Create a written assessment, including an annotated bibliography section, to document your research on a healthcare problem or an issue faced by current healthcare organizations.
Introduction
In your professional life, you will need to find credible evidence to support your decisions and plans of action. You will want to keep abreast of best practices to help your organization adapt to the ever-changing healthcare environment. Being adept at research helps you find the information you need. This assessment gives you practice with that skill by having you research a healthcare problem or issue faced by current healthcare organizations.
Overview
You will select a current healthcare problem or issue from the provided options for this assessment. Research your topic, and develop a written assessment, which includes an annotated bibliography to document your resources.
Reminder: You will use your selected problem or issue again in upcoming assessments. The purpose of this assessment is to ensure you know how to research topics and find credible references to use in your assessments. Part of the assessment is an annotated bibliography. The purpose of an annotated bibliography is to document a list of research references, along with key information about each; the detail about the reference is the annotation. Developing this annotated bibliography will create a foundation of knowledge about your chosen problem or issue.
Prepare
Conduct research in the Capella library to find a total of three scholarly, peer-reviewed journal articles in relation to a selected healthcare problem or issue presented in the Assessment 02 Supplement: Applying Research Skills [PDF]
Download Assessment 02 Supplement: Applying Research Skills [PDF]
resource. You must select your healthcare-related issue or problem from the topic areas presented in this resource.
Important Note: Review the BSN Nursing Program Library Research Guide for assistance. Be sure to review journal articles published within the past three to five years.
Write Your Paper
Write a 3–5 page paper in which you include the following:
Topic Identification
Select one of the healthcare problems or issues presented in the Assessment 02 Supplement: Applying Research Skills [PDF]
Download Assessment 02 Supplement: Applying Research Skills [PDF]
resource. Write a brief overview of the healthcare problem or issue. In your overview:
- Summarize the healthcare problem or issue, including describing its professional relevance.
- Describe your interest in the problem or issue.
- Describe any professional experience you have with this topic.
Discussion of Research
Discuss your research and selection process for each of the three journal articles you have chosen to include in your annotated bibliography.
- Describe your process of applying library research skills to identify the journal articles relevant to the healthcare problem or issue you are researching.
- Identify the keywords you used to select the articles.
- Describe the criteria you used to select the resources, including the names of the databases you used.
- What was the process like to locate relevant articles?
- Assess the credibility of the information sources.
- Determine whether each resource is from an academic, peer-reviewed journal.
- Determine whether the publication is current (published within the last 3–5 years).
- Determine whether information in the academic peer-reviewed journal article is still relevant.
- Assess the relevance of the information sources.
- Explain how the healthcare problem or issue is addressed in each source.
- Discuss what kind of contribution each resource provides.
Annotated Bibliography
Summarize each of the three current academic, peer-reviewed journal articles you chose, using the annotated bibliography organizational format. The purpose of an annotated bibliography is to document a list of references along with key information about each one. The detail about the reference is the annotation. Developing this annotated bibliography will create a foundation of knowledge about the selected topic. In your annotated bibliography:
- List each full reference in APA format, followed immediately by its annotation.
- Present your three current, annotated references in alphabetical order, according to the reference citation.
- Double-space each reference and format it with a hanging indent.
- Provide the full APA reference citation, including the author, date, title, publisher or publication, and any additional information required by APA style.
- Write the annotation (summary) for each citation in paragraph form, using approximately 150 words (or 1–3 paragraphs) for each citation. Make sure to cite the article in your summary. Include the following components for each annotation:
- Identify the purpose of the article.
- Summarize the article.
- Include the conclusions and findings of the article.
Summary
In a separate paragraph or two at the end of the paper, summarize what you learned from the process of developing the annotated bibliography.
Academic Requirements
Your academic writing is expected to conform to the following requirements:
- Writing: Produce text with minimal grammar, usage, spelling, and mechanical errors.
- Sources: Integrate into text appropriate use of current scholarly sources, evidence, and citation style. Use the Evidence and APA guidelines provided. Cite the reference in its summary.
- Formatting: Include a title page and reference page, Times New Roman, 12 point.
- Length: Complete no more than 3–5 typed, double-spaced pages, in addition to the title page and reference page.
- References: Although you are citing your three scholarly or academic peer-reviewed journal articles within the Annotated Bibliography section of this paper, be sure to also list your citations on a reference page at the end of your paper, along with any other resources you may have included.
Example assessment: You may use the Assessment 2 Example [PDF] to give you an idea of what a Proficient or higher rating on the scoring guide would look like.
Submit your paper as an attached Microsoft Word document.
Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:
- Competency 1: Apply information literacy and library research skills to obtain scholarly information in the field of healthcare.
- Summarize a healthcare problem or issue, including describing its professional relevance.
- Describe the process for selecting academic peer-reviewed journal articles relevant to a healthcare problem or issue being researched.
- Summarize what was learned from developing an annotated bibliography as it relates to the topic and the ability to use the annotated bibliography process for future assessments.
- Competency 2: Apply scholarly information through critical thinking to solve problems in the field of healthcare.
- Assess the credibility and relevance of information sources.
- Summarize academic peer-reviewed journal articles using the annotated bibliography organizational format.
- Competency 5: Write for a specific audience, in an appropriate tone and style, in accordance with Capella writing standards.
- Produce text with minimal grammatical, usage, spelling, and mechanical errors.
- Apply APA formatting to in-text citations and references.
Use the resources linked below to help complete this assessment.
Collaboration and Networking
Working in healthcare requires you to be able to resolve situations through the combined effort of a number of agencies and individuals. Collaboration and networking provides a way for individuals to work together by exchanging special expertise, shared responsibilities, and decision-making processes. At Capella, it means developing a community of support, having professional exposure, and engaging in new learning opportunities.
In this reading list, unlock the transformative power of interprofessional networking and collaboration as you read articles that unveil the secrets to fostering synergy among diverse professionals, paving the way for growth and innovation in your nursing career.
Effective Communication Skills
In this reading list, elevate your nursing practice by immersing yourself in articles discussing the art of effective communication skills. Discover how mastering effective communication can enhance patient outcomes and enrich your professional impact.
Becoming a Good Information Detective
Uncover the critical link between exceptional patient care and evidence-based practice by reading the suggested articles in this reading list. Explore how embracing research transforms nursing, empowering you to make informed decisions that elevate your practice and positively impact healthcare outcomes.
Finding Scholarly Evidence
Think about this for a minute: How do you convince others that you know what you are talking about?
You might say, “I heard it on the news last night,” “I read it on Twitter,” “I learned it in school,” “Dr. Smith agrees with what I am saying,” or “These statistics prove my point.” In other words, you try to give evidence that backs up what you are saying. If your evidence is persuasive, others might be persuaded to listen to what you say.
Not all evidence, however, is good evidence. For example, all kinds of things float around on Twitter or Facebook. If that is your evidence, you might not persuade many people. On the other hand, if you look up that Facebook post on the fact-checking website Snopes.com and find out that it is true, that makes your evidence stronger, because it is verified by Snopes, a more credible source.
Read carefully: Scholarly journals continue to be the preferred vehicle for research information. Most scholars publish their works as articles in peer-reviewed journals. Journal articles published within the last 3–5 years are preferred, as the field of healthcare continues to change at a rapid pace. Using journal articles published within 3–5 years is required for your assessments in this course.
Peer-reviewed journal articles usually contain abstracts. An abstract is a short summary that describes a larger work. An abstract may contain the scope, purpose, results, and some of the contents of the complete article. It also may contain keywords found in the larger work.
Helpful tip: As you will see when you complete the following exercise, the Capella library enables you to preview the abstracts. This allows you to quickly see what the purpose of an article is and also provides you with keywords for continuing your research.
Library Research Guide
To lend academic credibility to your assessments in this course, you will be expected to locate current journal articles and articles from credible sources to use as evidence to support your analyses, evaluations, and proposals. Library research guides are important tools for you to use in meeting this expectation. Explore the following research guides. Important Note: The library guide includes a section called “Commonly Researched Topics” that includes example searches directly related to the research you must do for Assessments 2, 3, and 5.
The advantages of searching library databases are many, including the following:
- The library databases offer resources that have credibility, since, at minimum, they all go through an editing process.
- Databases are structured collections of information, so they are more organized than random resources on the Internet. The databases provide complete citation information for articles.
- The library offers multiple ways to contact someone for library assistance, including phone, chat, and email. This contact information can be found on the Library Helppage.
Writing an Annotated Bibliography
As a Capella learner, you are required to use APA format for your written assessment, which includes an annotated bibliography section. This includes making sure that the references are listed in alphabetical order, are double-spaced, and are formatted with a hanging indent. Provide the full APA reference citation, including the author, date, title, publisher or publication, and any additional information required by APA style, and then write your annotation in a paragraph form, summarizing the main points of the resource.
If you are not feeling quite comfortable with annotated bibliographies yet, review the following resources that will give you some more detailed guidance:
- View the What Not To Do: Source Material for the Annotated Bibliography multimedia presentation.
- Examine the Example Annotated Bibliography, which is another demonstration of What Not to Do.
- Review the Annotated Bibliography section of the Writing Center’s Assignment Typespage for definitions and additional examples.
Using APA Style
Capella uses the APA manual as its style guide for scholarly writing. Using a single publication manual ensures a consistent style across degrees, programs, and schools. A number of specific styles are generally associated with specific disciplines. For example, learners in the arts and humanities typically use MLA style for documenting sources, while ACS style, developed by the American Chemical Society, is the standard for writing documents related to chemistry.
Capella University requires learners to use APA style, which is well-respected and widely used in scholarly works and academic publications. APA style guidelines will help you write papers that clearly communicate your ideas.
Following APA style guidelines means that your papers have a consistent look and organization, which allows the reader to focus on the ideas presented in the paper. Capella provides online resources designed to help you understand APA style and use it effectively.
Then you can take some time to review the APA Module and Evidence and APAguidelines. You can also explore APA Style Tutorials and Webinars. These tutorials by APA provide an introduction to the basics of APA style, including paper and title page formatting, use of headings, and citing references in text and in the list of references. Use this resource to learn the proper way to cite books, journal articles, and websites.
Developing Academic Writing Skills
Quoting, summarizing, and paraphrasing are three key academic writing skills that you will employ throughout your bachelor’s program and beyond. Review the following resource to learn more about them and how they are different. You will use your skills in paraphrasing and summarizing in your assessments.
Get Ready
Before you dig into your first search, create a folder on your computer or device to save your peer-reviewed articles. You may use the saved articles for the remaining assessments in the course, and they may be valuable to you throughout your program.
Searching for Journal Articles
Complete the following in preparation for your assessment:
- Review the Selecting the Best Keywords resource to learn how to search effectively by keyword.
- From the Capella University Library home page, use the Summon search engine to search for articles related to your selected healthcare issue. Reminder: You are selecting a healthcare problem or issue from the resource provided in your assessment.
- Select three journal articles that discuss the healthcare issue and save them in the file you created.
Results
You should now have the following library research completed and saved in folder you created:
- Three scholarly peer-reviewed journal articles to discuss a selected healthcare issue or problem.
You will use these materials to complete your assessments.
Writing Skills
Visit the Capella Writing Center to explore and identify some of the resources that will be of the most help to you. While you are there, explore the writing process that involves the stages of prewriting, drafting, reviewing, editing, and finalizing. If you did not manage to squeeze all of those steps into your last writing effort, you might want to review the Stages of Writing resource to learn about the advantages of using all of these stages for your next paper.
Academic Honesty
You probably have been required to cite your sources in previous academic writing, but you may not have made the connection between that requirement and the concept of academic honesty.
Review the following: