When you first went to work for your current organization, experienced colleagues may have shared with you details about processes and procedures. Perhaps you even attended an orientation session to brief you on these matters. As a “rookie,” you likely kept the nature of your questions to those with answers that would best help you perform your new role.
Over time and with experience, perhaps you recognized aspects of these processes and procedures that you wanted to question further. This is the realm of clinical inquiry.
Clinical inquiry is the practice of asking questions about clinical practice. To continuously improve patient care, all nurses should consistently use clinical inquiry to question why they are doing something the way they are doing it. Do they know why it is done this way, or is it just because we have always done it this way? Is it a common practice or a best practice?
In this Assignment, you will identify clinical areas of interest and inquiry and practice searching for research in support of maintaining or changing these practices. You will also analyze this research to compare research methodologies employed.
Resources
Be sure to review the Learning Resources before completing this activity.
Click the weekly resources link to access the resources.
WEEKLY RESOURCES
To Prepare:
Review the Resources and identify a clinical issue of interest that can form the basis of a clinical inquiry. Keep in mind that the clinical issue you identify for your research will stay the same for the entire course.
Based on the clinical issue of interest and using keywords related to the clinical issue of interest, search at least four different databases in the Walden Library to identify at least four relevant peer-reviewed articles related to your clinical issue of interest. You should not be using systematic reviews for this assignment, select original research articles.
Review the results of your peer-reviewed research and reflect on the process of using an unfiltered database to search for peer-reviewed research.
Reflect on the types of research methodologies contained in the four relevant peer-reviewed articles you selected.
Part 1: Identifying Research Methodologies
After reading each of the four peer-reviewed articles you selected, use the Matrix Worksheet template to analyze the methodologies applied in each of the four peer-reviewed articles. Your analysis should include the following:
The full citation of each peer-reviewed article in APA format.
A brief (1-paragraph) statement explaining why you chose this peer-reviewed article and/or how it relates to your clinical issue of interest, including a brief explanation of the ethics of research related to your clinical issue of interest.
A brief (1-2 paragraph) description of the aims of the research of each peer-reviewed article.
A brief (1-2 paragraph) description of the research methodology used. Be sure to identify if the methodology used was qualitative, quantitative, or a mixed-methods approach. Be specific.
A brief (1- to 2-paragraph) description of the strengths of each of the research methodologies used, including reliability and validity of how the methodology was applied in each of the peer-reviewed articles you selected.
Learning Resources
Required Readings
Melnyk, B. M., & Fineout-Overholt, E. (2023). Evidence-based practice in nursing & healthcare: A guide to best practice (5th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.
Chapter 2, “Asking Compelling Clinical Questions” (pp. 37–60)
Chapter 22, “Generating Evidence Through Quantitative and Qualitative Research” (pp. 731–776)
Grant, M. J., & Booth, A. (2009). A typology of reviews: An analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health Information and Libraries JournalLinks to an external site., 26, 91–108. doi:10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00848.x
Hoare, Z., & Hoe, J. (2013). Understanding quantitative research: Part 2. Nursing StandardLinks to an external site., 27(18), 48–55. doi:10.7748/ns2013.01.27.18.48.c9488
Hoe, J., & Hoare, Z. (2012). Understanding quantitative research: Part 1. Nursing StandardLinks to an external site., 27(15), 52–57. doi:10.7748/ns2012.12.27.15.52.c9485
Walden University Library. (n.d.-a). Databases A-Z: NursingLinks to an external site.. Retrieved September 6, 2019, from https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/az.php?s=19981
Walden University Library. (n.d.-b). Evaluating resources: Primary & secondary sourcesLinks to an external site..Links to an external site. Retrieved January 22, 2020, from https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/library/evaluating/sources
Walden University Library. (n.d.-f). Keyword searching: Finding articles on your topic: Boolean terms.Links to an external site. Retrieved September 19, 2018, from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/library/keyword/boolean
Walden University Library. (n.d.-g).Keyword searching: Finding articles on your topic: Introduction to keyword searchingLinks to an external site.. Retrieved September 19, 2018, from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/library/keyword/searching-basics
Walden University Library. (n.d.-i). Quick Answers: What are filtered and unfiltered resources in nursing?Links to an external site.Retrieved September 6, 2019, from https://academicanswers.waldenu.edu/faq/73299
Document: Matrix Worksheet Template (Word Document)Download Document: Matrix Worksheet Template (Word Document)
Required Media
Centers for Research Quality. (2015a, August 13). Overview of qualitative research methodsLinks to an external site. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/IsAUNs-IoSQ
Centers for Research Quality. (2015b, August 13).Overview of quantitative research methodsLinks to an external site. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/cwU8as9ZNlA
Walden University, LLC. (Producer). (2018). Review of research: Anatomy of a research studyLinks to an external site. [Mutlimedia file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.
Schulich Library McGill. (2017, June 6). Types of reviewsLinks to an external site. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/5Rv9z7Mp4kg
