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Nursing Research Guide: DNP Program

This research guide features resources and strategies for finding information and conducting research related to Nursing.

Welcome!

Welcome to the DNP program!

This research guide features research methodologies and other library resources essential to completing your coursework. At the library, we specialize in helping you learn how to conduct doctoral-level research and can help you find books, articles, and other resources for your dissertation. Librarians, however, cannot help you choose a methodology or framework for your research.

If you have questions about citation styles or the writing process, please contact the Online Writing Center. 

 

The DNP Project Process

A good place to start is by reviewing  The DNP Project Workbook: A Step-By-Step Process for Success. 

This workbook delivers an organized, systematic roadmap for the development, implementation, evaluation, and completion of the DNP Project. Designed by two nurse educators motivated by their own frustrating DNP experiences to help the next generation of students, it consists of a collection of lessons guiding readers, step-by-step, through the entire DNP Project process. The workbook begins with fundamental, knowledge-based information, and then addresses the development of the DNP Project team, the feasibility of project ideas, and the elements required to develop, implement, evaluate, disseminate, and complete the project. It provides a variety of in-depth examples from actual projects to document the development of ideas and a logical, critical thinking process.

Qualitative Research Methods

Qualitative research methods are commonly employed in nursing and education research. Your course text provides information on different qualitative research methods, and the JFL also has resources to help you learn about different research methods. The Routledge International Handbook of Qualitative Nursing Research also has great resources related to qualitative methods. Additionally, Busetto, Wick, and Gumbinger's 2020 article "How to use and assess qualitative research methods" provides a concise overview of the qualitative research process. 

Resources: 

Quantitative Research Methods

Quantitative research methods are commonly employed in nursing research. Your course text provides information on different qualitative research methods, and the JFL also has resources to help you learn about different research methods. The Routledge International Handbook of Quantitative Nursing Research also has great resources related to qualitative methods. Additionally, Watson's 2015 article "Quantitative research" provides a concise overview of the qualitative research process. 

Resources: 

How to do a Literature Review

Integrative Reviews

Integrative reviews are commonly employed in Nursing to build nursing sciences and practices, to inform current and future research, and to provide foundations for policy initiatives. Integrative Reviews employ diverse methodologies and can include either experimental, non-experimental, or both experimental and non-experimental research simultaneously. Integrative reviews are "a review method that summarizes past empirical or theoretical literature to provide a more comprehensive understanding of a particular phenomenon or healthcare problem" (Broome 2000). 

Integrative review stages: 

  • Formulate a research question: With your advisor, develop a research question that centers around a specific nursing practice or healthcare policy. Using the PICO framework can help clarify your ideas. 
  • Searching: Using the JFL's Nursing databases, begin searching for documents related to your research question. Use Google Scholar to search for grey literature, and use Scopus to identify leading authors or work related to your discipline. All searches should be transparent and reproducible. 
    • Consider using RefWorks to organize your literature 
  • Resource selection: Choose materials from diverse methodologies that are related to your research question 
  • Appraisal: Evaluate the sources that you selected. Guiding questions include: 
    • What type of research methodology or theoretical framework was employed? 
    • How was the study's data collected, analyzed, and presented? 
    • What do other sources say about the same topic? 
    • Does the article meet your need, or is it off-topic? 
  • Synthesis: After reading various sources related to your question, how do the individual data/ results/ findings from disparate studies inform the current understanding of the topic? Synthesize or "weave together" individual points to create a cohesive narrative and/ or a novel display of the data collected from your reading. 

Resources for further reading: 

Oermann, MH, Knafl, KA. Strategies for completing a successful integrative review. Nurse Author Ed. 2021; 31( 3-4): 65- 68. 

Dhollande, S., Taylor, A., Meyer, S., & Scott, M. (2021). Conducting integrative reviews: a guide for novice nursing researchers. Journal of Research in Nursing, 26(5), 427–438. 

Toronto, C.E., & Remington, R. (Ed.s) (2020) A Step-by-Step guide to conducting an Integrative Review. Springer. ISBN 978-3-030-37504-1