionally, accurate and complete documentation of sources should be presented using APA formatting guidelines.
To familiarize yourself with the expectations for successful completion of this assignment, it is essential to carefully review the provided rubric. The rubric outlines the specific criteria that will be used to evaluate your work and can serve as a guide as you begin the assignment.
In summary, the first step in the evidence-based practice process is identifying a nursing problem in the clinical area. This is followed by constructing a clinical guiding question, known as a PICOT question, which addresses the identified problem. To support the PICOT question, six peer-reviewed research articles must be chosen, ensuring that they are relevant to the nursing practice problem. The literature evaluation table will be used to summarize the information from each article, and APA formatting guidelines should be followed for documentation of sources. Academic writing should be of a high standard, and the rubric should be reviewed prior to starting the assignment to understand the expectations for successful completion.
