Nursing: Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Searching for evidence is an integral step of evidence-based practice. See the page PICO + Evidence-Based Practice for tips and more information.

Below are important databases for nursing research. For a complete list of databases, click here.

Resources which provide overviews:

Style and Grammar Guidelines (APA Style)

Reference Examples (APA Style)

APA Overview (Purdue OWL)

Academic Writer Tutorial: Basics of Seventh Edition APA Style (APA)

Frequently asked about:

Tables and figures (APA Style)

Title page setup (APA Style)

Data set references (APA Style)

Nature Masterclasses has been developed by Nature Research to provide professional development training for researchers.

Nature Research's flagship publication is Nature, a weekly multidisciplinary journal first published in 1869. Nature Masterclasses draw on the expertise of journal editors at Nature Research.

Class topics include:

• Scientific writing and publication
• Persuasive grant writing
• Networking for researchers
• Many others

According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), all DNP projects should:

• Focus on a change that impacts healthcare outcomes either through direct or indirect care.
• Have systems (micro-, meso-, or macro- level) or population/aggregate focus.
• Demonstrate implementation in the appropriate arena or area of practice.
• Include a plan for sustainability (e.g. financial, systems or political realities, not only theoretical abstractions).
• Include an evaluation of processes and/or outcomes (formative or summative). DNP Projects should be designed so that processes and/or outcomes will be evaluated to guide practice and policy. Clinical significance is as important in guiding practice as statistical significance is in evaluating research.
• Provide a foundation for future practice scholarship

Learn more about the DNP project scope, responsibilities, settings, and dissemination on the AACN's DNP Tool Kit site.

Implementation Science: The study of integrating research findings into healthcare practice and policy by understanding facilitators and barriers to the uptake of evidence (NIH, n.d.). The goal is to determine which factors promote the use of innovations in practice to the fullest extent and in the most effective way possible (National Implementation Research Network, 2015)

Manuals:

Porritt K, McArthur A, Lockwood C, Munn Z (Editors). JBI Handbook for Evidence Implementation. JBI, 2020. Available from: https://implementationmanual.jbi.global

Readings on implementation science in nursing:

Boehm, L. M., Stolldorf, D. P., & Jeffery, A. D. (2020). Implementation Science Training and Resources for Nurses and Nurse Scientists. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 52(1), 47–54. https://doi.org/10.1111/jnu.12510

Curtis, K., Fry, M., Shaban, R. Z., & Considine, J. (2017). Translating research findings to clinical nursing practice. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 26(5-6), 862–872. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.13586

Kristensen, N., Nymann, C., & Konradsen, H. (2016). Implementing research results in clinical practice- the experiences of healthcare professionals. BMC Health Services Research, 16(1), 48–48. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-016-1292-y

Van Achterberg, T., Schoonhoven, L., & Grol, R. (2008). Nursing Implementation Science: How Evidence-Based Nursing Requires Evidence-Based Implementation. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 40(4), 302–310. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1547-5069.2008.00243.x

"Systems thinking is an approach to understanding and improving complex issues and situations. It attempts to deal with these as wholes rather than through the reductionism of conventional science. Reductionism understands complex issues by examining smaller and smaller parts. Systems thinking sees the whole as different from the sum of its parts, because of the interactions between the parts. The issue for systems thinkers then becomes one of defining a relevant whole." 

Coghlan, D., & Brydon-Miller, M. (2014). The SAGE encyclopedia of action research (Vols. 1-2). London, : SAGE Publications Ltd. 

Readings

You may wonder: are there tools to help with citation and references?

Free options: Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote.

A EndNote Licensed product is available for use by current NU faculty, staff, and students. These tools can help you collect and manage your references, and auto-format citations and bibliographies in your papers.

Learn more about citation management tools here.