PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH

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Before developing a new drug, pharmaceutical companies research products that are currently on the market. In their research process, corporations may ask questions such as, “What are current health needs, and how could a new drug address these needs differently than drugs that are currently available?” or “What new innovations can counteract certain diseases?” Before fully refining the focus of any research, individuals should attempt to determine the current state of affairs in their area of interest.

One of the most common ways to accomplish this is to conduct a literature review. A literature review allows one to take a “snapshot” of the established knowledge in a particular area. Using this snapshot, researchers can determine the merit of their research questions and how they may need to modify their research goals. For this part of your Evaluation Project, you create a Literature Review Summary Table and synthesize the current state of research surrounding the PICO question you developed.

To prepare:

  • Review the Week 6 Learning Resources on procedures for conducting a literature review.
  • Using your approved PICO question and relevant search terms, locate a minimum of five full-text research articles to use in your literature review (Articles must be scholarly and peer-reviewed and no older than 5 years old) See Attached PDF files
  • 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 appropriate articles.

To complete Part 3 of the Evaluation Project:

By Day Thursday 1/19/17

1)      Complete a Literature Review Protocol Summary Table using the template in this week’s Learning Resources. (See attached PDF file below)

2)      Write a 1-page literature review that synthesizes the findings in the literature related to the question you developed.

3)      Explain how the literature demonstrates the significance of your PICO question topic. My PICO question is: Does implementing a new unified acute and ambulatory Electronic Health Record (EHR) system within the hospital, compared to when they are not used improve the quality of healthcare for the patients through documentation?

4)      Describe original conclusions that you derived from the evidence you gathered. Support your synthesis and conclusions using evidence from the literature.

P.S. Include an introduction and a summary. The introduction must end with a purpose statement (e.g. “the purpose of this paper is …) Cite at least 3 references from the list below in addition of all references from the Literature Table.

Required Readings

Aveyard, H. (2007). Doing a literature review in health and social care: A practical guide. McGraw-Hill International [UK] Limited.

Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Chapter 4, “How Do I Search for Literature?” (p. 57–74)

 This chapter highlights strategies for conducting a systematic search of the literature. It stresses the importance of developing criteria for identifying literature that may help answer a research question.

Chapter 5, “How Do I Critically Appraise the Literature?” (pp. 75–123)

 In this selection, the focus is on how to appraise the literature you locate. The chapter includes suggestions for determining the validity of research by identifying such things as sample size, the appropriateness of the sample selected, how the data were collected, and how they were analyzed.

Rozas, L. W., & Klein, W. C. (2010). The value and purpose of the traditional qualitative literature review. Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 7(5), 387–399.

Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

 In this article, the authors assess the role and purpose of qualitative literature reviews, and they give specific descriptions of how they differ from a quantitative review. The authors stress the importance of using both qualitative and quantitative literature, and they provide justification for this advice.

Scutt, D. (2008). How to review literature. Radiologic Technology, 79(4), 306–308.

Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

 This article provides a list of questions to ask when organizing a literature review. The author suggests that, when searching for research in a specific area, the reviewer takes the time to identify the key researchers in the field and to begin the review by becoming familiar with their work.

 Barker, J. (n.d.). Basic search tips and advanced Boolean explained. Retrieved from http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/Boolean.pdf

This resource provides a graphical representation of different approaches to research and gives examples of each.

 Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library. (n.d.). Evidence-based clinical practice resources. Retrieved from Tags: http://guides.library.yale.edu/content.php?pid=9786&sid=73113

 This article provides a listing of evidence-based clinical resources, including systemic reviews and meta-analyses, critically appraised topics, background information and expert opinions, and unfiltered resources.

 Library of Congress Online Catalog. (2008). Boolean searching. Retrieved from http://catalog.loc.gov/help/boolean.htm

 This website provides a basic overview of Boolean searches, as well as simple examples of key search terms.

 Indiana State University Library Guides. (n.d.). Literature reviews: Database search strategies. Retrieved from http://libguides.indstate.edu/content.php?pid=118904&sid=1065428

 In this resource, the most common types of database searches are highlighted. This selection includes topics such as nesting searches, phrase searches, and the use of synonyms of key words in the search.

 Walden University (2013). Searching & retrieving materials in the databases. Retrieved from http://libraryguides.waldenu.edu/content.php?pid=162865&sid=1375878

 This resource provides tips for searching in the Walden Library. It includes a guide to keyword searches, an explanation of Boolean searches, and tips on locating specific journals or articles.

 Document: Literature Review Protocol Summary Table (Word document)

 You will use this document to complete your literature review for your Evaluation Project.