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Replace with Your Paper Title
Replace with Your Name
Southwest Minnesota State University
Department of Nursing
Replace with date in word format for the month—for example: August4, 2025
Abstract
Write a one paragraph summary using double spacing of your project here.
The abstract should be on a separate page. This is the only paragraph in the entire paper that is not paragraph start indented. Write the abstract after writing the paper.See Chapter 11 by Leibold for tips on writing abstracts. Abstracts summarize the paper/project. Abstracts are different from introductions. Introductions introduce the topic, whereas abstracts summarize the entire project.Most people write the paper or at least most of the paper before writing the abstract. The summary in the abstracts gives an overview to interest the reader—hook them to want to learn more about your project, without giving too much detail. Narrow the abstract summary to four or five points:
1. Summarize the topic and explain why this topic is important (1-2 sentences).
2. Tell the setting or population for your project (include items such as geography, age, gender, health concern, setting, etc. as applicable).
3. Give a one sentence overview of the project. Include any theories (for example, stress theory, pain theory, Caring Science, infection control framework) used to guide the project.
4. Tell any results, findings, evidence summaries, or recommendations based on evidence.
5. End with a summary sentence that tells the application or implications for nursing practice.
Next, check the word count of the abstract. APA format is less than 250 words. Every conference has a different rule for the word count maximum. The SMSU Undergraduate Research Conference has set a maximum of 150 words. Strive for between 150 and 250 words. Depending on your word count, you may need to revise to meet this requirement. Believe it or not—this can be the toughest part! Eliminate any wordy phrases or unnecessary words.
Keywords: replace with four or five keywords (or key phrases) for your project at the end of the abstract.
Replace with Your Paper Title
Replace these words with a one paragraph introduction to your topic. The paragraph should start with an interesting quote or statistic to hook the reader’s interest. Explain why the topic is important in nursing practice. The last sentence of the paragraph should be the thesis statement.
The Clinical Topic/Problem (replace this heading with a custom heading to your topic) and the PICOT Question
Write one to two paragraph section that tells the reader the background and importance of the topic. Be sure to cite sources and include the full APA references on the Reference Page. Consider a statistic of how many people are impacted. Consider including a story of why this topic is important. Include the intervention PICOT question in sentence format within this paragraph (bold the PICOT question). Be sure to include all the required components in the PICOT question. T or time is the only component that is not required. Use the topic introduction and PICOT question you previously wrote in this course. Revise anything based on feedback and copy and paste here.
Literature Review
For your paper, replace these words with your literature review of the three-peer reviewed research journal articles here in this section. Organize the section by grouping similar articles as possible. Use sub-headings as needed. Be sure your articles are research and current within 5 to 7 years. You may check this with your faculty member via email if you wish by sending her the full APA references. Your course faculty are happy to help you! Please remember to include plenty of time for faculty to respond (faculty are not required to respond on weekends, fall break, spring break, or holidays). Evidence-based practice is new for students and please know that your faculty are very happy to help you! Please email faculty and ask any questions you have! Or if you want your faculty to check your work and make sure you are on the right path—your facultyare happy to help you! All the research articles should be current and dated within 5 to 7 years of publication. Use the prompts and summaries you wrote for the preparation worksheet assignment. Revise anything based on feedback and copy and paste here.
Assumptions
Replace this wording with the assumptions about your project you wrote previously in this course. Use any feedback you received to revise and update the assumptions. If this seems challenging to you, review chapter 10. Assumptions and Making Recommendations for Evidence-Based Practice of Leibold (2020). List three assumptions you have related to your recommended interventions/project. This paper section should be one to two paragraphs in length.
Recommended Interventions
In this section, replace these words with your recommended interventions that are based on the research articles you reviewed above, and you previously wrote in this course. Update with any feedback from faculty (if any).Include a brief description of the workplace organization culture and readiness for change. Be sure to cite the evidence with the source and explain the interventions you recommend for practice.
Dissemination or Presentation Strategies
In this section, replace these words with how you would (hypothetically) disseminate this project to other nurses and healthcare providers. See Leibold’s textbook, Chapter 11 dissemination and select a dissemination strategy of your choice (for example, oral presentation, inservices, poster, social media, etc.) that you would use hypothetically to disseminate your EBP project. Explain who the intended audience is why the dissemination strategy is a good match for the audience. This is a one paragraph section.
Lifelong Learning and Evidence-Based Practice
In this section, replace these words with your thoughts and ideas about how lifelong learning connects to evidence-based practice. Answer these questions in one paragraph: How does lifelong learning relate to evidence-based practice? How does evidence-based practice relate to lifelong learning? Explain your values related to lifelong learning and evidence-based practice.
Conclusion or Summary
In this section, replace these words with a one paragraph summary of the paper. It should review the items you have already presented. It should not include any new information. This is your last opportunity as a writer to leave the key take-away points from your paper fresh in the mind of the reader! Review at least two key-takeaway points for the reader to remember.
References
List your references on this paper in alphabetical order by the first author’s last name in APA format. Double space. Omit these prompting words.
You may be able to copy and paste some of the references from the preparation worksheet and add others. If you need any help at all with APA formatting, please do not hesitate to ask your faculty! This is Leibold’s APA source if you want to look up format:
https://softchalkcloud.com/lesson/serve/s4LNqcvutodhGW/html
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Evidence-Based Preparation Worksheet
NURS 430: Evidence-Based Practice
Dr. Nancyruth Leibold
Purpose:The purpose of the Evidence-Based Preparation Worksheet is to help students prepare parts of the evidence-based project for the course and receive faculty feedback and assistance prior to the final EBP assignment. An EBP project is a large project and could not possibly be completed in one assignment!
Instructions: Complete the following steps by adding in the information specific to your project. Please use proper spelling, grammar, and APA format citations and references. Prepare the responses as you would for the final assignment, so the faculty can provide feedback. See full instructions and grading rubric in the course syllabus appendix.**Please ask Nancyruth if you have questions. Nancyruth is happy to help you!
Evidence-Based Preparation Worksheet
(See detailed instructions in the course syllabus appendix)
1. Write one to two paragraph(s) explaining the project topic. The project topic must include a nursing intervention. Start the paragraph with a topic sentence that introduces the topic. Include 1) why this topic is interesting to you; 2) Define and describe the topic; 3) why is this topic of interest to nursing practice—for example give a statistic—does it impact 40 million people? Or tell a short story to explain why it is pertinent to nursing; Be sure to include source citations per APA format. (Worth 20 of 100 points). Use double spacing for your responses. Add the paragraphs in this box:
2. Write the matching intervention PICOT question for this topic. The PICOT question is a critical aspect of the EBP project to guide the problem identification and createcomponents that can be used to shape the literature search.Components of the PICOT Intervention Question include:
P: This is the population or patient of interest; consider using gender, ethnicity, or a healthcare problem to describe the population
I: This refers to interventions or modalities, or treatments of interest
C: This is the alternative intervention which in some cases is the intervention that is currently being used
O: This is the desired outcome(s)
T: This is time and is not always relevant to the particular clinical question
Fill in your PICOT Components here in this box:
P:
I:
C:
O:
T:
3. Format the PICOT components into a one sentence format. Refer to Chapter 2 of the EBP textbook for assistance. To check any work or ask questions, do not hesitate to ask Nancyruth for help! Here is a sample PICOT question:
In intensive care patients (P) does chlorhexidine bathing (I) compared to not using chlorhexidine bathing (C) reduce the number of hospital-acquired infections (O) after two months (T)?
Use this format and fill in your PICOT components here in this box:
In ______(P), how does ______(I) compared to ______(C) affect ______(O) within ______(T)?
4. Write three research study article summaries. The research study articles must be peer reviewed. Watch this video to determine if the articles you have chosen are peer reviewed:
Leibold, N. (2020). From my garden: Peer reviewed journal articles. [Video]. Creative Commons License: BY NC.
https://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cqliotULJC
Be sure the articles are original research study articles (not theory, practice tips, or editorials, but research). Watch this video to know how to determine the articles are research study articles.
Leibold, N. (2020). From my garden: How to identify a research article from a practice/theory article or editorial. [Video]. Creative Commons License: BY NC.
https://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cql6faU9aA
Use the following steps as a guide for writing each research study article summary:
Step A. The Topic Sentence (write an opening sentence that introduces the topic; use APA format, indent all paragraph starts one-half inch, double space when you type and use Times New Roman 12-point font)
Step B. In the second sentence, introduce the type of study method and design, setting, participants, and overall study topic; be sure to use an in-text citation;For example: (Jones & Garcia, 2022)
Step C. Include another sentence that further describes the study (1-2 sentences)
Step D. Tell the overall results of the study (1-2 sentences) -cite the source one more time- for example: (Jones & Garcia, 2022).
Step E. The last sentence in the paragraph should be a summary sentence that relates the research evidence to your project or an implication for nursing practice.
Add the paragraph summaries here in this box and double space:
5. Include the references here in this box, using APA format and double spacing:
References
Basic Evidence-based practice Appraisal Form
Research Article Appraisal Log
Student Name________________________
Complete this table with the Appraisals for the Article You Review. Put your responses in the right-hand column where is says Article Review Responses. For this assignment, select one research study to appraise and use the following criteria. The study may be either quantitative or
qualitative
methodology.
Use accompanying videos:
How To Video: Qualitative Appraisal of Evidence: In the Garden at
https://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cYVlqbvB66
How To Video: Quantitative Appraisal of Evidence: In the Garden at
https://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cYVlY9vBbz
Full APA reference of each research article |
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Article Review Responses |
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Author Credentials Identify the author’s credentials Identify the author’s affiliation |
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Date Is the article current within the last five to seven years? |
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Theoretical/Conceptual Framework Identify the theory, model, or conceptual framework used in the study |
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Ethics: Identify if IRB approval was received or not Note: with Review of the Literature or studies with no human subjects, IRB approval is not required. |
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Method/Research Design: Describe the design and how the study was conducted (qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods) |
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Sample Method and Setting: Tell the type of sample, population, number, and setting |
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Research Variables: Identify dependent and independent variables |
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Measurement Identify primary statistics used to answer clinical questions |
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Data Analysis: Describestatistical or qualitative analysis |
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Findings and Recommendations Are the findings and study recommendations clear? |
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Appraisal: Describe the Strengths and Limitations of Study |
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Nursing Practice Implications: State in 1-2 sentences the implications the study has for nursing practice. |
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All studies have some contribution, but all are vastly different. Describe how the strength and relevance of available evidence may influence the choice of interventions in provision of healthcare. Consider the research study you appraised– How confident are you with the findings of this study? Write your brief response regarding the applicability and confidence of the study. |
Nancyruth Leibold CC BY NC