Evidence appraisal

General Paper Writing Guidelines

Consider these general guidelines for application to the PICOT 1 and PICOT 2 paper assignments. While not all-inclusive, these guidelines reflect common questions from prior students.

Start early – quality work requires time, reflection, revision
Creating an outline is an effective strategy to organize thoughts and ideas
Review the grading rubric in advance of writing to understand expectations – use the paper sections on the grading rubrics as paper headings
Reminders regarding quality paragraph construction
A typical paragraph is 5-7 sentences in length, each with a focused purpose
The first sentence of a paragraph is considered a thesis or topic statement – your original thought. For instance, “The increased loss of life to COVID-19, in the United States and around the world, is a seriously troubling public health concern.” We all can agree to this statement without a citation.
The next 3-5 sentences support the thesis with objective information and citation support. For instance, “According to the Center for Disease Control ….” or “The World Health Organization estimates that ….”
The final sentence of a paragraph offers a conclusion or transition to the next paragraph. For instance, “Given the unremitting nature and devastating impact of COVID-19, scientist worldwide are rapidly accelerating efforts to determine the most effective therapeutics to protect and improve the health and well-being of people worldwide.”
Based on this last sentence, it would seem the thesis of the next paragraph would be about therapeutics
Use of APA format is required – professional version
Writing in third-person is expected for NRSG790 papers
Consider use of the Writing Center for constructive feedback on your work prior to final submission

SafeAssign – submit a Draft to SafeAssign to review the originality of your writing. Even with proper writing, there will be some degree of unavoidable match to content such as headings, references, or common phrases used for any given topic.

There is no established “acceptable” percentage of SafeAssign match
Review all instances of match and make revisions to every degree possible. For instance, it is understood by faculty that a matched citation can not be revised.
A word of caution – Safe-Assign is an extensively utilized software program. During times of peak traffic, it may take SafeAssign hours to provide an originality report. Students are advised to plan ahead and submit a Draft early enough to allow for any such unanticipated delays
PICOT 1: Evidence Appraisal Paper Guidelines

The purpose of this assignment is to identify a practice issue/problem, craft a PICOT statement , and employ information Technology to search databases to retrieve and appraise evidence to support the PICOT. Completion of this assignment serves to demonstrate mastery of Course Objectives #1, #4, and #5

Students will build on the work completed on the PICOT Draft assignment in week 2, Discussion Board #1 in week 5, and Discussion Board #2 in week 6 to complete the PICOT 1: Evidence Appraisal paper. Students may use their writing from the previous assignments in the PICOT 1 paper after making revisions based on faculty feedback.

Paper Sections (Per the Grading Rubric)

Practice Issue/PICOT – in this section students will make an objective case for the issue under study, describe the current practice and outcome limitations, and present alternatives for consideration. An approved PICOT is provided
Search – in this section students will describe the evidence search in narrative form and illustrate the search in a PRISMA diagram. This will allow others to reproduce the search and verify authenticity
Retrieval – in this section students will retrieve the highest level and quality relevant evidence, either to support or not support the use of the intervention. Retrieve the best evidence regardless of the findings. High level, high quality research that fails to show an affect is as equally important as research that does.
Appraisal – read each study retrieved, extracting key information regarding the design, methods, and outcomes of each study. Use the posted ERT Template to organize and present the appraisal

Grading will be completed by the section faculty in accordance with the grading rubric provided in the course syllabus

PICO(T) 1 Evidence Appraisal Sample Paper
Attached Files:
Systematic Review Sample .docx (16.222 KB)
PICOT 1 Sample .docx (78.994 KB)

Attached is an example of a PICO(T) 1 Evidence Appraisal assignment from a prior semester. Use of this PICO(T) for your assignment is not permitted. Please note:

This paper may not exactly match the current semester assignment as assignments are modified from semester to semester – follow the current semester guidelines/rubric
This actual student paper serves as a general example for the assignment but is not considered “perfect.” Use of this paper does not guarantee students a specific grade
Students are advised to write their paper based on their own thoughts and ideas, using the example as a guide.
This sample shows only one study in the ER table as an example – students are required to include four studies in PICOT 1 ER Table