Methods and Critical Appraisal for Evidence-Based Practice
Methods and Critical Appraisal for Evidence-Based Practice
The foundation of the ninth edition of Nursing Research: Methods and
Critical Appraisal for Evidence-Based Practice continues to be the belief
that nursing research is integral to all levels of nursing education
and practice. Over the past three decades since the first edition of
this textbook, we have seen the depth and breadth of nursing
research grow, with more nurses conducting research and using
research evidence to shape clinical practice, education,
administration, and health policy. Methods and Critical Appraisal for Evidence-Based Practice
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The National Academy of Medicine has challenged all health
professionals to provide team-based care based on the best
available scientific evidence. This is an exciting challenge. Nurses,
as clinicians and interprofessional team members, are using the best
available evidence, combined with their clinical judgment and
patient preferences, to influence the nature and direction of health
care delivery and document outcomes related to the quality and
cost-effectiveness of patient care. As nurses continue to develop a
unique body of nursing knowledge through research, decisions
about clinical nursing practice will be increasingly evidence based.
As editors, we believe that all nurses need not only to understand
the research process but also to know how to critically read,
evaluate, and apply research findings in practice. We realize that
understanding research, as a component of evidence-based practice
and quality improvement practices, is a challenge for every student,
but we believe that the challenge can be accomplished in a Methods and Critical Appraisal for Evidence-Based Practice
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stimulating, lively, and learner-friendly manner.
Consistent with this perspective is an ongoing commitment to
advancing implementation of evidence-based practice.
Understanding and applying research must be an integral
dimension of baccalaureate education, evident not only in the
undergraduate nursing research course but also threaded
throughout the curriculum. The research role of baccalaureate
graduates calls for evidence-based practice and quality
improvement competencies; central to this are critical appraisal
skills—that is, nurses should be competent research consumers.
Preparing students for this role involves developing their critical
thinking skills, thereby enhancing their understanding of the
research process, their appreciation of the role of the critiquer, and
their ability to actually critically appraise research. An
undergraduate research course should develop this basic level of
competence, an essential requirement if students are to engage in
evidence-informed clinical decision making and practice, as well as
quality improvement activities. Methods and Critical Appraisal for Evidence-Based Practice
The primary audience for this textbook remains undergraduate
students who are learning the steps of the research process, as well
as how to develop clinical questions, critically appraise published
research literature, and use research findings to inform evidencebased clinical practice and quality improvement initiatives. This
book is also a valuable resource for students at the master’s, DNP,
and PhD levels who want a concise review of the basic steps of the
research process, the critical appraisal process, and the principles
and tools for evidence-based practice and quality improvement.
This text is also an important resource for practicing nurses who
strive to use research evidence as the basis for clinical decision
making and development of evidence-based policies, protocols, and
standards or who collaborate with nurse-scientists in conducting
clinical research and evidence-based practice. Finally, this text is an
important resource for considering how evidence-based practice,
quality improvement, and interprofessional collaboration are
essential competencies for students and clinicians practicing in a
transformed health care system, where nurses and their
interprofessional team members are accountable for the quality and
cost-effectiveness of care provided to their patient population. Methods and Critical Appraisal for Evidence-Based Practice
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Building on the success of the eighth edition, we reaffirm our
commitment to introducing evidence-based practice, quality
improvement processes, and research principles to baccalaureate
students, thereby providing a cutting-edge, research consumer
foundation for their clinical practice. Nursing Research: Methods and
Critical Appraisal for Evidence-Based Practice prepares nursing
students and practicing nurses to become knowledgeable nursing
research consumers by doing the following:
• Addressing the essential evidence-based practice and quality
improvement role of the nurse, thereby embedding evidencebased competencies in clinical practice.
• Demystifying research, which is sometimes viewed as a complex
process. Methods and Critical Appraisal for Evidence-Based Practice
• Using a user-friendly, evidence-based approach to teaching the
fundamentals of the research process.
• Including an exciting chapter on the role of theory in research and
evidence-based practice.
• Providing a robust chapter on systematic reviews and clinical
guidelines.
• Offering two innovative chapters on current strategies and tools
for developing an evidence-based practice.
• Concluding with an exciting chapter on quality improvement and
its application to practice.
• Teaching the critical appraisal process in a user-friendly
progression.
• Promoting a lively spirit of inquiry that develops critical thinking
and critical reading skills, facilitating mastery of the critical
appraisal process.
• Developing information literacy, searching, and evidence-based
practice competencies that prepare students and nurses to Methods and Critical Appraisal for Evidence-Based Practice
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effectively locate and evaluate the best research evidence.
• Emphasizing the role of evidence-based practice and quality
improvement initiatives as the basis for informing clinical
decisions that support nursing practice.
• Presenting numerous examples of recently published research
studies that illustrate and highlight research concepts in a
manner that brings abstract ideas to life for students. These
examples are critical links that reinforce evidence-based concepts
and the critiquing process.
• Presenting five published articles, including a meta-analysis, in
the Appendices, the highlights of which are woven throughout
the text as exemplars of research and evidence-based practice.
• Showcasing, in four new inspirational Research Vignettes, the
work of renowned nurse researchers whose careers exemplify the
links among research, education, and practice.
• Introducing new pedagogical interprofessional education chapter
features, IPE Highlights and IPE Critical Thinking Challenges
and quality improvement, QSEN Evidence-Based Practice Tips.
• Integrating stimulating pedagogical chapter features that
reinforce learning, including Learning Outcomes, Key Terms,
Key Points, Critical Thinking Challenges, Helpful Hints,
Evidence-Based Practice Tips, Critical Thinking Decision Paths,
and numerous tables, boxes, and figures.
• Featuring a revised section titled Appraising the Evidence,
accompanied by an updated Critiquing Criteria box in each
chapter that presents a step of the research process.
• Offering a student Evolve site with interactive review questions
that provide chapter-by-chapter review in a format consistent
with that of the NCLEX Methods and Critical Appraisal for Evidence-Based Practice
® Examination.
• Offering a Student Study Guide that promotes active learning
and assimilation of nursing research content.
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• Presenting Faculty Evolve Resources that include a test bank,
TEACH lesson plans, PowerPoint slides with integrated audience
response system questions, and an image collection. Evolve
resources for both students and faculty also include a research
article library with appraisal exercises for additional practice in
reviewing and critiquing, as well as content updates Methods and Critical Appraisal for Evidence-Based Practice.
