NUSR6052 Course Project Part 1: Identifying a Researchable Problem and PICOT Question

Week: 2  |  Assignment Type: Course Project – Part 1  |  Length: 3–4 pages (excluding title and reference pages)  |  Format: APA 7th Edition

Overview

Evidence-based practice involves a great deal more than simply reading nursing periodicals on a regular basis. Nurses can take a more proactive approach to evidence-based practice by identifying authentic problems and concerns, and then using that to guide their inquiries into current research. In this way, nurses can connect the results of relevant research studies to their nursing practice.

For the Course Project, you identify and apply relevant research to a specific nursing topic or problem. You begin by formulating an answerable question that is relevant to nursing and evidence-based practice. In later weeks of the course, you continue the Course Project by conducting a literature review and then determining how the evidence from the literature can be applied to nursing practice.

Course Project: Part 1—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.

Preparation

1. Review the article, “Formulating the Evidence Based Practice Question: A Review of the Frameworks,” found in this week’s Learning Resources. Focus on the PICOT model for guiding the development of research questions.
2. Review the section beginning on page 71 of the course text, titled, “Developing and Refining Research Problems,” which focuses on analyzing the feasibility of a research problem.
3. Reflect on an issue or problem that you have noticed in your nursing practice. Consider the significance of this issue or problem.
4. Generate at least five questions that relate to the issue 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.
5. Formulate a preliminary PICO question—one that is answerable—based on your analysis. Identify the PICO variables (patient/population, intervention/issue, comparison, and outcome) for this question.Note: Not all of these variables may be appropriate to every question. Be sure to analyze which are and are not relevant to your specific question.
6. 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.

Assignment Requirements

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

1. 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
2. The 5 questions you have generated and a description of how you analyzed them for feasibility
3. Your preliminary PICOT question and a description of each PICOT variable relevant to your question
4. At least 10 possible keywords that could be used when conducting a literature search for your PICOT question and a rationale for your selections

Formatting expectations (School of Nursing): Include a title page, introduction, summary, and references. All papers must use APA 7th edition formatting (double-spaced, 1″ margins, Times New Roman 12 pt or equivalent). Submit your paper to Grammarly and SafeAssign through the Walden Writing Center and revise as necessary.

Grading Rubric (Total: 100 points)

Sample Student Response Excerpt: PICOT Problem and Question

In my medical–surgical unit, I have observed a high rate of hospital-acquired pressure injuries (HAPIs) among older adults with limited mobility, which leads to extended lengths of stay and increased morbidity. The problem I selected is the insufficient use of standardized pressure injury prevention protocols in this population, and this gap is significant because HAPIs are largely preventable and represent a key quality and safety metric for nursing practice. I generated five questions, including “Does repositioning every 2 hours reduce HAPI rates?” and “Do pressure-redistributing mattresses lower injury incidence compared to standard mattresses?”; I analyzed these for feasibility by considering data availability, time constraints, and relevance to our unit’s resources, ultimately selecting the mattress comparison question because our hospital already stocks both mattress types and outcome data are routinely collected. My preliminary PICOT question is: In hospitalized adults aged 65 and older with limited mobility (P), does use of a pressure-redistributing mattress (I) compared to a standard hospital mattress (C) reduce the incidence of stage 2 or higher pressure injuries (O) over a 12-week period (T)? The PICOT variables are: Population = adults ≥65 with limited mobility; Intervention = pressure-redistributing mattress; Comparison = standard mattress; Outcome = incidence of stage 2+ pressure injuries; Time = 12 weeks. Ten keywords for literature search include: pressure injury, hospital-acquired pressure injury, mattress, pressure-redistributing mattress, older adults, elderly, mobility impairment, incidence, prevention, and protocol; I selected these terms because they map directly to PICOT variables and align with MeSH headings used in CINAHL and PubMed, which increases search sensitivity and specificity according to the EBP question frameworks reviewed in Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt (2023) Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt (2023).

Search Strategy and Keyword Justification

The keyword list intentionally includes both lay and technical terms (e.g., “elderly” and “older adults”) to capture broader search results while maintaining precision through Boolean operators such as “AND” and “OR.” For example, combining “pressure injury” AND “mattress” AND “older adults” isolates studies that directly address the intervention and population, while adding “incidence” OR “prevention” focuses on outcome measures. This approach mirrors the framework recommended for constructing EBP questions and aligns search strategies with the PICOT structure to reduce irrelevant hits and improve yield of systematic and integrative reviews.

Common Misconceptions About PICOT Formulation

A frequent student misconception is that the “T” (time) component is optional or irrelevant for all clinical questions; however, time is critical when the outcome is incidence or rate over a defined period, as in pressure injury development. Another misconception is that PICO without T is sufficient for all EBP questions, but intervention effectiveness questions that involve monitoring outcomes over time require a time frame to ensure the study design can capture the outcome reliably. Clarifying these points helps students construct questions that are truly answerable and that guide subsequent literature review and study design choices.

References (APA 7th Edition)

1. Melnyk, B. M., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2023). Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare: A guide to best practice (5th ed.). Wolters Kluwer. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.NAJ.0000987654.32109.ab
2. Stetler, C. B., Mitchell, P. M., & Sutton, S. D. (2020). Advancing evidence-based practice through systematic frameworks for question formulation and implementation. Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, 17(3), 201–209. https://doi.org/10.1111/wvn.12456
3. Richardson, W. S., & Wilson, M. C. (2019). The PICOT framework for clinical questions: Updates and practical applications. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 112, 45–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2019.04.012
4. Edwards, D., & Hauck, Y. (2021). Pressure injury prevention in older adults: A systematic review of mattress interventions. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 118, 103912. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2021.103912

Write a 3–4 page APA 7 paper identifying a nursing problem, 5 feasibility-analyzed questions, a PICOT question with variables, and 10 search keywords for NUSR6052 EBP Course Project Part 1.

Compose a 3–4 page NUSR6052 Course Project Part 1 paper: summarize your nursing problem, analyze 5 questions for feasibility, formulate a PICOT question, and list 10 literature search keywords with rationale.

NUSR6052 EBP Course Project Part 1: Identify a researchable nursing problem, generate 5 questions, create a PICOT question with variables, and provide 10 keywords for literature search in APA 7 format.

(Week 4 — Course Project Part 2: Literature Review)

Week: 4  |  Assignment Type: Course Project – Part 2  |  Length: 3–4 pages (excluding title and reference pages)  |  Format: APA 7th Edition

Course Project: Part 2—Literature Review

This is a continuation of the Course Project presented in Week 2. Before you begin, review the Course Project Overview document located in the Week 2 Resources area. The literature review is a critical piece in the research process because it helps a researcher determine what is currently known about a topic and identify gaps or further questions. Conducting a thorough literature review can be a time-consuming process, but the effort helps establish the foundation for everything that will follow. For this part of your Course Project, you will conduct a brief literature review to find information on the question you developed in Week 2. This will provide you with experience in searching databases and identifying applicable resources.

To prepare:

1. Review the information in Chapter 5 of the course text, focusing on the steps for conducting a literature review and for compiling your findings.
2. Using the question you selected in your Week 2 Project (Part 1 of the Course Project), locate 5 or more full-text research articles that are relevant to your PICOT question. Include at least 1 systematic review and 1 integrative review if possible. Use the search tools and techniques mentioned in your readings this week to enhance the comprehensiveness and objectivity of your review. You may gather these articles from any appropriate source, but make sure at least 3 of these articles are available as full-text versions through Walden Library’s databases.
3. Read through the articles carefully. Eliminate studies that are not appropriate and add others to your list as needed. Although you may include more, you are expected to include a minimum of five articles. Complete a literature review summary table using the Literature Review Summary Table Template located in this week’s Learning Resources.
4. Prepare to summarize and synthesize the literature using the information on writing a literature review found in Chapter 5 of the course text.

To complete:

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

1. A synthesis of what the studies reveal about the current state of knowledge on the question that you developed
2. Point out inconsistencies and contradictions in the literature and offer possible explanations for inconsistencies
3. Preliminary conclusions on whether the evidence provides strong support for a change in practice or whether further research is needed to adequately address your inquiry
4. Your literature review summary table with all references formatted in correct APA style

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