Syllabus for NUR-805
Scholarly Inquiry: The Basis for Evidence-Based Practice
Scholarly Inquiry: The Basis for Evidence-Based Practice provides an in-depth review of the research process, enabling students to analytically appraise and synthesize existing scientific research, practice guidelines, and other scholarly evidence. The course focus is on research design, research methods, project implementation, data analysis techniques, and evaluation of a nursing practice change that is based on the highest quality evidence.
After completing this course, you should be able to:
CO1 Critically evaluate the quality of research, practice guidelines, and other scholarly evidence.
CO2 Evaluate research designs, methodologies, procedures, and data analysis techniques for use in quality improvement and improvement science initiatives.
CO3 Synthesize a body of appraised evidence to support and/or improve nursing practice.
CO4 Identify gaps in existing evidence for practice change.
You will need the following materials to do the work of the course. The required textbooks are available from the University’s textbook supplier, MBS Direct.
ISBN 978-1451190946
ISBN 978-1455770601
ISBN 978-1433805615
ISBN 978-1558105997
You may purchase a pdf of the Code of Ethics (member price $24.95 and list price $33.95) or can view a read-only copy of the Code through the American Nurses Association website.
Scholarly Inquiry: The Basis for Evidence-Based Practice is a three-credit, online course consisting of six modules. Modules include an overview, topics, learning objectives, study materials, and activities. Module titles are listed below.
For your formal work in the course, you are required to participate in online discussion forums, complete written assignments, and complete a final project. See below for details.
Consult the Course Calendar for due dates.
Please note: (1) Rewriting or resubmitting assignments is not permitted; (2) no assignments may be submitted after the last day of the course without an approved extension; and (3) extension requests must be approved by the mentor and submitted by the student to the Registrar's Office prior to the last day of the course.
You are required to participate in 12 graded discussion forums. Discussion forums are on a variety of topics associated with the course modules. There is also one ungraded but required Introductions Forum in Module 1.
For the discussion forums in this course designated as “Teams” you will be working within an assigned group. You will be assigned to a particular group in Module 1 and will remain in that group for the remainder of the course. Assigned groups are a way to stimulate thinking, avoid repetitive responses to questions, and maximize time in the forum. Also during Module 1, your mentor will provide two research articles for use throughout the course.
For some forums, your group will be further divided so that all students can comment on all topics or research articles. Your mentor will inform you when this is the case. Your forum grade, however, is a reflection of your individual participation. Please note that in this course your group will not have to come up with a single response to the question or meet as a group to summarize the forum.
Note: The minimum participation requirement for discussion forum activities is at least three posts on at least three different days—an initial post responding to the questions and at least two posts to at least two classmates. Located within the Evaluation Rubrics folder on the course website is the online discussion forum rubric used to grade all online discussions.
You are required to complete six written assignments. The written assignments are on a variety of topics associated with the course modules. The last written assignment is a culmination of the work begun in Written Assignments 1 through 5.
You are required to produce a PowerPoint presentation based on Written Assignment 7. You will post your presentation in Discussion Forum 12 for critique by your classmates, and you must also submit it separately through an assignment link in Module 6.
You are required to submit Written Assignments 1 through 5 (but not Written Assignment 6) in this course to Turnitin.com, an academic plagiarism prevention site, prior to submitting the assignment within your course space.
You will be able to view your originality report from Turnitin, which will provide information regarding writing style as well as a plagiarism gauge with tips for proper citations (see the FAQ page, linked below, for further information). Based on this feedback, you will have the option to keep the original attempt or to choose to edit your assignment and resubmit it one more time to Turnitin (you will be allowed only one additional attempt). Please note: You will still need to submit the final version of your assignment in the course space.
Read carefully the document at the following link, as it will give you instructions for this requirement:
Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:
All activities will receive a numerical grade of 0–100. You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. Your final grade in the course will be a letter grade. Letter grade equivalents for numerical grades are as follows:
A | = | 93–100 | B | = | 83–87 | |
A– | = | 90–92 | C | = | 73–82 | |
B+ | = | 88–89 | F | = | Below 73 |
To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of B or better, based on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., assignments, papers, discussion postings).
Written assignments should be submitted no later than the due date unless prior arrangements are made with the mentor and a new due date is established. If a student submits an assignment after the due date without having made arrangements with the mentor, a minimum of 5 points (based on an assignment grading scale of 100 points) or 5% of the total points will be deducted for each week, or part thereof, that the assignment is late. Discussion forum assignments must be done in the week they are due or points will be forfeited.
To succeed in this course, take the following first steps:
Consider the following study tips for success:
Thomas Edison State University is committed to maintaining academic quality, excellence, and honesty. The University expects all members of its community to share the commitment to academic integrity, an essential component of a quality academic experience.
Students at Thomas Edison State University are expected to exhibit the highest level of academic citizenship. In particular, students are expected to read and follow all policies, procedures, and program information guidelines contained in publications; pursue their learning goals with honesty and integrity; demonstrate that they are progressing satisfactorily and in a timely fashion by meeting course deadlines and following outlined procedures; observe a code of mutual respect in dealing with mentors, staff, and other students; behave in a manner consistent with the standards and codes of the profession in which they are practicing; keep official records updated regarding changes in name, address, telephone number, or e-mail address; and meet financial obligations in a timely manner. Students not practicing good academic citizenship may be subject to disciplinary action including suspension, dismissal, or financial holds on records.
All members of the University community are responsible for reviewing the Academic Code of Conduct Policy in the University Catalog and online at www.tesu.edu.
Thomas Edison State University expects all of its students to approach their education with academic integrity—the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception. All mentors and administrative staff members at the University insist on strict standards of academic honesty in all courses. Academic dishonesty undermines this objective. Academic dishonesty can take the following forms:
Thomas Edison State University is committed to helping students understand the seriousness of plagiarism, which is defined as using the work and ideas of others without proper citation. The University takes a strong stance against plagiarism, and students found to be plagiarizing are subject to discipline under the academic code of conduct policy.
If you copy phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or whole documents word-for-word—or if you paraphrase by changing a word here and there—without identifying the author, or without identifying it as a direct quote, then you are plagiarizing. Please keep in mind that this type of identification applies to Internet sources as well as to print-based sources. Copying and pasting from the Internet, without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources, constitutes plagiarism. (For information about how to cite Internet sources, see Online Student Handbook > Academic Standards > Citing Sources.)
Accidentally copying the words and ideas of another writer does not excuse the charge of plagiarism. It is easy to jot down notes and ideas from many sources and then write your own paper without knowing which words are your own and which are someone else’s. It is more difficult to keep track of each and every source. However, the conscientious writer who wishes to avoid plagiarizing never fails to keep careful track of sources.
Always be aware that if you write without acknowledging the sources of your ideas, you run the risk of being charged with plagiarism.
Clearly, plagiarism, no matter the degree of intent to deceive, defeats the purpose of education. If you plagiarize deliberately, you are not educating yourself, and you are wasting your time on courses meant to improve your skills. If you plagiarize through carelessness, you are deceiving yourself.
For examples of unintentional plagiarism, advice on when to quote and when to paraphrase, and information about writing assistance and originality report checking, click the links provided below.
Examples of Unintentional Plagiarism
When to Quote and When to Paraphrase
Writing Assistance at Smarthinking
Originality Report Checking at Turnitin
Acts of both intentional and unintentional plagiarism violate the Academic Code of Conduct.
If an incident of plagiarism is an isolated minor oversight or an obvious result of ignorance of proper citation requirements, the mentor may handle the matter as a learning exercise. Appropriate consequences may include the completion of tutorials, assignment rewrites, or any other reasonable learning tool in addition to a lower grade for the assignment or course. The mentor will notify the student and appropriate dean of the consequence by e-mail.
If the plagiarism appears intentional and/or is more than an isolated incident, the mentor will refer the matter to the appropriate dean, who will gather information about the violation(s) from the mentor and student, as necessary. The dean will review the matter and notify the student in writing of the specifics of the charge and the sanction to be imposed.
Possible sanctions include:
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