What is a research proposal?

The purpose of a research proposal is to identify and formulate questions that arise from nursing practice and to design a research project to study the identified problem. The goal of a research proposal is to present and justify a research idea you have and to present the practical ways in which you think this research should be conducted. Research proposals contain extensive literature reviews and must provide persuasive evidence that there is a need for the proposed research study. In addition to providing a rationale for the proposed research, a proposal describes detailed methodology for conducting the research consistent with requirements of the professional or academic field and a statement on anticipated outcomes and/or benefits derived from the study.

Directions

Write a research proposal using your clinical question formulated earlier in the course that was approved by your instructor. This may be either a qualitative or quantitative research proposal. Your proposal must include APA formatting. The proposal should be a 6–10 in length plus appendices cover page, and reference page. The appendices should include your survey instrument created in week 6. You will be presenting your research proposal in a 6–8 minute recorded presentation in week 8.

Please be sure to include every element that is listed in the directions, since I will use the lists within the directions to grade your papers. If you omit an element, then I cannot give you the points for that element. Also, please note that you need fourscholarly, peer reviewed references for your review of literature for your topic. This is in addition to any references that you use to cite nursing theory or research concepts (like your text).

Introduction

• Clearly stated problem and purpose of the study
• Independent and dependent variables
• Definition of terms
• Assumptions, hypothesis, or questions (depending on research type)

Theoretical Framework

• Description of the theoretical framework to be utilized
• Identification of the concepts to be explored
• Rationale for choosing framework

Review of the literature

• At least four scholarly sources included
• Appropriateness of the review and the proposal focus
• Inclusion of primary or secondary sources

Methodology

• Description of study type (quantitative or qualitative)
• Description of study design
• Rationale for the use of the selected design
• Inclusion of sample size, type, sampling method, inclusion/exclusion criteria, setting, data collection method (instrument), and data collection process
• Method for Protection of Human Subjects (consent)
• Questionnaire and consent forms must be included as appendices

Data Analysis

• Data analysis method is appropriate for study design.
• Method of data analysis is clearly stated.
• Method for displaying findings is stated.

Applicability to Nursing

• Research focuses on a problem significant to nursing.
• Research would contribute to nursing knowledge.
• Proposal is complete so that another researcher could replicate the study.
• Statement about areas of nursing that would benefit from this study.

My research question is:

Are Night Shift Nurses working on the Telemetry- Orthopedic floor at increased risk of depression when compared to day shift nurses?

My sample size is not too big because my floor is not a big one, but I’ve decided to compare with people of the morning shift to obtain a better understanding and analysis of the variables in my specific hypothesis.

P: Ten nurses will be interviewed and asked about depression symptoms, 5 from the night shift and 5 from the day shift to have a compression. There are not nurses with a known formal diagnostic of depression at this time. The purpose of the research is to investigate if working during the night shift predisposes nurses to depression.

I: Night versus day shift nurses with less than a year of experience working on the Telemetry- Orthopedic floor.

O: Depression.

The methodology used will be the Health Promotion Model by N.J. Pender, takes into consideration the multidimensional nature of persons as they interact within their environment to pursue health. and the Goldberg’s Depression Test.