The purpose of this assignment is to develop skills for systematically evaluating evidence by researching and analyzing a timely topic in professional nursing.

# 4 Final Paper/Presentation:The purpose of this assignment is to develop skills for systematically evaluating evidence by researching and analyzing a timely topic in professional nursing. The emphasis of this assignment is on finding accurate, reliable sources, evaluating the sources, and summarizing the findings on how the evidence can inform nursing practice.The final paper/presentation grade is worth 35% of the average of the course final grade. There are three components to this grade worth 35%.

#1 Submission of the topic on 3/6/17 (worth 20%)

#2 Final written paper (worth 40%)

#3 Video Presentation (worth 40%)

The student will receive one final grade that represents all of these assignments.

To begin this assignment, student(s) will select a topic that you find fascinating and want to know more about. The topic or issue should come from areas of nursing research. These websites can help to provide you with timely research topics in nursing:

· National Institute for Nursing Research http://www.ninr.nih.gov/researchandfunding/researchhighlights

· National League for Nursing

http://www.nln.org/professional-development-programs/research/research-priorities-in-nursing-education

· American Nurses Association

http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/JournalTopics

The purpose of the paper is to critically appraise and assess the evidence on a topic that interests you. This is not an assignment where you only summarize the authors’ conclusions. It is a synthesis of the information presented that leads to your conclusion about the topic.

The paper should include at least six peer-reviewed primary research articles from either nursing, biomedical, and/or humanities literature. All references should be recent (i.e., within the past ten years). To help you become familiar with the range of knowledge available in different kinds of nursing journals, try to include references from a general nursing journal, a clinical specialty nursing journal, and a research nursing journal.

The paper should mimic a standard research study and include the following headings. The question(s) in the parenthesis following each heading in the below list is provided as an aid to help guide your writing. The break down for length of each section is only a suggestion.

· IntroductionIntroduce your group topic and its significance (1/2 page)

· BackgroundWhat do we currently know about your topic? (1/2 page)

· Methods How did you search for the studies? What was the inclusion criteria? (1/2 page)

· AnalysisWhat are the purposes of the studies? Are key concepts clearly defined? What are the study designs? What are the samples? What are the outcomes studied? How are the studies similar and/or different and possible reasons why? What are the strengths and the weaknesses of the studies? (1 page for each article)

· Results Based on your analysis, is there strong and convincing evidence regarding your topic? (1/2 page)

· Discussion What do you conclude about this topic? What are the next steps for nursing? (1/2 page)

Paper length can range from 8 to 10 pages excluding title page, abstract, and references.