DNP 960 Chapter 4 draft: Data Analysis

DNP 960 Chapter 4 draft: Data Analysis

DNP 960 Chapter 4 draft: Data Analysis

Once IRB approval for your Proposal is obtained, learners will commence the implementation phase of the DPI Project. For the remainder of the course, learners are expected to develop working drafts of Chapters 4 and 5 of the final DPI Project. These chapters will undergo further revision in DNP-965 with the requirement that the entire DPI Project will be submitted to the DPI Committee at the end of DNP-965.

If there is a delay in obtaining IRB approval, extensive revisions are required, or implementation issues arise that affect scheduled completion of DPI Project chapters, learners may not be able to submit DPI Project deliverables as prescribed in this course and may negotiate a progress deliverable instead. Dependent upon the development and progress status of the DPI Project at this time, students will submit one of the following options in this topic, as described below:

• OPTION 1: DPI Project – Working Draft Chapter 4
• OPTION 2: Negotiated Progress Deliverable

General Requirements:

For both deliverable options, use the following information to ensure successful completion of the assignment:

• Remember to use the appropriate forms and templates (if required) for completing this assignment. These are available on the PI Workspace of the DC Network.
• APA format is required for essays only. Solid academic writing is always expected. For all assignment delivery options, documentation of sources should be presented using APA formatting guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.
• This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion
• You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.

OPTION 1: DPI Project – Working Draft Chapter 4:

Submission of the completed DPI Project – Working Draft Chapter 4 is the recommended deliverable to progress through the DPI Project implementation phase.

1. Locate the “Final DPI Project Template” in the PI Workspace area of the DC Network and utilize it to develop and submit initial and ongoing working versions of Chapter 4 of your DPI Project.
2. Review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

The Direct Practice Improvement Project Title Appears in Title Case and is Centered

Submitted by

Insert Your Full Legal Name (No Titles, Degrees, or Academic Credentials)

Equal Spacing

~2.0” – 2.5”

A Direct Practice Improvement Project Presented in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Equal Spacing

~2.0” – 2.5”

Grand Canyon University

Phoenix, Arizona

December 31, 2018

© by Your Full Legal Name (No Titles, Degrees, or Academic Credentials), 2013

All rights reserved.

GRAND CANYON UNIVERSITY

The Direct Practice Improvement Project Title Appears in Title Case and is Centered

by

Insert Your Full Legal Name (No Titles, Degrees, or Academic Credentials)

has been approved

December 31, 2018

APPROVED:

            Full Legal Name, Ed.D., DBA, or Ph.D., DPI Project Chairperson

Full Legal Name, Ed.D., DBA, or Ph.D., Committee Member

Full Legal Name, Ed.D., DBA, or Ph.D., Committee Member

ACCEPTED AND SIGNED:

________________________________________

Lisa Smith, PhD, RN, CNE

Dean and Professor, College of Nursing and Health Care Professions

_________________________________________

Date

The abstract is an accurate, non-evaluative, concise summary or synopsis of the direct practice improvement (DPI) project. It is not an introduction, and is usually the last thing written. The purpose of the abstract is to assist future investigators in accessing the evidence-based materials and other vital information contained in the practice improvement project. Although only a relatively few people typically read the full practice improvement project after publication, the abstract will be read by many scholars and investigators. Consequently, great care must be taken in writing this section of the practice improvement project. The abstract is a concise statement of the nature of the project and content of the practice improvement project. The content of the abstract covers the problem statement, clinical questions, methodology, design, data analysis procedures, location, sample, theoretical foundations, results, and implications. The abstract does not appear in the Table of Contents and has no page number. Abstracts must be double-spaced and no longer than 1 page. The abstract must be fully justified with no indentions and no citations. Refer to the APA Publication Manual, 6th Edition, for additional guidelines for the development of the practice improvement project abstract. Make sure to add the keywords at the bottom of the abstract to assist future investigators.

Keywords: Abstract, assist future investigators, limit to one page in length, vital information

Dedication

An optional dedication may be included here. While a practice improvement project is an objective, scientific document, this is the place to use the first person and to be subjective. The dedication page is numbered with a Roman numeral, but the page number does not appear in the Table of Contents. It is only included in the final practice improvement project and is not part of the proposal. If this page is not to be included, delete the heading, the body text, and the page break below. If you cannot see the page break, click on the ¶Show/Hide button (go to the Home tab and then to the Paragraph toolbar).

Acknowledgments

An optional acknowledgements page can be included here. This is another place to use the first person. If it applies, acknowledge and identify grants and other means of financial support. Also acknowledge supportive colleagues who rendered assistance. The acknowledgments page is numbered with a Roman numeral, but the page number does not appear in the Table of Contents. This page provides a formal opportunity to thank family, friends, and faculty members who have been helpful and supportive. The acknowledgements page is only included in the final practice improvement project, and is not part of the proposal. If this page is not to be included, delete the heading, the body text, and the page break below. If you cannot see the page break, click on the ¶Show/Hide button (go to the Home tab and then to the Paragraph toolbar).

List of Tables

Table 1. Correct Formatting…………………………………………………………………………….. 56

Table 2.  t Test………………………………………………………………………………………………. 57

Table 3. The Servant Leader……………………………………………………………………………. 64

(Note: single-space table titles; double-space between entries)

List of Figures

Figure 1. Scatterplot Example-Strong Negative Correlation ……………………………….. 65

(Note: single-space figure titles; double-space between entries)

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Project

The Introduction section of Chapter 1 briefly overviews the project focus or practice problem, states why the project is worth conducting, and describes how the project will be completed. The introduction develops the significance of the project by describing how the project translates existing knowledge into practice, is new or different from other works and how it will benefit patients at your clinical site. This section should also briefly describe the basic nature of the project and provide an overview of the contents of Chapter 1. This section should be three or four paragraphs, or approximately one page, in length.

Keep in mind that you will write Chapters 1 through 3 as your practice improvement project proposal. However, there are changes that typically need to be made in these chapters to enrich the content or to improve the readability as you write the final practice improvement project manuscript. Often, after data analysis is complete, the first three chapters will need revisions to reflect a more in-depth understanding of the topic, change the tense to past tense, and ensure consistency.

To ensure the quality of both your proposal and your final practice improvement project and reduce the time for Academic Quality Review (AQR) reviews, your writing needs to reflect standards of scholarly writing from your very first draft. Each section within the proposal or practice improvement project should be well organized and presented in a way that makes it easy for the reader to follow your logic. Each paragraph should be short, clear, and focused. A paragraph should (a) be three to eight sentences in length, (b) focus on one point, topic, or argument, (c) include a topic sentence the defines the focus for the paragraph, and (d) include a transition sentence to the next paragraph. Include one space after each period. There should be no grammatical, punctuation, sentence structure, or American Psychological Association APA formatting errors. Verb tense is an important consideration for Chapters 1 through 3. For the proposal, the investigator uses present tense (e.g., “The purpose of this project is to…”), whereas in the practice improvement project, the chapters are revised into past tense (e.g., “The purpose of this project was to…”). Taking the time to put quality into each draft will save you time in all the steps of the development and review phases of the practice improvement project process. It will pay to do it right the first time.

As a doctoral investigator, it is your responsibility to ensure the clarity, quality, and correctness of your writing and APA formatting. The DC Network provides various resources to help you improve your writing. Neither your chairperson nor your committee members will provide editing of your documents, nor will the AQR reviewers provide editing of your documents. If you do not have outstanding writing skills, you will need to identify a writing coach, editor, or other resource to help you with your writing and to edit your documents.

The quality of a practice improvement project is not only defined by the quality of writing. It is also defined by the criteria that have been established for each section of the project. The criteria describe what must be addressed in each section within each chapter. As you develop a section, first read the section description. Then review the criteria contained in the table below the description. Use both the description and criteria as you write the section. It is important that the criteria are addressed in a way that it is clear to your chairperson, committee, and an external reviewer to illustrate that the criteria have been met. You should be able to point out where each criterion is met in each section. Prior to submitting a draft of your proposal or practice improvement project, or a single chapter to your chairperson, please assess yourself on the degree to which criteria have been met. There is a table at the end of each section for you to complete this self-assessment. Your chairperson may also assess each criterion when returning the document with feedback. The following scores reflect the readiness of the document:

• 3 = The criterion has been completely met. It is comprehensive and accurate. The section meeting the criterion is comprehensive and clear. The criterion information is very well written. The section addressing a criterion is located in a single spot; it is not distributed across various paragraphs. The criterion is immediately obvious to an external reviewer. In terms of writing, the section is perfect and ready to go into a journal article.
• 2 = The criterion is very close to being completely met. The section meeting the criterion is comprehensive, but may need to be further clarified. The criterion information is fairly well written, but may need minor editing. The section addressing a criterion is located in a single spot; it is not distributed across various paragraphs. It may not be obvious to an external reader and so may require some clarification. In terms of writing it is near perfect, but may need minor edits for clarity or APA formatting.
• 1 = The criterion is present, but the section needs significant work to completely meet expectations. The section meeting the criterion is not comprehensive and may need to be further clarified. The criterion information is fairly well written, but may need minor editing. The section addressing a criterion is not clearly located in a single spot; it appears to be distributed across various paragraphs. It may not be obvious to an external reader and requires some clarification. It needs some changes to structure, flow, paragraph structure, sentence structure, punctuation, and APA format.
• 0 = The criterion is not addressed because it is missing or is not appropriate.

Once the document has been approved by your chairperson and your committee and is ready to submit for AQR review, please remove all of these assessment tables from this document.

Background of the Project

The background section of Chapter 1 explains both the history of and the present state of the problem and the DPI project focus. This section summarizes the Background section from Chapter 2 and is two or three paragraphs in length.

Problem Statement

This section of the final manuscript is two or three paragraphs long. It clearly states the problem or project focus, the population affected, and how the project will contribute to solving the problem. This section of Chapter 1 should be comprehensive yet simple, providing context for the practice project.

A well-written problem statement begins with the big picture of the issue (macro) and works to the small, narrower, and more specific problem (micro). It clearly communicates the significance, magnitude, and importance of the problem and transitions into the Purpose of the Project with a declarative statement such as “It is not known if and to what degree/extent…” or “It is not known how/why and….”

Other examples are:

• It is not known_____.
• Absent from the literature ______.
• While the literature indicates ____________, it is not known in _________. (school/district/organization/community) if __________.
• It is not known how or to what extent ________________.

Purpose of the Project

The Purpose of the Project section of Chapter 1 should be two or three paragraphs long, provide a reflection of the problem statement, and identify how the project will be accomplished. It explains how the project will contribute to the field. The section begins with a declarative statement, “The purpose of this project is….” Included in this statement are also the project design, population, variables to be investigated, and the geographic location. Further, the section clearly defines the dependent and independent variables, relationship of variables, or comparison of groups for quantitative studies. Keep in mind that the purpose of the project is restated in other chapters of the practice improvement project and should be worded exactly as presented in this section of Chapter 1.

Creswell (2003) provided some sample templates for developing purpose statements aligned with the different project methods. Please see the template for quantitative method as follows:

The purpose of this quantitative ___________ (correlational, descriptive, etc.) project is to ____________ (compare or see to what degree a relationship exists) between/among ______________________ (independent variable) to ___________________ (dependent variable) for ________________ (participants) at ___________________ (project site/geographical location). The ________ (independent variable) will be defined/measured as/by _______ (provide a general definition). The                                    (dependent variable) will be defined/measured as/by ______ (provide a general definition).

 Clinical Question(s)

This section should be two or three paragraphs in length, narrow the focus of the project, and specify the clinical questions to address the problem statement. Based on the clinical questions, the section describes the variables or groups. The clinical questions should be derived from, and are directly aligned with, the problem and purpose statements, methods, and data analyses. The Clinical Questions section of Chapter 1 will be presented again in Chapter 3 to provide clear continuity for the reader and to help frame your data analysis in Chapter 4.

 In a paragraph prior to listing the clinical questions, include a discussion of the clinical questions, relating them to the problem statement. Then, include a leading phrase to introduce the questions such as: The following clinical questions guide this quantitative project:

Q1:

Q2:

Q3:

Advancing Scientific Knowledge

The Advancing Scientific Knowledge section should be two or three paragraphs in length, and specifically describe how the project will advance population health outcomes on the topic. This advancement can be a small step forward in a line of the current clinical site practice, but it must add to the current body of knowledge in the literature. This section also identifies the gap or need based on the current literature and discusses how the project will address that gap or need. This section summarizes the Theoretical Foundations section from Chapter 2 by identifying the theory or model upon which the project is built. It also describes how the project will advance that theory or model.

Significance of the Project

This section identifies and describes the significance of the project. It also discusses the implications of the potential results based on the clinical questions and problem statement. Further, it describes how the project fits within and will contribute to the current literature or the clinical site practice. Finally, it describes the potential practical applications from the project. This section should be three or four paragraphs long and is of particular importance because it justifies the need for, and the relevance of, the project.

Rationale for Methodology

The Rationale for Methodology section of Chapter 1 clearly justifies the methodology the investigator plans to use for conducting the project. It argues how the methodological framework is the best approach to answer the clinical questions and address the problem statement. Finally, it contains citations from textbooks and articles on the DPI project methodology or articles on related studies.

This section describes the clinical questions the project will answer and identifies the variables using the format appropriate for the specific design. Finally, this section includes a discussion of the clinical questions, relating them to the problem statement. This section should be two or three paragraphs long and illustrate how the methodological framework is aligned with the problem statement and purpose of the project, providing additional context for the project.

Nature of the Project Design

This section describes the specific project design (descriptive, correlational, quasi-experimental, case project, etc.) to answer the clinical questions and why this approach was selected. Here, the learner discusses why the selected design is the best design to address the problem statement and clinical questions as compared to other designs. You should be focusing on the design rather than the methodology in this section. Briefly describes how the design supports the intervention and solution to the practice problem. This section also contains a description of the project sample being investigated, as well as the process that will be used to collect the data on the sample. In other words, this section provides a preview of Chapter 3 and succinctly conveys the project approach to answer clinical questions.

Definition of Terms

The Definition of Terms section of Chapter 1 defines the project constructs and provides a common understanding of the technical terms, exclusive jargon, variables, phenomena, concepts, and sundry terminology used within the scope of the project. Terms are defined in lay terms and in the context in which they are used within the project. Each definition may be a few sentences to a paragraph in length. This section includes any words that may be unknown to a lay person (words with unusual or ambiguous meanings or technical terms) from the evidence or literature. It provides a rationale for each assumption and defines the variables.

Definitions must be supported with citations from scholarly sources. Do not use Wikipedia to define terms. This popular “open source” online encyclopedia can be helpful and interesting for the layperson, but it is not appropriate for formal academic scholarly writing. Additionally, do not use dictionaries to define terms. A paragraph introducing this section prior to listing the definition of terms can be inserted. However, a lead in phrase is needed to introduce the terms such as: “The following terms were used operationally in this project.” This is also a good place to operationally define unique phrases specific to this project. See below for the correct format:

Term. Write the definition of the word. This is considered a Level 3 heading. Make sure the definition is properly cited (Author, 2010).

Terms often use abbreviations. According to APA (2010), abbreviations are best used only when they allow for clear communication with the audience. Standard abbreviations, such as units of measurement and names of states, do not need to be written out.

Only certain units of time should be abbreviated. Abbreviate hr (hour), min (minute), ms (millisecond), ns (nanosecond), or s (second). However, do not abbreviate day, week, month, and year [4.27]. To form the plural of abbreviations, add “s” alone without apostrophe or italicization (e.g., vols., IQs, Eds.). The exception to this rule is not to add “s” to pluralize units of measurement (12 m not 12 ms) [4.29].

Assumptions, Limitations, Delimitations

This section identifies the assumptions and specifies the limitations, as well as the delimitations, of the project. It should be three or four paragraphs in length. An assumption is a self-evident truth. This section should list what is assumed to be true about the information gathered in the project. State the assumptions being accepted for the project as methodological, theoretical, or topic-specific. For each assumption listed, you must also provide an explanation. Provide a rationale for each assumption, incorporating multiple perspectives, when appropriate. For example, the following assumptions were present in this project:

1. It is assumed that survey participants in this project were not deceptive with their answers, and that the participants answered questions honestly and to the best of their ability. Provide an explanation to support this assumption.
2. It is assumed that this project is an accurate representation of the current situation in rural southern Arizona. Provide an explanation to support this assumption.

Limitations are things that the investigator has no control over, such as bias. Delimitations are things over which the investigator has control, such as location of the project. Identify the limitations and delimitations of the project design. Discuss the potential generalizability of the project findings based on these limitations. For each limitation and delimitation listed, make sure to provide an associated explanation. For example: The following limitations/delimitations were present in this project:

1. Lack of funding limited the scope of this project. Provide an explanation to support this limitation.
2. The survey of high school students was delimited to only rural schools in one county within southern Arizona, limiting the demographic sample. Provide an explanation to support this delimitation.

Summary and Organization of the Remainder of the Project

This section summarizes the key points of Chapter 1 and provides supporting citations for those key points. It then provides a transition discussion to Chapter 2 followed by a description of the remaining chapters. For example, Chapter 2 will present a review of current evidence on the centrality of the practice improvement project literature review in research preparation. Chapter 3 will describe the methodology, research design, and procedures for this investigation. Chapter 4 details how the data was analyzed and provides both a written and graphic summary of the results. Chapter 5 is an interpretation and discussion of the results, as they relate to the existing body of research related to the practice improvement project topic.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

This chapter presents the theoretical framework for the project and develops the topic, specific practice problem, question(s), and design elements. In order to perform significant practice improvement projects, the learners must first understand the literature related to the project focus. A well-articulated, thorough literature review provides the foundation for substantial, contributory projects or evidence. The purpose of Chapter 2 is to develop a well-documented argument for the selection of the project topic, formulate the clinical questions, and justify the choice of methodology as introduced in Chapter 1. A literature review is a synthesis of what has been published on a topic by accredited scholars and investigators. It is not an expanded annotated bibliography or a summary of research articles related to your topic.

The literature review will place the project focus into context by analyzing and discussing the existing body of knowledge and effectively presenting the reader with an exhaustive review of known information. The comprehensive presentation should include as much information as possible pertaining to what has been discovered in research about that focus, and where the gaps and tensions in the research exist. As a piece of writing, the literature review must convey to the reader what knowledge and ideas have been established on a topic and build an argument in support of the practice problem.

This section describes the overall topic to be investigated, outlines the approach taken for the literature review, and defines the evolution of the problem based on the evidence to cover the gap or need to improve population health outcomes. Make sure the Introduction and Background section of your literature review addresses the following required components:

• Introduction: States the overall purpose of the project.
• Introduction: Provides an orienting paragraph so the reader knows what the literature review will address.
• Introduction: Describes how the chapter will be organized (including the specific sections and subsections).
• Introduction: Describes how the literature was surveyed, so the reader can evaluate the thoroughness of the review.
• Background: Provides a historical overview of the problem based on the gap or need defined in the literature and how it originated. This section must contain empirical citations. Present strong evidence for the intervention.
• Background: Discusses how the problem has evolved historically into its current form.

Theoretical Foundations

This section identifies the theories or models that provide the foundation for the Direct Practice Improvement (DPI) Project. It also contains an explanation of how the problem under investigation relates to the theory or model. The seminal source for each theory or model should be identified and described. Please note: Models and theories are not capitalized in APA style.

The theories or models(s) guide the clinical questions and justify what is being measured (variables), as well as how those variables are related. This section also includes a discussion of how the clinical question(s) align with the respective theories or models, and illustrates how the project fits within other evidence–based research based on the theories or models. The learner should cite references reflective of the foundational, historical, and current literature in the field. Overall, the presentation should reflect that the learner understands the theory or model and its relevance to the project. The discussion should also reflect knowledge and familiarity with the historical development of the theories or models.

Review of the Literature

This section provides a broad, balanced overview of the existing literature related to the topic. It identifies themes, trends, and conflicts in methodology, design, and findings. It provides a synthesis of the existing literature, examines the contributions of the literature related to the topic, and presents an evaluation of the overall methodological strengths and weaknesses of the evidence–based research. Through this synthesis, the gaps in research should become evident to the reader.

This section describes the literature in related topic areas and its relevance to the project topic. It provides an overall analysis of the existing literature examining the contributions of this literature to the field, identifying the conflicts, and relating the themes and results to the project. Citations are provided for all ideas, concepts, and perspectives. The investigator’s personal opinions or perspectives are not included.

The required components for this section include the following:

• Chapter 2 needs to be at least 20-25 pages in length. It needs to include a minimum of 50 scholarly sources with 85% of sources published within the past 5 years. Additional sources do not necessarily need to be from the past 5 years.
• Quantitative project: Describes each project variable in the project and discusses the prior evidence-based research that has been done on the variable.
• Qualitative project: Describes the phenomena being explored in the project and discusses the prior evidence-based research that has been done on the phenomena.
• Discusses the various methodologies and designs that have been used to provide evidence on topics related to the project. Uses this information to justify the design.
• Relates the literature back to the DPI-project topic and the practice problem.
• Argues the appropriateness of the practice improvement project’s instruments, measures, or approaches used to collect data.
• Discusses topics related to the practice improvement project topic. This section may include (a) studies relating the variables (quantitative) or exploring related phenomena (qualitative); (b) studies on related evidence-based research, such as factors associated with the topic; (c) studies on the instruments used to collect data; and (d) studies on the broad population for the project.
• Set of topics discussed in the Review of Literature demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of the broad area in which the project topic exists.
• Argues the appropriateness of the practice improvement project’s instruments, measures, or approaches used to collect data.
• Each section within the Review of Literature includes an introductory paragraph that explains why the particular topic was explored relative to the practice improvement project topic.
• Each section also requires a summary paragraph(s) that (a) compares and contrasts alternative perspectives on the topic, (b) provides a summary of the themes relative to the topic discussed that emerged from the literature, (c) discusses data from the various studies, and (d) identifies how themes are relevant to your practice improvement project topic.
• The types of references that may be used in the literature review include empirical articles, a limited number of practice improvement projects, peer-reviewed or scholarly journal articles, and books that are cutting-edge views on a topic, evidence-based research, or seminal works.

The body of a literature review can be organized in a variety of ways depending on the nature of the project. Work with your committee chairperson to determine the best way to organize this section of Chapter 2, as it pertains to your overall project design. This template organizes the evidence –based research thematically, as illustrated below.

Theme 1. You may want to organize this section by themes and subthemes. To do so, use the pattern below.

Subtheme 1 . Grouped findings related to Theme 1.

Project 1. Describe the clinical question(s), sample, methodology, and findings of this project.

Project 2. Describe the clinical question(s), sample, methodology, and findings of this project.

Project 3. Describe the clinical question(s), sample, methodology, and findings of this project.

In a concluding paragraph, provide a synthesis of the evidence–based research studies presented in Subtheme 1. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each project, as well as the variables, instrumentation, and findings of each project as they relate to each other, and use the findings of the studies in the subtheme to build an argument for your project. Discuss what is missing or how the evidence–based research design or methodology could have changed in studies to improve the quality of the project. Discuss inconsistencies or gaps that emerge in the research providing opportunity for additional projects. Provide a transition sentence to the next subtheme.

Subtheme 2. Grouped findings related to Theme 1.

Project 1. Describe the Clinical question[s], sample, methodology, findings

Project 2. Describe the clinical question[s], sample, methodology, findings)

Project 3. Describe the clinical question[s], sample, methodology, findings

Provide a synthesis of the evidence-based research in the subtheme as suggested above. Continue repeating this pattern with other evidence-based research findings that fit with Theme 1 and then provide an overall synthesis of the evidence-based research for Theme 1. Repeat this pattern for the next major theme in your literature review, and continue repeating as needed.

Theme 2. Chapter 2 can be particularly challenging with regard to APA format for citations and quotations. Refer to your APA manual frequently to make sure your citations are formatted properly. It is critical that each in-text citation is appropriately listed in the References section.

For a quote within a quote, use a set of single quotation marks. [4.08]. As a rule, if a quote comprises 40 or more words, display this material as a freestanding block quote. Start formal block quotes on a new line. They are indented one inch in from the left margin. The entire block quote is double-spaced. Quotation marks are not used with formal block quotes. The in-text citation is included after the final punctuation mark. [6.03]. Below is an example of a block quote: In an important biography, The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin, historian H. W. Brands writes:

In February 1731, Franklin became a Freemason. Shortly thereafter, he volunteered to draft the bylaws for the embryonic local chapter, named for St. John the Baptist; upon acceptance of the bylaws, he was elected Warden and subsequently Master of the Lodge. Within three years, he became Grandmaster of all of Pennsylvania’s Masons. Not unforeseeable he—indeed, this was much of the purpose of membership for everyone involved—his fellow Masons sent business Franklin’s way. In 1734 he printed The Constitutions, the first formerly sponsored Masonic book in America; he derived additional [printing] work from his brethren on an unsponsored basis. (Brands, 2000, p. 113)

Summary

This section restates what was written in Chapter 2 and provides supporting citations for key points. It synthesizes the information from the chapter using it to define the “gaps” in or “project needs” from the literature, the theories or models to provide the foundation for the project, the problem statement, the primary clinical question, the methodology, the design, the variables or phenomena, the data collection instruments or sources, and population. It then provides a transition discussion to Chapter 3.

Overall, this section should:

• Synthesize the information from all of the prior sections in the literature review, and use it to define the key strategic points for the project.
• Summarize the gaps and needs in the background and introduction, and describe how it informs the problem statement.
• Identify the theories or models describing how they inform the clinical questions.
• Use the literature to justify the design, variables, data collection instruments or sources, and population to be evaluated.
• Relates the literature back to the DPI-project topic and the practice problem.
• Build a case (argument) for the project in terms of the value of the project and how the clinical questions emerged from the review of literature.
• Explain how the current theories, models, and topics related to the project will be advanced through your project.
• Summarize key points in Chapter 2 and transition into Chapter 3.

This section should help the reader clearly see and understand the relevance and importance of the project to be conducted. The Summary section transitions to Chapter 3 by building a case for the project, in terms of project design and rigor, and it formulates the clinical questions based on the gaps and tensions in the literature.

 Chapter 3: Methodology

Chapter 3 documents how the project is conducted in enough detail so that replication by others is possible. The introduction begins with a summary of the project focus and purpose statement to reintroduce the reader to the need for the project. This can be summarized in three or four sentences from Chapter 1. Summarize the clinical questions in narrative format, and then outline the expectations for this chapter.

Remember, throughout this chapter, that verb tense must be changed from present tense (proposal) to past tense (DPI Project manuscript). Furthermore, consider what happened during data collection and analysis. Sometimes, the DPI project protocol ends up being modified based on committee, Academic Quality Review (AQR), or Institutional Review Board (IRB) recommendations. After the practice project is complete, make sure this chapter reflects how the project was actually conducted.

Statement of the Problem

This section restates the problem for the convenience of the reader. Copy and paste the Statement of the Problem from Chapter 1. Then, edit, blend, and integrate this material into the narrative. Change future tense to past tense for DPI Project manuscripts.

Clinical Question

This section restates the clinical question(s) for the project from Chapter 1. It then presents the matching of the variables. The section also briefly discusses the approaches to collecting the data to answer the clinical questions. The section should describe the instrument(s) or data source(s) to collect the data for each variable. It also discusses why the design was selected to be the best approach to answer the clinical question(s).

Project Methodology

This section describes the methodology for the project (quantitative, qualitative, or mixed) and explains the rationale for selecting this particular methodology. It also describes why this methodology was selected as opposed to the alternative methodologies. This section should elaborate on the Methodology section (from Chapter 1) providing the rationale for the selected project method (quantitative, qualitative, or mixed). Arguments are supported by citations from articles and books on research methodology or design. It is also appropriate in this section to outline the predicted results in relation to the clinical questions based on the existing literature. Describe how the methodology selected supports the attainment of information that will answer the clinical questions.

Project Design

This section elaborates on the nature of the Project Design section from Chapter 1. It includes a detailed description of, and a rationale for, the specific design for the project. It also discusses the specific project design for the project (descriptive, correlational, experimental, quasi-experimental, historical, case project, ethnography, phenomenology, content analysis, exploratory, explanatory, embedded, triangulation, etc.) and describes how it aligns to the selected methodology indicated in the previous section. Additionally, it describes why the selected design is the best option to collect the data to answer the clinical need for the project.

The section explains exactly how the selected design will be used to collect data for each variable. It identifies the specific instruments and data sources to be used to collect all of the different data required for the project. Arguments are supported by citations from articles and books on DPI project methodology or design. This section should specify the independent, dependent, or classificatory variables, as appropriate. Be sure to relate the variables back to the research questions. A brief discussion of the type of data collection tool chosen (survey, interview, observation, etc.) can also be included in this section as related to the variables.

Population and Sample Selection

            This section discusses the setting, total population, project population, and project sample. The discussion of the sample includes the project terminology specific to the type of sampling for the project. This section should include the following components:

• Describes the characteristics of the total population and the project population from which the project sample (project participants) is drawn.
• Describes the characteristics of the project population and the project sample.
• Clearly defines and differentiates the sample for the project versus the number of people completing instruments on the project sample.
• Describes the project population size and project sample size and justifies the project sample size (e.g., power analysis) based on the selected design.

Clearly defines and differentiates between the number for the project population and the project sample versus the number for the people who will complete any instruments. Details the sampling procedure including the specific steps taken to identify, contact, and recruit potential project sample participants from the project population.

     Describes the informed consent process, confidentiality measures, project participation requirements, and geographic specifics.

• Discusses the intervention protocol to answer the clinical question(s).
• If subjects withdrew or were excluded from the project, you must provide an explanation. This would be added for the final manuscript, and would not be present in the proposal.

Instrumentation or Sources of Data  

This section fully identifies and describes the types of data that will be collected, as well as the specific instruments and sources used to collect those data (tests, questionnaires, interviews, databases, media, etc.). Discuss the specific instrument or source to collect data for each variable or group.  Use subheadings for each data collection instrument or source of data and provide a copy of all instruments in an appendix.

If you are using an existing instrument, make sure to discuss in detail the characteristics of the instrument. For example, on a preexisting survey tool describe the way the instrument was developed and constructed, the validity and reliability of the instrument, the number of items or questions included in the survey, and the calculation of the score as appropriate.

Validity

This section describes and defends the procedures used to determine the validity of the data collected. Validity refers to the degree to which a project accurately reflects or assesses the specific concept that the investigator is attempting to measure. Ask if what is actually being measured is what was set out to be measured. As an investigator, you must be concerned with both external and internal validity.

For this section, provide specific validity statistics for quantitative instruments, identifying how they were developed. NOTE: Learners should not be developing any quantitative instruments without permission from the DNP department.

Reliability

This section describes and defends the procedures used to determine the reliability of the data collected. Reliability is the extent to which an experiment, test, or any measuring procedure is replicable and yields the same result with repeated trials. For this section, provide specific reliability statistics for quantitative instruments, identifying how the statistics were developed. Explain specific approaches on how reliability will be addressed for qualitative data collection approaches.

Data Collection Procedures

This section details the entirety of the process used to collect the data. Describe the step-by-step procedures used to carry out all the major steps for data collection for the project in a way that would allow another investigator to replicate the project. The key elements of this section include:

• A description of the procedures for project sample recruitment, sample selection, and assignment to groups (if applicable).
• A description of the procedures for obtaining informed consent and for protecting the rights and well-being of the project sample participants, as well as those completing instruments on them.
• A description of the procedures adopted to maintain data securely, including the length of time data will be retained, where the data will be retained, and how the data will be destroyed.
• A description of the procedures for data collection, including how each instrument or data source was used, how and where data were collected, and how data were recorded.
• An explanation of the independent and dependent variables (if applicable), and how the resulting change in those variables is measured (if applicable),
• An explanation of how control variables were maintained as a constant value (if applicable).

Data Analysis Procedures

This section provides a step-by-step description of the procedures to be used to conduct the data analysis. The key elements of this section include:

• A description of how the data were collected for each variable or group.
• A description of the type of data to be analyzed, identifying the descriptive, inferential, or nonstatistical analyses.
• Demonstration that the project analysis is aligned to the specific project design.
• A description of the clinical question(s).
• A detailed description of the relevant data collected for each stated clinical question.
• A description of how the raw data were organized and prepared for analysis. Provides a step-by-step description of the procedures used to conduct the data analysis.
• A detailed description of any statistical and nonstatistical analysis to be employed.
• A rationale is provided for each of the data analysis procedures (statistical and nonstatistical) employed in the project.
• A demonstration that the data analysis techniques align with the DPI project design.
• The level of statistical significance for quantitative analyses is stated as appropriate.
• References to the software used for the data analyses and assurance that the language used to describe the data analysis procedure is consistently used in Chapters 4 and 5.

Ethical Considerations

This section discusses the potential ethical issues surrounding the project, as well as how human subjects and data will be protected. The key ethical issues that must be addressed in this section include:

• Identify how any potential ethical issues will be addressed.
• Provide a discussion of ethical issues related to the project and the sample population of interest, institution, or data collection process.
• Address anonymity, confidentiality, privacy, lack of coercion, informed consent, and potential conflict of interest.
• Demonstrate adherence to the key principles of the Belmont Report (respect, justice, and beneficence) in the project design, sampling procedures, and within the theoretical framework, practice or patient problem, and clinical questions.
• Discuss how the data will be stored, safeguarded, and destroyed.
• Discuss how the results of the project will be published.
• Discuss any potential conflict of interest on the part of the investigator.
• Reference IRB approval to conduct the project, which includes subject recruiting and informed consent processes, in regard to the voluntary nature of project.
• Include the IRB approval letter with the protocol number, informed consent/subject assent documents, site authorization letter(s), or any other measures required to protect the participants or institutions in an appendix.

Limitations

While Chapter 1 addresses the broad, overall limitations of the project, this section discusses in detail the limitations related to the DPI project approach and methodology and the potential impacts on the results. This section describes any limitations related to the methods, sample, instrumentation, data collection process, and analysis. Other methodological limitations of the project may include issues with regard to the sample in terms of size, population and procedure, instrumentation, data collection processes, and data analysis. This section also contains an explanation of why the existing limitations are unavoidable and are not expected to affect the results negatively.

Summary

This section restates what was written in Chapter 3 and provides supporting citations for key points. Your summary should demonstrate an in-depth understanding of the overall project design and analysis techniques. The Chapter 3 summary ends with a discussion that transitions the reader to Chapter 4.

Chapter 4: Data Analysis and Results

The purpose of this chapter is to summarize the collected data, how it was analyzed and then to present the results. This section of Chapter 4 briefly restates the problem statement, the methodology, the clinical question(s) or phenomena, and then offers a statement about what will be covered in this chapter. Chapter 4 should present the results of the project as clearly as possible, leaving the interpretation of the results for Chapter 5. Make sure this chapter is written in past tense and reflects how the project was actually conducted.

This chapter typically contains the analyzed data, often presented in both text and tabular or figure format. To ensure readability and clarity of findings, structure is of the utmost importance in this chapter. Sufficient guidance in the narrative should be provided to highlight the findings of greatest importance for the reader. Most investigators begin with a description of the sample and the relevant demographic characteristics presented in text or tabular format.

Ask the following general questions before starting this chapter:

1. Is there sufficient data to answer each of the clinical question(s) asked in the project?
2. Is there sufficient data to support the conclusions you will make in Chapter 5?
3. Is the project written in the third person? Never use the first person.
4. Is the data clearly explained using a table, graph, chart, or text?

Visual organizers, including tables and figures, must always be introduced, presented and discussed within the text first. Never insert them without these three steps. It is often best to develop all of the tables, graphs, charts, etc. before writing any text to further clarify how to proceed. Point out the salient results and present those results by table, graph, chart, or other form of collected data.

Descriptive Data

This section of Chapter 4 provides a narrative summary of the population or sample characteristics and demographics of the participants in the project. It establishes the number of subjects, gender, age, education level or employee classification, (if appropriate), organization, or setting (if appropriate), and other appropriate sample characteristics (e.g. education level, program of project, employee classification etc.). The use of graphic organizers, such as tables, charts, histograms and graphs to provide further clarification and promote readability, is encouraged to organize and present coded data.  Ensure this data cannot lead to anyone identifying individual participants in this section or identifying the data for individual participants in the data summary and data analysis that follows.

For numbers, equations, and statistics, spell out any number that begins a sentence, title, or heading – or reword the sentence to place the number later in the narrative. In general, use Arabic numerals (10, 11, 12) when referring to whole numbers 10 and above, and spell out whole numbers below 10. There are some exceptions to this rule:

• If small numbers are grouped with large numbers in a comparison, use numerals (e.g., 7, 8, 10, and 13 trials); but, do not do this when numbers are used for different purposes (e.g., 10 items on each of four surveys).
• Numbers in a measurement with units (e.g., 6 cm, 5-mg dose, 2%).
• Numbers that represent time, dates, ages, sample or population size, scores, or exact sums of money.
• Numbers that represent a specific item in a numbered series (e.g., Table 1).

A sample table in APA style is presented in Table 1. Be mindful that all tables fit within the required margins, and are clean, easy to read, and formatted properly using the guidelines found in Chapter 5 (Displaying Results) of the APA Publication Manual 6.0.

Table 1

A Sample Data Table Showing Correct Formatting

Note. Adapted from “Sampling and Recruitment in Studies of Doctoral Students,” by I.M. Investigator, 2010, Journal of Perspicuity, 25, p 100. Reprinted with permission.

Data Analysis Procedures

This section presents a description of the process that was used to analyze the data. If clinical question(s) guided the project, data analysis procedures can be framed relative to each clinical question. Data can also be organized by chronology of phenomena, by themes and patterns, or by other approaches as deemed appropriate according for a qualitative project.  The key components included in this section are:

• A detailed description of the data analysis procedures.
• An explanation of how the raw data relates to the clinical questions(s) asked in the project for a quantitative project.
• Explain how data and findings were organized by chronology of phenomena, by themes and patterns, or by other approaches as deemed appropriate according for a qualitative
• A discussion of the identification of sources of error and their effect on the data.
• An explanation and justification of any differences in why the data analysis section does not match what was approved in Chapter 3 (if appropriate).
• An analysis of the reliability and validity of the data in statistical terms, for quantitative projects.
• A description of the approaches used to ensure validity and reliability, for qualitative projects.

Results

This section, which is the primary section of this chapter, presents a summary and  analysis of the data in a non-evaluative, unbiased, organized manner that relates to the clinical question(s). List the clinical question(s) as you are discussing them in order to ensure that the readers see that the question has been addressed. Answer the clinical question(s) in the order that they are listed for quantitative studies. You can organize your data in several different ways for qualitative studies including: by clinical question, by chronology of variables, by themes and patterns, or by other approaches deemed appropriate for the project.

The key components included in this section are:

• The data and the analysis of that data should be presented in a narrative, non-evaluative, unbiased, organized manner by clinical question(s).
• The section should also include appropriate graphic organizers, such as tables, charts, graphs, and figures.
• The amount and quality of the data or information is sufficient to answer the clinical question(s) is well presented, and is intelligently interpreted.
• Qualitative: Findings are coded by major themes and subthemes using section titles if thematic analysis was used. They are presented in order of significance, if appropriate. The method of qualitative analysis will inform how the data will be displayed.
• Qualitative: Data sets are summarized including counts and examples of participant’s responses. Outlier responses are explained as appropriate.
• Quantitative: Findings are presented by clinical question using section titles. They are presented in order of significance, if appropriate.
• Quantitative: Results of each statistical test are presented in appropriate statistical format with tables, graphs, and charts.
• Quantitative: For inferential statistics, p-value and test statistics are reported.
• Quantitative: Control variables (if part of the design) are reported and discussed. Outliers, if found, were reported.

The results must be presented without implication, speculation, assessment, evaluation, or interpretation. Discussion of results and conclusions are left for Chapter 5. Refer to the APA Style Manual for additional lists and examples. In quantitative practice improvement projects, it is not required for all data analyzed to be presented; however, it is important to provide descriptive statistics and the results of the applicable statistic tests used in conducting the analysis of the data. It is also important that there are descriptive statistics provided on all variables. Nevertheless, it is also acceptable to put most of this in the Appendix if the chapter becomes too lengthy.

Required components include descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics describe or summarize data sets using frequency distributions (e.g., to describe the distribution for the IQ scores in your class of 30 pupils) or graphical displays such as bar graphs (e.g., to display increases in a school district’s budget each year for the past five years), as well as histograms (e.g., to show spending per child in school and display mean, median, modes, and frequencies), line graphs (e.g., to display peak scores for the classroom group), and scatter plots (e.g., to display the relationship between two variables). Descriptive statistics also include numerical indexes such as averages, percentile ranks, measures of central tendency, correlations, measures of variability and standard deviation, and measures of relative standing.

Inferential statistics describe the numerical characteristics of data, and then go beyond the data to make inferences about the population based on the sample data. Inferential statistics also estimate the characteristics of populations about population parameters using sampling distributions, or estimation. Table 2 presents example results of an independent t test comparing Emotional Intelligence (EI) mean scores by gender.

Table 2

 t Test for Equality of Emotional Intelligence Mean Scores by Gender

For qualitative project, it is important to provide a complete picture of the constant comparative analysis conducted or of the coding pursued to arrive at a set of themes or conclusions about the subject. In qualitative projects, if thematic analysis is used, the questions to ask include the following:

1. What themes occur in interviews and field notes?
2. Does the project provide samples that the themes exist by using interviews or field notes?
3. What topics were mentioned most often?
4. What issues were most important to the people in the project?
5. How do the participants view the topic of project?
6. What kinds of relationships are apparent? (e.g. strict inclusion, cause-effect, function, sequence)?
7. How can the categories identified in the data be ordered into meaningful, grounded theories?

After completing the first draft of Chapter 4, ask these general questions:

1. Are the findings clearly presented, so any reader could understand them?
2. Are all the tables, graphics or visual displays well-organized and easy to read?
3. Are the important data described in the text?
4. Is factual data information separate from analysis and evaluation?
5. Are the data organized by clinical questions?

Chapter 4 can be challenging with regard to mathematical equations and statistical symbols or variables. When including an equation in the narrative, space the equation as you would words in a sentence: x + 5 = a. Punctuate equations that are in the paragraph, as you would a sentence. Remember to italicize statistical and mathematical variables, except Greek letters, and if the equation is long or complicated, set it off on its own line.

Refer to your APA manual for specific details on representation of statistical information.  Basic guidelines include:

• Statistical symbols are italicized (t, F, N, n)
• Greek letters, abbreviations that are not variables and subscripts that function as identifiers use standard typeface, no bolding or italicization
• Use parentheses to enclose statistical values (p = .026) and degrees of freedom t(36) = 3.85 or F(2, 52) = 3.85
• Use brackets to enclose limits of confidence intervals 95% CIs [- 5.25, 4.95]

Make sure to include appropriate graphics to present the results. Always introduce, present, and discuss the visual organizers in narrative form. Never insert a visual organizer without these three steps.

A figure is a graph, chart, map, drawing, or photograph. Below is an example of a figure labeled per APA style. Do not include a figure unless it adds substantively to the understanding of the results or it duplicates other elements in the narrative. If a figure is used, a label must be placed under the figure. As with tables, refer to the figure by number in the narrative preceding the placement of the figure. Make sure a table or figure is not split between pages. Below is another example of a table for you to review. It describes the characteristics of a servant leader.

Table 3

The Servant Leader

Note. Derived from Laub, J. (1999). Assessing the servant organization: Development of the servant organizational leadership assessment (SOLA) instrument (Doctoral Practice improvement project). Available from ProQuest Practice improvement project and Theses Database. (UMI No. 9921922)

Figure 1. An example of a strong negative correlation for SAT composite score and time spent on Facebook for 11th grade high school students enrolled in IMSmart SAT Prep Course.

Summary

This section provides a concise summary of what was found in the project. It briefly restates essential data and data analysis presented in this chapter, and it helps the reader see and understand the relevance of the data and analysis to the clinical question(s). Finally, it provides a lead or transition into Chapter 5, where the implications of the data and data analysis relative to the clinical question(s) will be discussed. The summary of the data must be logically and clearly presented, with the factual information separated from interpretation. For qualitative studies, summarize the data and data analysis results in relation to the clinical question(s). For quantitative studies, summarize the statistical data and results of statistical tests in relation to the clinical question(s). Finally, provide a concluding section and transition to Chapter 5.

 Chapter 5: Summary, Conclusions, and Recommendations

This section introduces Chapter 5 as a comprehensive summary of the entire project. It reminds the reader of the importance of the topic and briefly explains how the project intended to contribute to the body of knowledge on the topic. It informs the reader that conclusions, implications, and recommendations will be presented.

Chapter 5 is perhaps the most important chapter in the practice improvement project manuscript because it presents the investigator’s contribution to the body of knowledge. For many who read evidence-based literature, this may be the only chapter they will read. Chapter 5 typically begins with a brief summary of the essential points made in Chapters 1 and 3 of the original DPI project and includes why this topic is important and how this project was designed to contribute to the understanding of the topic. The remainder of the chapter contains a summary of the overall project, a summary of the findings and conclusions, recommendations for future practice, and a final section on implications derived from the project.

No new data or citations should be introduced in Chapter 5; however, references should be made to findings or citations presented in earlier chapters. The investigator can articulate new frameworks and new insights. The concluding words of Chapter 5 should emphasize both the most important points of the project and what the reader should take from them. This should be presented in the simplest possible form, making sure to preserve the conditional nature of the insights. Refer to the Grand Canyon University practice improvement project rubric for guidance on the content of this chapter.

Summary of the Project

This section provides a comprehensive summary of the overall project that describes the content of the project to the reader in the simplest possible terms. It should recap the essential points of Chapters 1-3, but it should remain a broad, comprehensive view of the project. It reminds the reader of the clinical question(s) and the main issues being evaluated, and provides a transition, explains what will be covered in the chapter and reminds the reader of how the project was conducted.

Summary of Findings and Conclusion

This section of Chapter 5 is organized by clinical question(s), and it conveys the specific findings of the project. The section presents conclusions made based on the data analysis and findings of the project and relates the findings back to the literature, significance of the project in Chapter 1, advancing scientific knowledge in Chapter 1. Significant themes/ findings are compared and contrasted, evaluated and discussed in light of the existing body of knowledge. The significance of every finding is analyzed and related to the significance section and advancing scientific knowledge section of Chapter 1. Additionally, the significance of the findings is analyzed and related back to Chapter 2, and ties the project together. The findings are bounded by the DPI project parameters described in Chapters 1 and 3, are supported by the data and theory, and directly relate to the clinical question(s). No unrelated or speculative information is presented in this section. This section of Chapter 5 should be organized by clinical question(s), theme, or any manner that allows summarizing the specific findings supported by the data and the literature. Conclusions represent the contribution to knowledge and fill in the gap in the knowledge. They should also relate directly to the significance of the project. The conclusions are major generalizations, and an answer to the practice problem developed in Chapters 1 and 2. This is where the project binds together. In this section, personal opinion is permitted, as long as it is backed with the data, grounded in the project methods and supported in the literature.

Implications

This section should describe what could happen because of this project. It also tells the reader what the DPI project results imply theoretically, practically, and for the future.

Additionally, it provides a retrospective examination of the theoretical framework presented in Chapter 2 in light of the practice improvement project’s findings. A critical evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the project, and the degree to which the conclusions are credible given the methodology, project design, and data, should also be presented. The section delineates applications of new insights derived from the practice improvement project to solve real and significant problems. Implications can be grouped into those related to theory or generalization, those related to practice, and those related to future projects. Separate sections with corresponding headings provide proper organization.

Theoretical implications.

Theoretical implications involve interpretation of the practice improvement project findings in terms of the clinical question(s) that guided the project. It is appropriate to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the project critically and include the degree to which the conclusions are credible given the method and data. It should also include a critical, retrospective examination of the framework presented in the Chapter 2 Literature Review section in light of the practice improvement project’s new findings.

Practical implications .

Practical implications should delineate applications of new insights derived from the practice improvement project to solve real and significant problems.

Future implications .

Two kinds of implications for future projects are possible: one based on what the project did find or do, and the other based on what the project did not find or do. Generally, future DPI projects could look at different kinds of subjects in different kinds of settings, interventions with new kinds of protocols or dependent measures, or new theoretical issues that emerge from the project. Recommendations should be included on which of these possibilities are likely to be most fruitful and why.

Recommendations

Summarize the recommendations that result from the project. Each recommendation should trace directly to a conclusion.

Recommendations for future projects

This section should contain a minimum of four to six recommendations for future DPI projects, as well as a full explanation for why each recommendation is being made. Additionally, this section discusses the areas of project that need further examination, or addresses gaps or new patient or system needs the project found. The section ends with a discussion of “next steps” in forwarding this line of DPI project evaluations. Recommendations relate back to the project significance and advancing scientific knowledge sections in Chapter 1.

Recommendations for practice

This section should contain two to five recommendations for future practice based on the results and findings of the project, as well as a full explanation for why each recommendation is being made. It provides a discussion of who will benefit from reading and implementing the results of the project and presents ideas based on the results that practitioners can implement in the work or educational setting. Unrelated or speculative information that is unsupported by data is clearly identified as such. Recommendations should relate back to the project significance section in Chapter 1.

Barzun, J., & Graff, H. F. (1992). The Modern Investigator: A classic work on research and writing completely revised and brought up to date. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

Brands, H. W. (2000). The First American: the Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin. New York: Doubleday.

Calabrese, R. L. (2006). The elements of an effective practice improvement project & thesis: a step-by-step guide to getting it right the first time. Lanham, MD: Roman & Littlefield Education.

Creswell, J. W. (2003). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Hacker, D., Somers, N., Jehn, T., & Rosenzweig, J. (2008). Rules for writers. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin’s.

Nock, A. J. (1943). The Memoirs of a Superfluous Man. New York: Harper & Brothers.

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. (2010) Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. (6th edition) (ISBN 10: 1-4338-0559-6; ISBN 13: 978-1-4338-0561-5; ISBN 10: 1-4338-0561-8).

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Strunk, W. I., & White, E.B. (1979). The elements of style. New York: Macmillan Publishing, Inc.

The Parts of a Practice improvement project

GCU uses the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6^th edition for its practice improvement project formatting and style guide. The GCU practice improvement project template complies with APA 6.0 with exceptions as noted in the template and in this formatting guide. A practice improvement project has three parts: preliminary pages, main text, and supplementary pages. Some preliminary or supplementary pages may be optional or not appropriate to a specific project. The learner should consult with his or her practice improvement project chairperson and committee regarding inclusion/exclusion of optional pages.

Preliminary Pages. The following preliminary pages precede the main text of the practice improvement project.

• Title Page
• Author’s Name
• Copyright Page (optional)
• Approval Page
• Abstract
• Dedication Page (optional)
• Acknowledgements (optional)
• Table of Contents
• List of Tables (if you have tables, a list is required)
• List of Figures (if you have figures, a list is required)

Main Text. The main text is divided into five major chapters. Each chapter can be further subdivided into sections and subsections based on the formatting requirements for each college.

• Chapter 1: Introduction to the Project
• Chapter 2: Literature Review
• Chapter 3: Methodology
• Chapter 4: Data Analysis and Results
• Chapter 5: Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations

Supplementary Pages. Supplementary pages follow the body text, including reference materials and other required or optional addenda.

• References
• Appendices
• Vitae (optional)
• Glossary (optional)
• List of Abbreviations (optional)

Keep in mind that most formatting challenges are found in the preliminary and supplementary pages. Allocate extra time and attention for these sections to avoid delays in the electronic submission process. Also, as elementary as it may seem, run a complete spell and grammar check of your entire document before submission.

Appendix B

Title of Appendix

American Psychological Association (APA) Style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6^th edition, second printing of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, footnotes, and the reference page. For specifics, consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6^th edition, second printing. For additional information on APA Style, consult the APA website:

http://apastyle.org/learn/index.aspx

On the first line of the page, center the word “Abstract” (boldface font, italics, underlining, or quotation marks).

Beginning with the next line, write the abstract. Abstract text is one paragraph with no indentation and is double-spaced. This page is counted, not numbered, and does not appear in the Table of Contents.

Abstracts do not include references or citations.

• Rationale/Background: Provide one to two statements describing the nature of the project topic and introducing the problem.
• Purpose: State the purpose of the project. Please make sure your purpose statement is the same throughout the manuscript.
• Theoretical Framework: Include approximately one to two statements summarizing the theoretical framework.
• Project Method and Design: Include approximately two to four statements summarizing the methodology and design.
• Data Results: Identify the population and the sample size. Briefly describe the approach for data analysis and results of statistical tests. State whether the results were statistically significant and include numeric values.
• Implications: Conclude the abstract with one to two statements describing how the results of your project directly impacted practice at your site, and recommendations for what should be done in the future based on the findings of the project.
• The Table of Contents reflects the specific levels of organization within the practice improvement project. All major (chapter) headings must be worded exactly the same and occur in the same order as they do in the GCU practice improvement project template. Any heading that appears in the Table of Contents must appear in the text, and any heading in the text must appear in the Table of Contents.

Subheadings differentiate subsections of each chapter, are single-spaced and upper and lowercase.

• indent first- level subheadings 3 spaces
• indent second-level subheadings 6 spaces
• continue to indent 3 spaces for subsequent level subheadings

The headings and subheadings in the Table of Contents must exactly match the text body.

The Table of Contents pages are counted and show a Roman numeral page number at the top right. The page number is justified with a 1 in. margin on each page. The page number should not be listed in the Table of Contents.

Numbered or bulleted lists are indented .5 inch from the left margin. Subsequent lines are indented further with a hanging indent. Each number or bullet ends with a period.

The Reference list should appear as a numbered new page at the end of the practice improvement project. The Reference heading is centered at the top of the page and is bolded.

The Reference list provides necessary information for the reader to locate and retrieve any source cited in the body of the text. Each source mentioned must appear in the Reference list. Likewise, each entry in the Reference list must be cited in the text.

This page must be entitled “References.” This title is centered at the top of the page. Do not use bold, underline, or quotation marks for this title. All text should be in 12-point Times New Roman font and double-spaced.

NOTE: References must use a hanging indent of 0.5” and be double-spaced. Examples of common references are provided below. See APA 6.0 Edition Chapter 7, 6.22 for specific reference formatting instructions. For more information on references or APA Style, consult the APA website: at http://apastyle.org

The appendices follow the reference list and typically include materials relevant to the DPI project and referenced in the main text, (e.g. raw data, letters of permission, institutional review authorization, surveys or other data collection materials).

Each appendix must begin with a new page, have its own letter designation A, B, C…etc., and a descriptive title.

The appendix heading is centered, with a 1” top margin and is upper and lower case.

The content or text for each appendix follows right after the title and must fit the practice improvement project margins specifications: 1.5” left, 1” top, right, and bottom.

Text spacing for appendix content depends on the nature of the appendix material. The format of the material should be clean and consistent.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS

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• Discussion Questions (DQ)

Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, including a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words. Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source. One or two-sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words. I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.

• Weekly Participation

Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately. In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies. Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work). Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.

• APA Format and Writing Quality

Familiarize yourself with the APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in Loud-cloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required). Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation. I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.

• Use of Direct Quotes

I discourage over-utilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Master’s level and deduct points accordingly. As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content. It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source. DNP 960 Chapter 4 draft: Data Analysis

• LopesWrite Policy

For assignments that need to be submitted to Lopes Write, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me. Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes. Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own? Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in Loud-cloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.

• Late Policy

The university’s policy on late assignments is a 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies. Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances. If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect. I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension. As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.

• Communication

Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class. Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.

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