Students in the NUR 350 research class have been assigned to find 2 recent research articles (nursing research preferred) on a group topic, then describe and evaluate each of their sources using an "Evidence Level and Quality Guide" from Johns Hopkins. This is one of several common models for evaluating sources to determine the "level of evidence" that they represent.
Obviously as we're helping students search for sources, we want to help them figure out whether they're finding what they need.
But students are supposed to determine which type of article they have on their own. And fill out a chart on their own.
I'm usually pretty cautious about trying to interpret instructor expectations anyway. There are several models for evaluating "levels of evidence" and there are different preferences as to which types of research are acceptable sources. In this case the lead instructor was very firm in telling me that she doesn't want students asking other people (including asking librarians) which research methodology is being reported in the article, or whether the article is EBP or QI instead of research.
If a nursing student asks you "Does this count as research? What level evidence is this?" it's ok to tell them that you don't know. You can ask me, and if I know and am allowed to help, I will do so.
In general, the authority on questions such as "does this source count for my assignment" is the person who created and/or will be grading the assignment - the instructor.
For your own info if you're curious:
The instructors are teaching students about different types of projects: research vs. evidence based practice vs. quality improvement.
- Many nursing sites refer to the free overview in American Nurse Today
- We currently have access to Shirey et al's article from the Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing
- Here's a nursing instructor from Univ of Buffalo describing EBP, QI, & Nursing Research
Lea
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