Criteria for Acceptable Research to Support the Doctor of Nursing Practice Project
Criteria for Acceptable Research to Support the Doctor of Nursing Practice Project (Direct Practice Improvement-DPI)
- As a reminder the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project is a direct practice improvement (DPI) and is grounded in quality improvement.
- The practice problem must originate from the project site and be supported with current data (from the project site) that confirms the need for the evidence-based solution to improve the specific, measurable patient outcome.
- The manuscript will require a total of at least 15 (no more than 7 years from your anticipated graduation date) primary quantitative research studies.
- The learner may use a meta-analysis of quantitative research (not a systematic review alone) within 7 years of your anticipated graduation date.
- One mixed-methods study may be accepted as a primary research article AND one mixed-methods study may be accepted as a secondary article.
- One pilot/quality improvement projects may be accepted if it meets the following criteria:
- the project has original research in support of the pilot
- methodology and design are present
- p-value is present
- should have clinical significance to the population impacted
- sample size of at least 40!!
- Do not include summary articles.
Your intervention is coming from the scientific evidence rather than someone else’s opinion of the evidence.
**No case studies, reports, expert opinions, editorials, animal, or lab studies permitted. No Master’s Thesis and/or Doctoral Dissertations**
If you are translating “empirical research” into an evidence-based practice (EBP) to improve a measurable patient outcome use these guidelines to support your EBP intervention.
MUST have 1 original research articles from the USA and/or Canada (depending on residency) to support the intervention within seven years of your graduation date. The other research articles may be added from the US, Canada, UK, Denmark, India, New Zealand, Germany, Australia (preferred) or from the International Compilation of Human Research Standards 2020 Edition, by DNP-815A:
https://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/international/compilation-human-research-standards/index.html
- Look for primary research studies that are quantitative and conducted within seven years of your graduation date (you need a minimum of five articles by 815A on the intervention itself).
- Randomized controlled trials
- Cohort studies, and
- Case control studies
- One mixed-methods study
- The learner may use a meta-analysis of quantitative research (not a systematic review alone) within 7 years of your anticipated graduation date.
- Pilot projects may be accepted if they meet the following criteria:
- methodology and design is present
- p-value is present
- should have clinical significance to the population impacted
- Sample size of at least 40!!
- No retrospective studies can be included in the 5 primary research articles.
- Then you can use secondary research (studies) that are quantitative and conducted within 7 years of your graduation date which include:
- Systematic reviews – NOT allowed to be in the original 3 for PICOT approval
- Clinical practice guidelines that support the translation of the research into practice.
- Retrospective studies can be included, but they must account for less than half of the total number of secondary research studies.
*You will be required to have a minimum of 15 synthesized articles for the manuscript on the intervention. Five from primary research and the rest can come from primary and/or secondary research.
If you are implementing a Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) you still need to obtain the “empirical research” it was built from and additional primary, secondary research, quantitative meta-analysis, and/or pilot projects to reinforce that the CPG is current and relevant to the evidence-based practice (EBP) chosen to improve a measurable patient outcome. Use these guidelines to support your EBP intervention.
- Locate the CPG and pull it from the organization which developed it. You may need to write to the organization if you are not a member to obtain a copy of the guidelines. NOTE: This cannot be a “pilot” project at a healthcare organization, meaning you cannot take someone else’s “project” and use it as a CPG. The CPG must have the original research in the references from which the CPG was developed.
- You will need to find all the current research that is with 7 years that built the CPG and list them.
- You will need two to three pilot studies (max of three) using the pilot project criteria on the first page (within 7-years of the graduation date)
- You may include mixed-method study with your secondary research
- If the clinical practice guideline is older than 7 years from your graduation date, you will be required to contact the organization and obtain a statement that the CPG is most current.
PICOT Approval requires three (3) original quantitative primary research articles.
