evaluation of dissertation project

Navigation auf uzh.ch

Graduate Campus

Quicklinks und sprachwechsel, main navigation, 6. evaluation of the dissertation, involvement of independent experts reduces bias and dependency.

• “The assessment committee should consist of established and active scientists who are without direct connection to the milieu where the PhD was performed, and without any conflict of interest, and including individuals from another institution” (BR7.3) (ORPHEUS & AMSE 2016: 14).
• "To avoid conflict of interest the supervisor should not be a member of the assessment committee” (BR7.4) (ORPHEUS & AMSE 2016: 14).
• A distribution group, comprised for example of professors and postdocs of an institute/program, comment on the dissertation and make recommendations. This practice contributes to a harmonization of the evaluation criteria and standards.
• “The doctorate is examined by a panel of international experts. [...] The defence is held [...] by two examiners, one external to the University and one internal. The examiners must be independent of the candidate and have had no involvement in the project or collaborate with the supervisor or candidate to ensure there is no conflict of interest. The supervisor may be present but only if permitted to be there by the candidate” (LERU 2016: 12).

Weiterführende Informationen

• How it works

"Christmas Offer"

Terms & conditions.

As the Christmas season is upon us, we find ourselves reflecting on the past year and those who we have helped to shape their future. It’s been quite a year for us all! The end of the year brings no greater joy than the opportunity to express to you Christmas greetings and good wishes.

At this special time of year, Research Prospect brings joyful discount of 10% on all its services. May your Christmas and New Year be filled with joy.

We are looking back with appreciation for your loyalty and looking forward to moving into the New Year together.

"Claim this offer"

In unfamiliar and hard times, we have stuck by you. This Christmas, Research Prospect brings you all the joy with exciting discount of 10% on all its services.

Offer valid till 5-1-2024

We love being your partner in success. We know you have been working hard lately, take a break this holiday season to spend time with your loved ones while we make sure you succeed in your academics

Discount code: RP0996Y

Critically Evaluating Your Dissertation

Published by Owen Ingram at January 27th, 2023 , Revised On October 11, 2023

Pursuing undergraduate, Masters, or Ph.D. degree? You cannot expect your tutor to review, edit and improve your dissertation . You’re the author of your dissertation, thus it is solely your responsibility to ensure that your dissertation is free of all types of errors.

While reviewing your dissertation, you are likely to come across structural and grammatical errors that you might’ve made. When you’re working, you’re much focused on the topic  of your research and making sure that whatever you’re writing is of high quality.

Correcting your mistakes isn’t your priority at that point in time. Reviewing and editing your work gives you a chance to make sure that a flawless final draft is prepared for submission.

Proofreading, editing, and improving your dissertation paper is tricky. The practice can help you create an outstanding dissertation and negligence can weaken the overall quality of your work.

Here are some useful tips as to how you can perfectly edit your dissertation and score an A grade.

Review our other informative articles in library section.

Review your work as a whole.

Once you’re done writing and have completed all sections/chapters of your dissertation, go through the dissertation and check for any missing sections. There are high chances that you might not find anything missing in your dissertation at this point in time.

So, here’s a tip: Once you’ve finished with the writing part, DO NOT go through the dissertation the same day. Yes! Your mind is exhausted, and so you might be unable to pick up missing sections and errors.

Relax, and go through your work the next day when your mind is fresh. This way you’ll be in a much better position to critically review your work and improve your dissertation.

Compare your work with the  outline  that you created in the initial  stages of writing your dissertation . See if all points, aspects, theories, models have been discussed. This way you’ll have a clear idea as to what has been discussed and what has been missed.

Review Each Section

Now that you’ve reviewed your work as a whole, it is time that you closely review the  sections of your dissertation . Not only would this help in analyzing your sections in detail, but it would also help in covering the aspects that you might have left for completion at a later stage.

This is a common practice that, students leave a particular section or a topic to be covered in the end. There are many reasons for this. Some students might be unable to focus on the topic at that time due to various reasons such as lack of available literature.

Thus, they decide to move on and come back to that section at a later stage. This is not a bad practice, instead, it saves time and will help you move on to the next section.

Or else, you might spend hours looking and searching for some piece of information that would present itself as you progress, whereas you would’ve completed another topic in the given time.

Thus, looking into such aspects, in the end, will offer you appropriate time to research the topic, and there are high chances that you might find something relevant.

Make sure that your sections are in a logical manner and the content in those sections is structured appropriately. Not doing so might confuse your readers and your research might be considered as vague.

Hire an Expert Writer

Orders completed by our expert writers are

• Formally drafted in an academic style
• Free Amendments and 100% Plagiarism Free – or your money back!
• 100% Confidential and Timely Delivery!
• Free anti-plagiarism report
• Appreciated by thousands of clients. Check client reviews

Critical Analysis

You can’t get away without a critical analysis of your dissertation! As much you dislike this aspect, critically analyzing your dissertation can work wonders for your research. Not only can it help in improving the quality of your dissertation, but it also creates an incredible impact on your readers.

Analyzing your own work critically is easier said than done, and we at ResearchProspect understand that. But, considering certain aspects and looking into them, can definitely help you in understanding how you’ve tacked  your research topic .

You must’ve received a checklist from your university or college regarding your dissertation. Compare your dissertation with the checklist and see if you have completed all parts in accordance with that checklist. This way you can take a step closer to getting a good grade.

If writing your dissertation has taken up much of your time and you have no time left for a proper critical analysis, and there’s no way you could do without it, you may get help from a professional UK based dissertation editing and improvement service. ResearchProspect is one of the most reliable editing and improvement companies that offer dissertation editing services  at extremely affordable rates.

Proofreading

Now comes the final part of reviewing and editing your dissertation – proofreading. Not much attention is paid to this practice, but it holds a lot of importance. While writing you might not realize what mistakes you’ve made, and some errors are overlooked at that time.

Proofreading gives you a chance to go through your work; read each and every sentence; and get rid of errors, mistakes, and typos that you’ve made while writing. You can even seek professional help in this regard. Proofreading services are where a team of experts evaluate your work, review and edit it, and also proofread your dissertation. There are chances that you might not find any major issues in your own work. Thus, asking someone to review your work will help you in getting the best results.

Dissertation Proofreading and Editing Services

If you’re seeking professional help with regards to dissertation proofreading or editing, get in touch with ResearchProspect . We offer extremely reliable and affordable proofreading and editing services.

About ResearchProspect

ResearchProspect offers help with all types of academic projects. We specialize in completing your dissertations ,  literature reviews ,  essays ,  reports ,  coursework , exam notes,  statistical analysis , primary and empirical research, and case studies.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to critically evaluate a dissertation.

To critically evaluate a dissertation, assess research methods, data analysis, and citation quality. Scrutinize arguments, relevance, and overall contribution to the field.

You May Also Like

Here is how coursework & dissertation are similar: Both test knowledge & require research (coursework applies, dissertation expands).

Here are a few ways you can make use of online social media networks for gathering data and conducting research for your dissertation project.

Report writing is a popular academic writing assignment. This article aims to discuss the fundamentals things you should know about report writing.

As Featured On

USEFUL LINKS

LEARNING RESOURCES

COMPANY DETAILS

Splash Sol LLC

• How It Works

• Section 3: Home
• Qualtrics Survey Tool
• Statistics Help This link opens in a new window
• Statistics and APA Format This link opens in a new window
• Analysis and Coding Example- Qualitative Data
• Trustworthiness of Qualitative Data
• Thematic Data Analysis in Qualitative Design
• Evaluation of Outcomes

Positioning your Research in the Field

• Hypothesis Testing This link opens in a new window
• Doctoral Project/Dissertation-in-Practice Title Tips
• Proofreading Service in the ASC This link opens in a new window

Findings, Evaluation, Implications, and Recommendations for Research: Positioning your Research in the Field

The third section of your dissertation is where you show how your work fits in the existing field of literature and establishes your position as a scholar and practitioner in the field. This is the culmination of all your work and effort. The results of your research will show how your findings relate to those existing studies about your topic.

Think of the topic you investigated as a giant crossword puzzle. Your work is one piece that will help provide a better understanding of the reasons behind the problem. What does your work mean for others in the field? Your findings may complement existing studies or present new ideas about the problem. What needs to be addressed or changed about how things are being done? Based on your findings and the implications from those findings, what specific things can be done to improve practice? What actions can be taken to make things better?

Your recommendations for others in the field will provide ways to apply the results of your work. Based on your results and implications, they provide examples of practical actions and suggestions for additional research to add to the understanding of the problem you investigated. As a scholar, these are your contributions to the field.

• What did your data reveal?
• What did you find related to the problem?

Evaluation of the Outcomes

• How do your findings confirm or contradict the existing literature? 
• What new things did you discover?

Implications

• Where does your work fit?
• What do your findings suggest to those working in the field?

Recommendations for Practice

• Based on your Findings and Implications, what specific actions should be taken to address the problem?

• << Previous: Evaluation of Outcomes
• Next: Hypothesis Testing >>
• Last Updated: Nov 8, 2024 9:24 AM
• URL: https://resources.nu.edu/c.php?g=1013606

© Copyright 2024 National University. All Rights Reserved.

Privacy Policy | Consumer Information

Welcome to the new OASIS website! We have academic skills, library skills, math and statistics support, and writing resources all together in one new home.

• Walden University
• Faculty Portal

Evaluating Resources: Dissertations

Introduction.

Dissertations, doctoral studies, project studies, capstones, and theses are all student-produced works that present and discuss an individual's research.

Note: While dissertations are definitely scholarly and are reviewed and edited before publication, they do not go through a peer-review process, and thus, aren't considered peer-reviewed sources.

Identify dissertations

A distinguishing characteristic of dissertations is that they generally start with a cover page.

Dissertation reference citations are perhaps the easiest citations to recognize; they include the words doctoral dissertation right in the citation! They also contain:

• Database name: For dissertations that are downloaded from a database, the database name is included. This is generally the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Database.
• Publication number : In ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Database, this is the Dissertation/Thesis Number.

In APA 7th, dissertations retrieved from the ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Database generally follow this format:

Author. (Year). Title of dissertation (Publication No.) [Doctoral dissertation, University]. Database Name.

Here is an example:

Burley, M. A. (2009). Working for social change: Using student-centered instructional designs to improve achievement.  (Publication No. 3379796) [Doctoral dissertation, Walden University]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.

Note: Not all dissertation reference citations will follow this format exactly. If you have questions about citing a capstone using APA style, please contact the Writing Center .

The first page of a dissertation or doctoral study may contain:

• university name - for example, Walden University
• college name - for example, College of Nursing
• type of degree - dissertation or doctoral study
• committee member names
• year completed

More information

• Quick Answer: How do I find dissertations on a topic?
• Quick Answer: How do I find Walden PhD dissertations?
• Quick Answer: How do I find Walden DBA (Doctor of Business Administration) studies?
• Quick Answer: How do I find completed Walden DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice) projects?
• Quick Answer: How do I find Walden EdD (Doctor of Education) studies?
• Quick Answer: How do I find dissertations or capstones by chair or committee member?
• Quick Answer: How do I find dissertations or capstones by author?
• Quick Answer: Where can I find Walden award-winning dissertations?
• Previous Page: Books
• Next Page: Encyclopedias
• Office of Student Disability Services

Walden Resources

Departments.

• Academic Residencies
• Academic Skills
• Career Planning and Development
• Customer Care Team
• Field Experience
• Military Services
• Student Success Advising
• Writing Skills

Centers and Offices

• Center for Social Change
• Office of Academic Support and Instructional Services
• Office of Degree Acceleration
• Office of Research and Doctoral Services
• Office of Student Affairs

Student Resources

• Doctoral Writing Assessment
• Form & Style Review
• Quick Answers
• ScholarWorks
• SKIL Courses and Workshops
• Walden Bookstore
• Walden Catalog & Student Handbook
• Student Safety/Title IX
• Legal & Consumer Information
• Website Terms and Conditions
• Cookie Policy
• Accessibility
• Accreditation
• State Authorization
• Net Price Calculator
• Cost of Attendance
• Contact Walden

Walden University is a member of Adtalem Global Education, Inc. www.adtalem.com Walden University is certified to operate by SCHEV © 2024 Walden University LLC. All rights reserved.

No internet connection.

All search filters on the page have been cleared., your search has been saved..

• Sign in to my profile My Profile

Completing Your Evaluation Dissertation, Thesis, or Culminating Project

• By: Tamara M. Walser & Michael S. Trevisan
• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc.
• Publication year: 2021
• Online pub date: February 01, 2022
• Discipline: Business and Management , Education
• Methods: Evaluation , Stakeholders , Program evaluation
• DOI: https:// doi. org/10.4135/9781071879009
• Keywords: committees , feedback , members committees , outcomes , stakeholder engagement , standards , theses Show all Show less
• Print ISBN: 9781544300009
• Online ISBN: 9781071879009
• Buy the book icon link

Subject index

This practical, user-friendly resource helps students successfully complete an evaluation capstone: a dissertation, thesis, or culminating project where a student conducts an evaluation as their capstone experience. Authors Tamara M. Walser and Michael S. Trevisan present a framework to support students and faculty in maximizing student development of evaluator competencies, addressing standards of the evaluation profession, and contributing to programs and disciplinary knowledge. Their framework, and this book, is organized by six fundamentals of evaluation practice: quality; stakeholders; understanding the program; values; approaches; and maximizing evaluation use. Throughout the book they use the metaphor of the journey to depict the processes and activities a student will experience as they navigate an evaluation capstone and the six fundamentals of evaluation practice. In pursuit of a completed capstone, students grow professionally and personally, and will be in a different place when they reach the destination and the capstone journey is complete.

Front Matter

• Acknowledgments
• About the Authors

Part I: • Essentials for Your Journey

• • The Evaluation Capstone
• • Working Productively With Your Committee

Part II: • Navigating the Six Fundamentals of Evaluation Practice

• • Quality: Addressing Professional Evaluation Standards and Guidelines
• • Stakeholders: Working With an Evaluation Client and Other Program Stakeholders
• • Understanding: Developing Understanding of a Program
• • Values: Engaging Values Through Evaluation Purpose, Questions, and Criteria
• • Approaches: Applying Evaluation Approaches
• • Use: Maximizing Evaluation Use

Back Matter

Sign in to access this content, get a 30 day free trial, more like this, sage recommends.

We found other relevant content for you on other Sage platforms.

Have you created a personal profile? Login or create a profile so that you can save clips, playlists and searches

• Sign in/register

Navigating away from this page will delete your results

Please save your results to "My Self-Assessments" in your profile before navigating away from this page.

Sign in to my profile

Please sign into your institution before accessing your profile

Sign up for a free trial and experience all Sage Learning Resources have to offer.

You must have a valid academic email address to sign up.

Get off-campus access

• View or download all content my institution has access to.

Sign up for a free trial and experience all Sage Learning Resources has to offer.

• view my profile
• view my lists

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( Lock Locked padlock icon ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

• Publications
• Account settings
• Advanced Search
• Journal List

A 10-year evaluation of projects in a doctor of nursing practice programme

Ruth-alma n turkson-ocran , phd, erin m spaulding , phd, susan renda , dnp, vinciya pandian , phd, hannah rittler , bs, patricia m davidson , phd, marie t nolan , phd, rita d’aoust , phd.

• Author information
• Article notes
• Copyright and License information

AUTHOR CONTRIBUTION

R.N.T, E.M.S, S.R., V.P., H.R., M.T. and R.D. all made substantial contributions to the conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; R.N.T, E.M.S, S.R., V.P., H.R., P.M.D., M.T. and R.D. were all involved in drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content; R.N.T, E.M.S, S.R., V.P., H.R., P.M.D., M.T. and R.D. all gave final approval of this version to be published; and R.N.T, E.M.S, S.R., V.P., H.R., P.M.D., M.T. and R.D. all agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated or resolved.

Correspondence Erin M. Spaulding, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, 525 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, USA. [email protected]

Issue date 2020 Nov.

Aims and objectives:

The role of professional doctorates is receiving increased attention internationally. As part of building the rigour and scholarship of these programmes, we assessed projects undertaken as part of a doctor of nursing practice (DNP) programme at Johns Hopkins University. Recommendations for programme development in professional doctorates are provided.

Background:

Past research has described the methodologic limitations and dissemination of DNP projects. However, few studies have provided recommendations for strengthening these projects and alternative strategies for achieving scale in larger student cohorts.

A descriptive study reported in accordance with STROBE guidelines.

From 2009–2018, 191 final DNP project reports were obtained from the DNP programme administrator. Essential project characteristics from the papers were extracted, including use of theoretical framework, design, setting, sample and dissemination through publication. To determine whether the results of the projects had been published, the title and student’s name were searched in Google Scholar and Google.

Of the 191 projects, 83% focused on adults and 61% were conducted in the hospital setting. Sample sizes ranged from 7 to 24,702. Eighty per cent of the projects employed a pretest/post-test design, including both single and independent groups. The projects spanned six overarching themes, including process improvement, clinician development, patient safety, patient outcome improvement, access to care and workplace environment. Twenty-one per cent of the project findings were published in scholarly journals.

Conclusions:

Conducting a critical review of DNP projects has been useful in refining a strategy shifting from incremental to transformative changes in advanced practice.

Keywords: doctoral nursing education, information dissemination, programme sustainability, study design

1 |. INTRODUCTION

As nursing is a practice discipline, there is a strong movement to recognise this significance at the level of the terminal degree ( Fulton, Kuit, Sanders, & Smith, 2012 ). As long ago as the late 1970s, there have been widespread calls worldwide to bring doctoral education closer to practice ( Yam, 2005 ). The professional doctorate has emerged internationally to satisfy university requirements for a doctoral degree and meet the needs of various professional groups by preparing students to work within a professional context ( Yam, 2005 ). The professional doctorate is widespread and increasingly adopted by varied professions, often making it challenging to clearly delineate this credential between disciplines. However, the 2005 task force by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation and Council of Graduate Schools identified a number of core characteristics, recommending that the professional doctorate should (a) address an area of professional practice where other degrees are not currently meeting employer needs, (b) emphasise applied or clinical research or advanced practice and (c) include leaders of the profession who will drive the creative and knowledge-based development of its practices and the development of standards for others ( CGS in the USA, 2007 ; DEST, 1997 ). Professional doctorates have also grown more prevalent internationally ( CGS, 2006 ; CGS in the USA, 2007 ; DEST, 1997 ; Mellors-Bourne, Robinson, & Metcalfe, 2016 ) with the doctor of nursing practice (DNP) being one such professional doctorate that has been developed in recent years ( CGS in the USA, 2007 ).

The professional doctorate typically requires students to complete a dissertation or project to fulfil the requirements of a doctoral degree ( CGS in the USA, 2007 ). In 2015, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) issued a report from the Task Force on the implementation of the DNP with a section addressing DNP projects. This document explained that DNP programmes prepare nurses in advanced nursing practice to influence health care outcomes at the individual or population level. It also provided six key elements that should be present in all DNP projects: (a) focus on a change impacting healthcare outcomes, (b) systems or population approach, (c) demonstration of implementation in the appropriate arena of practice, (d) plan for sustainability, (e) evaluation of a process and/or outcomes and (f) provide for future practice scholarship ( AACN, 2015 ). In 2018, a report from AACN provided more information on the scholarship of practice and gave several examples of projects in this category. While the report mentions the translation of research, quality improvement initiatives and the use of big data and system-wide data in the scholarship of practice, it avoids being overly prescriptive about methods to use in the scholarship of practice ( AACN, 2018 ). There have been several papers in the literature describing limitations in the design and reporting of DNP projects both within and across DNP programmes. The Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing is in its 130th year as a school and 10th year as a DNP programme. The authors take this occasion to describe and critique the DNP projects conducted by students in our DNP programme since its outset and provide recommendations to strengthen our programme that we hope may be useful to faculty in other schools with DNP programmes.

2 |. BACKGROUND

There have been several papers in the nursing literature between 2013–2019 that have described curricular and educational approaches to guiding students in the development of DNP projects ( Brown & Crabtree, 2013 ; Kirkpatrick & Weaver, 2013 ; Waldrop, Caruso, Fuchs, & Hypes, 2014 ), DNP project topics ( Howard & Williams, 2017 ; Minnick, Kleinpell, & Allison, 2019 ) and the quality of measurement and analyses used in DNP project reports across schools in the USA ( Dols, Hernandez, & Miles, 2017 ; Roush & Tesoro, 2018 ). Roush and Tesoro (2018) examined 65 DNP project reports stored in the electronic dissertation and thesis database, ProQuest®. The authors reported substantial methodological limitations in the project reports including inadequate description of the methods used for sample selection, intervention implementation and data analyses. The authors had several recommendations including greater attention to teaching these methods and publication of the DNP projects to allow for ongoing evaluation across schools.

Earlier reports of DNP projects at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing included a report by Terhaar and Sylvia in 2015 examining 80 DNP project reports from the first five years of the DNP programme. The most common method of analysis of project findings was descriptive–comparative and more than half of the students used a pretest/post-test design. The authors noted that the scope and complexity of the projects increased from the first cohort to the fifth cohort and that students in the earlier cohorts were more likely to examine changes in knowledge than students in the later cohorts. In another paper describing publication outcomes of DNP students at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, Becker, Johnson, Rucker, and Finnell (2018) described the 156 students enrolled in between 2009–2016 and any publications that they had during their studies and after graduation. Fifty-eight (37%) students published their DNP Project papers and 20 (13%) published integrative reviews of the literature.

2.1 |. Description of the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing DNP Executive Program

Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing launched a Post-Master’s DNP Executive Program in 2008 that was accredited by the Maryland Higher Education Commission and the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. The six-semester programme includes coursework in quality improvement for evidence-based practice, graduate-level biostatistics, finance, informatics, health policy and leadership. At least one full-time faculty member and an organisational mentor guide the student in completing a DNP Project that is relevant to the student’s practice. DNP project proposals are reviewed by the Johns Hopkins University Medicine Institutional Review Board (IRB). Most have been classified as performance improvement projects. A few have undergone an IRB review for human subjects research. Due to the large increases in number of students and subsequently DNP projects, the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing has established its own internal IRB, in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins University Medicine IRB, to review future DNP projects starting in 2020. The School of Nursing internal IRB will decide whether projects are performance improvement, if projects are thought to be human subjects research, they will still be submitted to the Medicine IRB for review.

Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing saw its first DNP cohort graduate in 2009. The authors take this occasion on the 10th year of the DNP programme and the 130th year of Johns Hopkins University Nursing to describe the DNP projects completed by students in this programme up to 2018. In this descriptive study, we follow 10 cohorts of students and aim to (a) evaluate the publication of project outcomes over time; (b) describe the components of the DNP projects, including the topics addressed in the projects, theoretical underpinnings, designs, samples and methods of analysis; and (c) recommendations for the future direction of DNP projects and education. We offer recommendations for strengthening the DNP projects at our own school including a template to guide construction and reporting of the projects and a summary of common methods of analysis employed in these projects that may be useful to faculty and students in other schools with DNP programmes.

3 |. METHODS

Using the method of a descriptive study design, assessment of 191 projects submitted from cohorts graduating between 2009–2018, as part of course work requirements were assessed. Final versions of the DNP project reports were submitted to the DNP programme administrator to be retained on file as part of the collection of scholarly products of the DNP programme. The authors extracted essential project characteristics from the papers including use of theoretical framework, design, setting, sample and dissemination through publication. Three of the authors performed the initial extraction to an Excel spreadsheet. One co-author extracted information from all 191 projects on the DNP project theme, theoretical framework, sample and setting. The projects were then split evenly between the two co-first authors for verifying the previously extracted information and to extract additional information on project design, analysis and publication. All authors discussed any discrepancies and reached consensus to validate the project characteristics and outcomes. To determine whether the results of the projects had been published at any point since the student graduated from the programme, the two co-first authors searched the title and student’s name, from the list of programme graduates obtained from the DNP programme administrator, in Google Scholar and Google. In some cases when no publications were discovered in Google Scholar and Google, the authors also searched PubMed and CINAHL. The study was carried out according to the STROBE guidelines (see Appendix S1 ). This study was deemed exempt research by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Institutional Review Board (IRB00248926).

4 |. RESULTS

The authors analysed all 191 DNP Executive project reports and Table 1 provides a summary of the key elements of the DNP projects. Eighty per cent of the projects employed a pretest/post-test design which included both single and independent groups. Sample sizes ranged from 7 to 24,702. Eighty-three per cent of the projects focused on adults and 61% were conducted in the hospital setting. Sixty-seven per cent of the projects did not specify a conceptual framework used.

DNP project characteristics

Includes: pre- and post-test within a single group, pre- and post-test with independent groups (pre- and postintervention, e.g. historical comparison group) and time-series designs. Three were also mixed-methods studies, with the quantitative arm being pretest–post-test.

Includes: programme development/evaluation, three systematic reviews, proposal of strategies, etc.

Other samples include: laboratory results, articles for reviews, Frederick County Head Start programme, alarms, PICC lines.

NA age for Frederick County Head Start programme, laboratory results; unknown age for not stated.

Includes: not stated, none (as in the case of systematic reviews), solely online education, proposal of strategies, Office of Force Readiness and Deployment.

19 of the 149 that have not been published are from 2018 and may be in the process of being submitted/published.

4.1 |. Project themes

The main themes that were the focus of the DNP projects and one or two examples by theme are included in Table 2 . Six overarching themes were identified, including process improvement, clinician development, patient safety, patient outcome improvement, access to care and workplace environment. Many of the projects spanned multiple of the identified themes.

DNP project themes

4.1.1 |. Process improvement

Process improvement projects sought to increase efficiency of health care delivery related to human factors and systems integration. The processes examined included screening for disease conditions and health risks, documentation of care processes, adherence to guidelines, time to healthcare delivery, time to discharge and reduction of readmission rates. One project involved establishing a command centre for a nearly 1,000 bed hospital and examined admissions and interhospital transfers resulting in increased efficiency in these processes throughout the hospital ( Newton & Fralic, 2015 ).

4.1.2 |. Clinician development

Clinician development refers to improving clinician skills, knowledge and abilities. Projects focused on leadership, mentorship, educational approaches and interprofessional training. Multiple dimensions of communication were examined including the content and timing of communication and the confidence of the clinician communicating. Many of these projects measured knowledge before and after an educational intervention. One of these projects involved examining the effectiveness of short, frequent training sessions on nurses’ retention of initial cardiopulmonary resuscitation priorities and the most efficient training interval ( Sullivan et al., 2015 ).

4.1.3 |. Patient safety

Patient safety included patient protection from medical errors and other harms, including projects associated with reducing medical errors and improving medication administration, infection control, and the informed consent process. One of these projects involved examining the effectiveness of a mandatory computerised ordering tool that allowed for early interdisciplinary communication and evaluation by a Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter (PICC) team for suspected PICC infections and thromboses, on decreasing premature PICC removal rates and associated complications ( Kim-Saechao, Almario, & Rubin, 2016 ).

4.1.4 |. Patient outcome improvement

Projects focused on patient outcome improvement in the healthcare setting assessed various aspects of health, lifestyle behaviour, self-care, symptom management, knowledge and satisfaction. One of these projects involved examining the effectiveness of an education programme and increased patient support options, as well as increased provider education on continuous positive airway pressure adherence ( Dinapoli, 2015 ).

4.1.5 |. Access to care

Access to care refers to connections to care, such as improving patient attendance at follow-up appointments, and transitions of care, such as from the acute to the primary care and the paediatric to adult setting. One of these projects involved examining the effectiveness of a telemental health programme, in a rural setting, in improving time to consult as compared to face-to-face groups ( Southard, Neufeld, & Laws, 2014 ).

4.1.6 |. Workplace environment

Workplace environment included patient factors such satisfaction but also improvement of the work environment for nurses and other health professionals. One of these projects involved determining whether the implementation of a standardised handoff tool, reorganising interrupting processes and training on effective handoff communication could reduce the number of interruptions per intershift report ( Younan & Fralic, 2013 ).

4.2 |. Settings

Sixty-one per cent of projects took place in hospital settings including emergency rooms, inpatient medical or surgical units, critical care areas and the operating room. Thirty-one per cent of projects took place in schools, outpatient and community settings. An additional 3% of projects bridged both the hospital and outpatient/community settings.

4.3 |. Samples

Samples included patients, family members, community members, clinicians, students and healthcare support staff. Eighty-three per cent of projects included adult samples and 5% of projects included paediatric samples. An additional 10% of projects included both adult and paediatric samples. Some projects examined a single race or ethnic group. The locations for the projects relative to the university were local, national and global representing countries on multiple continents in North and Central America, Africa and the Middle East.

4.4 |. Theoretical framework

Thirty-three per cent of the reports described a theoretical framework that was used to guide the project. The most common were evidence translation models such as The Knowledge to Action Framework ( Graham et al., 2006 ), the Johns Hopkins University Translating Evidence into Practice Model ( Dang & Dearholt, 2017 ) and the Ottawa Model of Research Use Framework ( Logan & Graham, 1998 ). Some were broadly focused such as Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovation ( Rogers, 1962 ) and process improvement theories including The Content and Process Model of Strategic Change ( Pettigrew & Whipp, 1992 ). Others were focused on specific conditions such as chronic illness and addiction disorders. Examples of these included the Chronic Care Model ( Kane, 1999 ) and the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STDs and TB Prevention Framework ( CDC, 2009 ).

4.5 |. Designs

The various types of designs used for the projects are summarised in Table 1 and represent the breadth of advanced nursing practice. Eighty per cent of the projects used a pretest–post-test design and one of these was a mixed-methods study design. Some used the same sample while others used two different samples before and after the introduction of an intervention. Still others used post-test only with a historical comparison group. The remainder of the projects used a variety of designs including single sample post-test only, randomised controlled trial design, systematic review and proposal of strategies. Five of the DNP projects used a randomised controlled trial design. However, in these designs the control group largely consisted of usual care and blinding was not used. Four of these randomised controlled trials employed the typical two group, intervention and control design and one study employed a multi-group design.

4.6 |. Analyses

The majority of the projects used univariate analysis including independent or paired t test and chi-square. Only a few of the projects used regression analysis. Most students used the statistical package, SPSS to conduct their analyses. Most reports did not include a power analysis.

4.7 |. Sustainability

Eighteen per cent of reports included a plan for sustainability of the project. For example, many projects involved the adoption of the new performance improvement process in the unit practice or a plan was developed to adopt the new practice in the future.

4.8 |. Publications

All projects were presented orally or as posters. Publications were discovered for 21% of the projects reviewed in both nursing and interdisciplinary journals. The impact factor of these journals ranged from 0.1 to 5.9. These included both specialty journals, such as Resuscitation, Progress in Transplantation and Advances in Neonatal Care, and journals focused on performance improvement such as Journal of Nursing Care Quality.

5 |. DISCUSSION

Many of the projects undertaken as part of the DNP degree were designed to describe the implementation of a new evidence-based practice intervention and the patient and provider outcomes that followed within a particular practice setting. The evolution of our DNP programme has occurred in the context of significant development in both implementation science and quality improvement methodology. Implementation science is the study of methods for promoting the adoption and integration of evidence-based practices, interventions and policies into routine practice and has been codified in frameworks such as the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research ( CFIR, 2019 ). Similarly, the Standards for QUality Improvement Reporting Excellence have increased both the rigour in design and reporting of quality improvement strategies ( Ogrinc et al., 2016 ). A strength of the DNP programme at Johns Hopkins University is the collaboration among faculty with research and advanced practice expertise in teaching and guiding DNP students in their DNP projects. This collaboration results in a range of methodological approaches to these projects. Cygan and Reed (2019) have described an approach to collaborative DNP-PhD scholarship that is consistent with what we have described here.

Within the curriculum, there is an emphasis on dissemination and all students present their work as an oral presentation or poster presentation at a School of Nursing conference to which our practice partner institutions are invited. In addition, 21% of students generated a peer-reviewed publication reporting the DNP project outcomes. As part of knowledge sharing and exchange, we also encourage students to place their project in the Sigma Theta Tau Virginia Henderson Repository ( Sigma Theta Tau, n.d. ).

5.1 |. Limitations of this review

This review of DNP projects has some limitations. First, we report that 21% of the projects generated publications. But it can take two or more years for students to publish a paper from their projects so this publication rate may be artificially low. Second, the DNP projects included in this review are solely from the Post-Master’s DNP Executive Track of the DNP programme at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. Thus, the findings may not be generalisable to the Post-Baccalaureate DNP Advanced Practice Track at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing. However, we believe that our recommendations to improve our DNP Executive Track and the guidelines we provide will be useful for faculty in both Tracks. Finally, since this paper has looked at 191 DNP projects over the past 10 years, we provided a general overview of the findings. Faculty may wish to examine various subgroups by population, setting or type of intervention/practice guideline, to provide further detail. More importantly, these data reflect the maturation of the DNP programme and the implementation of the DNP essentials ( AACN, 2006 ) focusing on advanced nursing practice that is evidence-based, innovative and applies credible research findings. We have some exciting new programmes, including the dual degree programmes DNP-PhD and DNP-MBA which will extend our domain-specific knowledge to advance patient outcomes. As many programmes strive internationally to increase the focus on practice doctorate, this reflective analysis provides some useful signposts for increasing both the rigour and programme relevance.

5.2 |. Strengths of projects

One strength of the projects that reflects the strength of the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing was the international diversity of the projects from countries in North and Central America, Africa and the Middle East. The projects reflected the diversity of nursing practice across these countries such as the nurses’ role in patient education and in leading process improvement initiatives in the practice setting.

Another strength was the number of publications that were generated. We found that 21% of the projects resulted in publication. This was lower than the 37% in a previous report that included DNP projects from Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing up to 2016 by Becker et al. (2018) . This may be because these authors, in addition to searching the literature using PubMed and Google Scholar also accepted a print version of a publication provided by the graduate. For this paper, we only searched the literature electronically and did not also examine publications that the graduates provided that were not found in the literature search.

The diversity of the settings in which the projects were conducted demonstrated the opportunities for nurses to lead initiatives resulting in improvements in patient outcomes. They also demonstrate the rich learning opportunities for nurses in DNP programmes to learn from colleagues who practise across the spectrum of healthcare delivery.

5.3 |. Opportunities for future development of DNP projects

In this section, we discuss the implications of our findings for future directions and improvement in DNP projects and education.

5.3.1 |. DNP project reports

Most studies were designed to evaluate factors influencing the translation of an evidence-based intervention into practice. However, one limitation identified was that only 33% of the project reports included the translation framework used although translational frameworks are a required part of the development of their project proposal. Moving forward, we have increased our teaching and guidance about how these frameworks guide the development of the project and how to incorporate the framework into the project report. The majority of our students did not report a power analysis when it would have been appropriate given the design. In order to promote accurate interpretation of the findings, this has become a requirement in cases where the significance of differences between pretest and post-test within a single group or between two or more groups is being assessed. Students have the opportunity to learn these methods in the curriculum and also have access to a designated statistician for consultation.

In order to promote coherence between the design used in the project and analysis of findings, we have developed a template to guide faculty and students that may be useful to faculty and students in other DNP programmes ( Appendix S2 ). We have also included a description of common DNP project designs ( Figure 1 ) and analyses ( Table 3 ) to guide faculty and students in project development.

DNP project designs

Guidelines for analysis by design

5.3.2 |. Scope and depth of DNP projects

Opportunities for advancing the scope and depth of the projects in the future may involve group approaches that would allow two or more students to work on one project. This would allow student groups to focus on several dimensions of the same project. For example, among a student group interested in studying readmission rates among patients with congestive heart failure several dimensions the students could address include the following: lifestyle education, patient and caregiver knowledge, symptom management and follow-up care. This would enable each student to select one dimension and working together, and develop a more comprehensive and effective improvement project. Project design courses would need to incorporate elements on developing cohesive interventions supported by practice guidelines and research findings.

While the AACN supports group projects in which each student is accountable for at least one component of the project and a deliverable ( AACN, 2015 ), we have not yet had a group DNP project at Johns Hopkins University. Moving ahead, we are considering how we might engage students in group projects simultaneously or sequentially at different sites or focusing on different aspects of the same project. We are now finding that when the practice sites offer several potential projects to students and students select from among these, the practice site is more likely to be invested in DNP projects.

5.3.3 |. Sustainability of DNP projects

As noted, only 18% of the project reports included a plan for sustainability. Moving forward, the need for sustainability and ideas on how to achieve sustainability should be included in the curriculum at the beginning of project development. Potential methods for promoting sustainability of DNP projects may be through the pursual of longitudinal DNP projects with more than one DNP student participating. Another aspect in the future that will promote sustainability will be a more formal process for having the practice sites select the projects and having DNP students choose from among projects that are a priority to the clinical partner agency. Some challenges in having partner agencies select the project are that they may want to use a self-designed measure that has not been validated. In the light of this, the programme now seeks to emphasise the need to find validated instruments and guides students to the available resources in order to accomplish this goal.

The process of analysing these projects provided us with insight into some strengths and limitations of our programme and has guided our plans for improving our teaching and learning strategies in this programme. This comprehensive review of DNP projects is a critical process in striving for excellence in academic programming and ensuring fidelity to the DNP essentials in fostering advanced practice. We also consider that the recommendations based on this review have relevance for professional doctorates internationally.

In Table 4 , we provide additional recommendations for DNP programmes while conducting programme evaluation.

Recommendations for DNP programme evaluation

6 |. CONCLUSION

Our review has found that process improvement, clinician development, patient safety, patient outcome improvement, access to care and workplace environment were a key focus of projects underscoring the relevance of the practice-focused degree. Ensuring graduates of clinical doctorates have the knowledge, skills and competencies for practice development is of critical importance. Ensuring that the capstone project demonstrates these attributes is essential for programme rigour.

7 |. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

DNP scholarly projects are a critical component of DNP curriculum in order to prepare nurses in advanced nursing practice to influence health care outcomes at the individual or population level. Therefore, evaluation of DNP scholarly projects is essential to improving DNP curriculum and ensuring DNP graduates are prepared to lead change in complex healthcare delivery systems. The findings from this descriptive study will provide insight to faculty at other schools with DNP programmes on ways to improve DNP projects that may lead to greater impact on clinical practice.

Supplementary Material

What does this paper contribute to the wider global clinical community.

Outlines the importance of programme evaluation in professional doctorate programmes

Profiles the challenges and opportunities for developing and refining a project aligned with delineated competencies

Provides recommendations for achieving methodological rigour and programme efficiencies

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to acknowledge Denise Rucker, Academic Administrator for the DNP programme, for providing the DNP project report documents to review for this paper.

This study was supported in part by a grant from the Maryland Higher Education Commission (NSP II-17-107). RT is supported by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) of the National Institutes of Health under award number T32DK062707 and an award by the American Heart Association. ES is supported by the National Institute of Nursing Research of the National Institutes of Health under award numbers F31DR017328 and T32 NR012704.

Sponsors had no involvement in the study design; collection, analysis and interpretation of the data; in writing of the report; or in the decision to submit the article for publication.

SUPPORTING INFORMATION

Additional supporting information may be found online in the Supporting Information section.

Relevance to clinical practice: Programme evaluation is critical in order to sufficiently prepare nurses in advanced nursing practice to influence healthcare outcomes at the individual or population level.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

• American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2006). The essentials for doctoral education for advanced nursing practice. Retrieved from https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/42/Publications/DNPEssentials.pdf
• American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2015). The doctor of nursing practice: Current issues and clarifying recommendations: Report from the task force on the implementation of the DNP. Retrieved from https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/42/News/White-Papers/DNP-Implementation-TF-Report-8-15.pdf?ver=2017-10-18-151758-700
• American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2018). Defining scholarship for academic nursing: Task force consensus position statement. Retrieved from https://www.aacnnursing.org/Portals/42/News/Position-Statements/Defining-Scholarship.pdf
• Becker KD, Johnson S, Rucker D, & Finnell DS (2018). Dissemination of scholarship across eight cohorts of doctor of nursing practice students. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 27(7–8), e1395–e1401. 10.1111/jocn.14237 [ DOI ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Brewer N. (2011a, September 27). Observational research designs. Lecture conducted from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. [ Google Scholar ]
• Brewer N. (2011b, November 2). True and Pre-Experimental Designs for Evaluation. Lecture conducted from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. [ Google Scholar ]
• Brewer N. (2011c, November 8). Quasi-Experimental Study Designs. Lecture conducted from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. [ Google Scholar ]
• Brown MA, & Crabtree K. (2013). The development of practice scholarship in DNP programs: A paradigm shift. Journal of Professional Nursing, 29(6), 330–337. 10.1016/j.profnurs.2013.08.003 [ DOI ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Casey M, O’ Leary D, & Coghlan D. (2018). Unpacking action research and implementation science: Implications for nursing. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 74(5), 1051–1058. 10.1111/jan.13494 [ DOI ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2009). Program collaboration and service integration: Enhancing the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, sexually transmitted diseases, and tuberculosis in the United States. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/programintegration/docs/207181-c_nchhstp_pcsi-whitepaper-508c.pdf [ Google Scholar ]
• CFIR. Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (2019).Retrieved from https://cfirguide.org/
• CGS (2006). Professional master’s education: A CGS guide to establishing programs. Washington, DC: CGS. [ Google Scholar ]
• Council of Graduate Schools in the United States. (2007). Task Force Report on the Professional Doctorate. Washington, DC: Council of Graduate Schools. [ Google Scholar ]
• Cygan HR, & Reed M. (2019). DNP and PhD scholarship: Making a case for collaboration. Journal of Professional Nursing, 35(5), 353–357. 10.1016/j.profnurs.2019.03.002 [ DOI ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Dang D, & Dearholt S. (2017). Johns Hopkins University nursing evidence-based practice: Model and guidelines (3rd ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Sigma Theta Tau International. [ Google Scholar ]
• Department of Education, Science, and Training (1997). Research-coursework Doctoral Programs in Australian Universities. Australia: Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. [ Google Scholar ]
• Dinapoli CM (2015). Improving continuous positive airway pressure adherence among adults. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 5(2), 110. 10.5430/jnep.v5n2p110 [ DOI ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Dols JD, Hernandez C, & Miles H. (2017). The DNP project: Quandaries for nursing schools. Nursing Outlook, 65(1), 84–93. 10.1016/j.outlook.2016.07.009 [ DOI ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Embree JL, Meek J, & Ebright P. (2018). Voices of chief nursing executives informing a doctor of nursing practice program. Journal of Professional Nursing, 34(1), 12–15. 10.1016/j.profnurs.2017.07.008 [ DOI ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Fulton J, Kuit J, Sanders G, & Smith P. (2012). The role of the professional doctorate in developing professional practice. Journal of Nursing Management, 20(1), 130–139. 10.1111/j.1365-2834.2011.01345.x [ DOI ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Graham ID, Logan J, Harrison MB, Straus SE, Tetroe J, Caswell W, & Robinson N. (2006). Lost in knowledge translation: Time for a map? Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions, 26(1), 13–24. 10.1002/chp.47 [ DOI ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Grove SK, Burns N, & Gray JR (eds.) (2013). Selecting a quantitative research design. In The practice of nursing research: Appraisal, synthesis, and generation of evidence (7th ed., pp. 214–263). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Saunders. [ Google Scholar ]
• Howard PB, & Williams TE (2017). An academic-practice partnership to advance DNP education and practice. Journal of Professional Nursing, 33(2), 86–94. 10.1016/j.profnurs.2016.08.010 [ DOI ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Kane RL (1999). A new model of chronic care. Generations: Journal of the American Society on Aging, 23(2), 35–37. [ Google Scholar ]
• Kim-Saechao SJ, Almario E, & Rubin ZA (2016). A novel infection prevention approach: Leveraging a mandatory electronic communication tool to decrease peripherally inserted central catheter infections, complications, and cost. American Journal of Infection Control, 44(11), 1335–1345. 10.1016/j.ajic.2016.03.023 [ DOI ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Kirkpatrick JM, & Weaver T. (2013). The doctor of nursing practice capstone project: Consensus or confusion? Journal of Nursing Education, 52(8), 435–441. 10.3928/01484834-20130722-01 [ DOI ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Logan J, & Graham ID (1998). Toward a comprehensive interdisciplinary model of health care research use. Science Communication, 20(2), 227–246. 10.1177/1075547098020002004 [ DOI ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Mellors-Bourne R, Robinson C, & Metcalfe J. (2016). Provision of professional doctorates in English HE Institutions. Cambridge: Careers Research and Advisory Centre. Retrieved from http://hdl.voced.edu.au/10707/393040 . [ Google Scholar ]
• Minnick AF, Kleinpell R, & Allison TL (2019). Reports of three organizations’ members about doctor of nursing practice project experiences and outcomes. Nursing Outlook, 67(6), 671–679. 10.1016/j.outlook.2019.05.012 [ DOI ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Newton S, & Fralic M. (2015). Interhospital transfer center model: Components, themes, and design elements. Air Medical Journal, 34(4), 207–212. 10.1016/j.amj.2015.03.008 [ DOI ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Ogrinc G, Davies L, Goodman D, Batalden P, Davidoff F, & Stevens D. (2016). SQUIRE 2.0 (Standards for QUality Improvement Reporting Excellence): Revised publication guidelines from a detailed consensus process. BMJ: Quality and Safety, 25(12), 986–992. 10.1136/bmjqs-2015-004480 [ DOI ] [ PMC free article ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Pettigrew A, & Whipp R. (1992). Managing change and corporate performance. In Cool K, Neven DJ, & Walter I. (Eds.), European industrial restructuring in the 1990s (pp. 200–227). Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan Academic and Professional. [ Google Scholar ]
• Rogers EM (1962). Diffusion of innovations (1st ed.). New York, NY: Free Press. [ Google Scholar ]
• Roush K, & Tesoro M. (2018). An examination of the rigor and value of final scholarly projects completed by DNP nursing students. Journal of Professional Nursing, 34(6), 437–443. 10.1016/j.profnurs.2018.03.003 [ DOI ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Sigma Theta Tau (n.d.). Sigma Theta Tau Virginia Henderson Repository.Retrieved from https://www.sigmarepository.org/ .
• Singleton RA Jr, & Straits BC (2010). Approaches to social research (5th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. [ Google Scholar ]
• Southard EP, Neufeld JD, & Laws S. (2014). Telemental health evaluations enhance access and efficiency in a critical access hospital emergency department. Telemedicine and e-Health, 20(7), 664–668. 10.1089/tmj.2013.0257 [ DOI ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Sullivan NJ, Duval-Arnould J, Twilley M, Smith SP, Aksamit D, Boone-Guercio P, … Hunt EA (2015). Simulation exercise to improve retention of cardiopulmonary resuscitation priorities for in-hospital cardiac arrests: A randomized controlled trial. Resuscitation, 86, 6–13. 10.1016/j.resuscitation.2014.10.021 [ DOI ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Sun GH, & Cherry B. (2019). Using the logic model framework to standardize quality and rigor in the DNP project. Nurse Educator, 44(4), 183–186. 10.1097/NNE.0000000000000599 [ DOI ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Terhaar M, & Sylvia M. (2015). Scholarly work products of the doctor of nursing practice: One approach to evaluating scholarship, rigor and impact on quality. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 25, 163–174. 10.1111/jocn.13113 [ DOI ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Waldrop J, Caruso D, Fuchs MA, & Hypes K. (2014). EC as PIE: Five criteria for executing a successful DNP final project. Journal of Professional Nursing, 30(4), 300–306. 10.1016/j.profnurs.2014.01.003 [ DOI ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Yam BM (2005). Professional doctorate and professional nursing practice. Nurse Education Today, 25(7), 564–572. [ DOI ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]
• Younan LA, & Fralic MF (2013). Using “best-fit” interventions to improve the nursing intershift handoff process at a medical center in Lebanon. The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, 39(10), 460–467. 10.1016/S1553-7250(13)39059-X. [ DOI ] [ PubMed ] [ Google Scholar ]

Associated Data

This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.

Supplementary Materials

• View on publisher site
• PDF (925.7 KB)
• Collections

Similar articles

Cited by other articles, links to ncbi databases.

• Download .nbib .nbib
• Format: AMA APA MLA NLM

Add to Collections

• Paragraph Generator
• Cover Letter
• Authorization Letter
• Application Letter
• Letter of Intent
• Letter of Recommendation
• Business Plan
• Incident Report
• Reference Letter
• Minutes of Meeting
• Letter of Resignation
• Excuse Letter
• Research Proposal
• Job Application
• Acknowledgement
• Employment Letter
• Promissory Note
• Business Proposal
• Statement of Purpose
• Offer Letter
• Deed of Sale
• Letter of Interest
• Power of Attorney
• Solicitation Letter

30+ SAMPLE Dissertation Evaluation in PDF | MS Word

Dissertation evaluation | ms word, 30+ sample dissertation evaluation, what is a dissertation evaluation, different types of dissertation evaluation, benefits of writing a dissertation evaluation, basic elements of a dissertation evaluation, how to write a dissertation evaluation, what are some examples of dissertation, what is the purpose of a dissertation evaluation, what are the essential steps in writing a dissertation evaluation, how to evaluate a dissertation.

Dissertation Evaluation Template

Dissertation Defense Evaluation

Dissertation Evaluation Form

Basic Dissertation Evaluation

Dissertation Program Evaluation

Dissertation Award Evaluation Form

Master Dissertation Evaluation Form

Dissertation Proposal Evaluation Form

Doctorate Dissertation Evaluation

Dissertation Evaluation and Approval Form

Outstanding Dissertation Evaluation

Dissertation Defense Exam Evaluation

Dissertation Committee Meeting Evaluation

Doctoral Dissertation Proposal Evaluation

Dissertation Project Defense Evaluation

Doctoral Dissertation Application For Evaluation

Candidate Dissertation Evaluation

Dissertation Evaluation Reader Form

Degree Dissertation Evaluation

Dissertation and Oral Evaluation Form

Dissertation Interim Evaluation

Dissertation Yearly Evaluation

Dissertation Evaluation Example

Center Dissertation Evaluation

Dissertation Advisory Committee Evaluation

Dissertation Proposal Evaluation Report

Dissertation Final Evaluation

Draft Dissertation Evaluation

Printable Dissertation Evaluation

Dissertation Evaluation Format

Dissertation Application Evaluation

1. dissertation program evaluation , 2. master dissertation evaluation, 3. doctoral dissertation evaluation, 4. phd dissertation evaluation, 1. alerts for possible issues before the defense, 2. supports organized decision making, 3. motivates academic growth and development , 4. offers sufficient advice and feedback , what are some examples of dissertation evaluation , share this post on your network, you may also like these articles, 20+ sample appraisal evaluation in pdf | ms word.

Employee morale and engagement can be impacted significantly by the appraisal evaluation process. This evaluation technique frequently provides helpful information to managers and employees, assisting organizations in making decisions…

50+ SAMPLE Internship Evaluation in PDF | MS Word

Providing invaluable professional experience can be made through facilitating internships to potential individuals, allowing college and undergraduate students to test the concepts and theories that they learned throughout their…

browse by categories

• Questionnaire
• Description
• Reconciliation
• Certificate
• Spreadsheet

Information

• privacy policy
• Terms & Conditions

A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

• Principles of Community Engagement - Second Edition
• Executive Summary
• Chapter 1. Literature Review
• Chapter 2. Principles of Community Engagement
• Chapter 3. Successful Examples in the Field
• Chapter 4. Managing Organizational Support for Community Engagement
• Chapter 5. Challenges in Improving Community Engagement in Research
• Chapter 6. The Value of Social Networking in Community Engagement
• Chapter 7. Program Evaluation and Evaluating Community Engagement
• Chapter 8. Summary
• Appendix A: Acronyms
• CTSA Community Engagement Key Function Committee
• Publication Development

Chapter 7. Part 5. Evaluating the Community Engagement Process

What to know.

In addition to ensuring that the community is engaged in the evaluation of a program, it is important to evaluate community engagement and its implementation. The goal is to determine if the process of developing, implementing, and monitoring an intervention or program is indeed participatory in nature.

Evaluating the Community Engagement Process

Evaluating community engagement ensures that the process of developing, implementing, and monitoring a program is participatory.

Questions for Evaluating Community Engagement

• Are the right community members involved?
• Does the process and structure of meetings allow for all voices to be heard and valued?
• How are community members involved in program development and ensuring cultural sensitivity?
• How are community members involved in implementation the program or intervention?
• How are community members involved in program evaluation or data analysis?
• What kind of learning has occurred, for both the community and the academics?

Social network analysis (SNA) is a mixed method that can be applied to the evaluation of community partnerships and community engagement.

SNA can be used to do the following:

• Examine social relationships and connections across a community
• Assess the linkages between people, activities, and locations
• Provides tools for quantifying connections between people based on similarities or frequency of interaction
• Data collection can be collected through existing or new sources, such as interviews and surveys
• Evaluates community partnerships, sustainability, and impact on community engagement

Tips From the Literature‎

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Framework for program evaluation in public health. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 1999;48(RR11):1-40.

Freeman J, Audia P. Community ecology and the sociology of organizations. Sociology 2006; 32:145-169

Green LW, George MA, Daniel M, Frankish CJ, Herbert CP, Bowie WR, et al. Study of participatory research in health promotion: review and recommendations for the development of participatory research in health promotion in Canada . Ottawa, Canada: The Royal Society of Canada; 1995

Israel BA, Shulz AJ, Parker EA, Becker AB. Review of community-based research: Assessing partnership approaches to improve public health. Annual Review of Public Health 1998; 19:173-202

Wasserman S, Faust K. Social network analysis: methods and applications. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University; 1994

• Full Document
• This Chapter

The Principles of Community Engagement (Second Edition) is a resource for those who want to engage with community partners on projects that may affect them.

Luminos – Impact evaluation of an accelerated learning program for out-of-school children in Liberia

An enumerator assesses an Early Childhood Education student as part of the FasterReading evaluation in Virginia, Liberia ©John Healey/IDinsight

Decision-maker’s challenge

Between 2000 and 2023, the out-of-school rate for primary school-aged children in sub-Saharan Africa dropped from 37% to 19%. However, in Liberia, the figures worsened, with the out-of-school rate increasing from 27% to 31% over the same period ( UNESCO Institute for Statistics n.d. ). As in other countries, COVID-19 and associated school closures likely slowed down years of progress toward attaining universal enrollment. 

For children who enroll in school in Liberia, learning levels are low and learning gains are very slow. This may contribute to families’ decisions to unenroll their children to pursue income-generating activities or to marry at a young age ( Kaffenberger, Sobol, and Spindelman, 2021 ). In our assessments of children enrolled in grades 1, 2, and 3 in government schools in Liberia, the average child can read only 7 words per minute (wpm) on a word reading task at the beginning of the 2022/2023 school year, below the threshold for reading fluency of at least 60 wpm. This figure only improved to 14 wpm by the end of the school year. 

The Ministry of Education in Liberia has proposed several interventions to improve learning outcomes and the quality of instruction in government schools. However, recent studies have shown that although large sums have been directed towards education interventions in low- and middle-income countries between 2000 and 2015, there has been little improvement in learning outcomes ( Angrist et al., 2023 ). Few educational interventions have transformative impacts on learning.

Impact opportunity

The Luminos program is a proposed model to address the dual problems of low access to education and low rates of learning. The Luminos program is an accelerated learning program for out-of-school children (OOSC) run by the Luminos Fund in Liberia. The program is a 10-month program that teaches OOSC basic reading and numeracy skills and supports children’s socio-emotional development. The Luminos Program curriculum covers the first three grades of school to help OOSC catch up to grade level and enroll in government schools. In addition, Luminos supports program graduates with their transition into government school by paying enrollment fees (typically 5-10 USD per child).

Our approach

IDinsight partnered with Luminos to conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to assess the impact of the Luminos program on children’s learning and enrollment in government schools after the program. The RCT consisted of 3 rounds of data collection: a baseline, first endline immediately after the program, and a second endline one year after the end of the program. The sample consisted of a treatment group of 49 communities that received the Luminos program in the 2022-23 school year, and a control group of 49 comparable communities that did not receive the Luminos program. At each round, we collected data on a sample of government school children from every community to serve as a benchmark for treatment effects. We assessed 1,745 OOSC at baseline. At the first and second endline, we reassessed 1,502 and 1,372 of the OOSC assessed at baseline, respectively. 

The results

At the first endline, we found large and statistically significant effects of the program on children’s reading and numeracy. OOSC in treatment communities were able to read 29 words per minute compared to 7 words per minute for control OOSC on the passage reading subtask. OOSC in treatment communities correctly answered twice as many addition questions and twice as many subtraction questions than control. Effects were similar across subgroups – such as gender, age, and children who started with lower baseline learning levels versus higher baseline learning levels. Compared with government schoolchildren in the same communities, children in the Luminos program started the 2022/2023 school year with much lower literacy and numeracy scores but ended the school year with similar numeracy scores and substantially higher literacy scores than their peers in school. This blogpost allows the reader to explore the first endline results through interactive visualizations.

Luminos Fund RCT results and interactive visualizations

At the second endline, we found that the Luminos program had a positive and statistically significant effect on enrollment rates. OOSC in treatment communities were 15 percentage points more likely to be enrolled in school one year after the program compared to control OOSC. However, we also observed that there was a large growth in enrollment in the control group between the first and second endline, from 32% to 60%. 

Treatment effects persisted one year after the program across all the foundational reading and numeracy skills assessed. However, the size of the treatment effects is 10-15% smaller at the second endline compared to the first endline. This is primarily explained by growth in scores in the control group, particularly for control OOSC who enrolled in school. Treatment OOSC who successfully enrolled in school had significantly higher reading and numeracy scores at the second endline than at the first endline. In contrast, treatment OOSC who did not enroll in school regressed in their reading and numeracy levels.

Figure: Average oral reading fluency over time

To compare these results to other education interventions, we calculated the first endline treatment effects in terms of learning-adjusted years of schooling (LAYS). Our study found that Luminos graduates gained 3x as many words per minute as their peers in government school. Applying a ‘learning adjustment’ to these gains of 0.52, which indicates that a year of schooling in Liberia is equivalent to 0.52 years of schooling in the benchmark country of Singapore, according to the World Bank in 2021 – we find that the Luminos Program generates 1.59 LAYS after 10 months. This estimate would place the Luminos Program among the most effective interventions included in a review of 150 interventions in LMICs using the LAYS metric ( Angrist et al., 2020 ).

Our work with Luminos

Luminos program impact evaluation – first endline.

Randomized controlled trial of an accelerated learning program for out-of- school children in Liberia: Year 1 Results

Findings from the first year of the RCT of the Luminos Fund’s accelerated learning program show reading and math gains compared to a control group

Luminos Program Impact Evaluation – Second Endline

Longitudinal outcomes from a randomized controlled trial of accelerated learning for out-of-school children in Liberia

Jeff McManus

Mico Rudasingwa

Maadhav Anand Kumar

Kenna Mokobi

Luminos program impact evaluation.

13 November 2024

Evidence review: Implementation of Merdeka Curriculum in Indonesia

24 September 2024

Evidence review: Implementation of Sekolah Penggerak school transformation program in Indonesia

Evidence review: implementation of a vocational school transformation program in indonesia, impact evaluation of a school leadership development programme in western cape, south africa.

20 August 2024

24 January 2024

Project Sampoorna – Findings from the IDinsight survey

30 November 2023

Learnings from conducting phone interviews with school children

12 October 2023

Evaluation of a Parental Engagement Program

11 October 2023

Community-centred approach towards sharing data

10 October 2023

Related content

School closures and learning loss in west africa.

10 August 2021

Why EdTech won’t close the COVID-19 learning gap in West Africa

18 November 2021

Stay up-to-date with IDinsight

Alectinib for adjuvant treatment of ALK-positive non-small-cell lung cancer

• Technology appraisal guidance
• Reference number: TA1014
• Published:  13 November 2024

4 Evaluation committee members and NICE project team

Evaluation committee members.

The 4 technology appraisal committees are standing advisory committees of NICE. This topic was considered by the lead team of committee A , which includes the chair and vice-chair.

Committee members are asked to declare any interests in the technology being evaluated. If it is considered there is a conflict of interest, the member is excluded from participating further in that evaluation.

NICE project team

Each evaluation is assigned to a team consisting of 1 or more health technology analysts (who act as technical leads for the evaluation), a technical adviser, a project manager and an associate director.

Samuel Slayen Technical lead

Michelle Green Technical adviser

Kate Moore Project manager

Janet Robertson Associate director

ISBN: 978-1-4731-6608-0

• 1st Floor Lugogo House, 42 Lugogo By-Pass, Kampala
• [email protected]

Sub Office Manager (Monitoring and Evaluation, (M&E))

• November 13, 2024
• Posted 3 hours ago

Website African Initiatives for Relief and Development

The African Initiatives for Relief and Development (AIRD) is a non-political, non-religious and non-profit making NGO with Country Program Offices in Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Liberia, Niger, South, Tanzania, and Uganda. AIRD’s objective is to offer operational support, including but not limited to supply chain, logistics, construction, infrastructure, environment, livelihoods and WASH in partnership with relief and development organizations that focus on disaster-affected and development-oriented areas. AIRD delivers for and through partners including but not limited to UN Agencies, international and national donor organizations and governments.

AIRD now seeks to hire a Sub Office Manager (M&E)

Job summary

This position provides a hybrid work arrangement and involves overseeing a sub-office while addressing the nationwide monitoring and evaluation (M&E) gap. The role entails delivering comprehensive management, logistical, financial, and administrative support to ensure seamless operations at the office level. At the same time, the incumbent will assume a leadership role in collaboration with Senior Management, guiding all aspects of Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) and upholding program standards at the national level. Key Responsibilities

M&E Strategic Leadership

• Provide leadership, in collaboration with Senior Management, in all aspects of MEL and program standards.
• Participate in the facilitation of country and sector-level strategic planning sessions, assisting program managers, directors, and in the development of the annual plans.
• Coordinate country-wide collection and compiling of MEL data (e.g. counting of beneficiary numbers) as part of the regular reporting to HQ and UNHCR representations.
• Support the development of sector strategies and frameworks in accordance with the overall country strategy
• Support the development of processes to support the programs team in integrating cross- grants learning and ensure that lessons learned are used to inform the adaptation of activities and future program design
• Contribute to AIRD efforts on the development of partnership strategy, ensure a coherent and consistent approach to partnership and decision-making
• Actively participate in management meetings and country-wide strategy sessions.
• Represent AIRD in Chad as needed in meetings and discussions on MEL issues with UNHCR other implementing partners and other donors.

Operational Management

• Ensure operations receive timely, effective, and efficient management, administrative, financial and logistical support services to meet project objectives
• Ensure management, administrative, and logistical support systems, and procedures are followed
• Implement appropriate management, administrative, and logistical support systems and procedures in coordination with the Operation Manager
• Manage the support and administration team
• Oversee cashbook entries and financial coding at the Sub Office
• Foster good communication and coordination between the support, administration team and the technical operational team
• Implement the Human Resources, Procurement, Logistics, and Financial SOPs throughout AIRD programs
• Participate in meetings, networks, seminars and conferences which relevant and beneficial to AIRD and its mission and mandate
• Contribute to fundraising initiatives where appropriate

Warehouse Management

• Supervise, monitor, and coordinate movements of supplies
• Maintain proper documentation and update stock cards and bin cards
• Ensure the proper storage of items according to each reference requirements
• Prepare and submit consolidated stock movement reports every month

Workshop Management

• Supervise, monitor, and coordinate the activity of the workshop in the Sub Office
• Ensure that the workshop inventory list for all equipment and spare parts is updated every month.
• Ensure that maintenance is carried out timely, with due regard for the safety of all concerned and the operations expected by the client/partners.

Fleet and fuel management

• Plan transport and fuel operations in coordination with the logistics officer in the Sub Office
• Monitor vehicle movement to ensure timely delivery of services to the client and beneficiaries
• Ensure that drivers comply with the laws of the countries and at all times act with courtesy and professionalism

Human Resources

• Participate in the induction of new staff in the Sub Office
• Conduct appraisals of line-managed staff as per AIRD systems
• Support the selection, recruitment, and disciplinary systems and procedures of Sub Office staff
• Participate in the national staff capacity building, identification of staff training needs, and providing mentoring support where appropriate

Reporting and Communications

• Ensure daily communication and coordination, participate in CMT meetings, and coordinate Sub Office management meetings and briefings
• Ensure timely and detailed production of AIRD program internal reports

Representation

• Represent AIRD when dealing with local authorities, other organizations, and NGOs within the Sub Office area of operations
• Ensure all relevant parties are kept informed of AIRD activities as appropriate
• Support in area Public Relations/Communications role

Donor and partner-related activity

• Coordinate the collection of information, and draft funding proposals and budgets
• Identify and collect information on possible future donors and funding opportunities
• Create and maintain relationships with donors, partners, and other parties

Information Management

• Develop and maintain systems for recording program activities, outputs, and impact
• Provide relevant materials, case studies, photographs, events, and media contacts in line with AIRD’s corporate profile, identity, and message
• Develop appropriate internal reporting formats and ensure effective internal information flows

Finance Management

• Implement the Finance Policies and Procedures Manual as per the AIRD requirements
• Update the CPD with accurate information regarding the budget balances of the project(s) on a monthly basis
• Submit financial reports to UNHCR and other donors after endorsement by the CPD as per the UNHCR and AIRD rules and regulations
• Monitor the cash flow and budget utilization at the country program
• Remit timely payments of staff salaries and all other staff obligations as per the labor laws of the country
• Ensure an accurate budget coding of all financial documents on file
• Conduct monthly trial balance for both local & foreign currencies on monthly basis

Business Plannin g

• Contribute towards program business plans and budgets
• Support in the planning and implementation of activities and events within the program area
• Support in the monitoring and evaluation of program activities
• Undertake any other duties appropriate to the post as may be required

Qualifications and Education Requirements :

• Minimum bachelor’s degree and/or postgraduate degree in Supply relevant fields.

General Work Experience :

• University degree in a relevant field.
• At least 10 years’ relevant professional experience, including at least 7 years working in MEL for non-governmental organizations working in international relief and development.
• Demonstrated expertise and experience in MEL, including the development and use of log-frames, indicators, MEL plans and systems.
• Possess skills in qualitative and quantitative MEL methodologies and techniques.
• Experience in developing and implementing baseline studies and evaluations.
• Significant experience in training and capacity building.
• Experience/familiar with program management minimum standards including MEL, project management, participant accountability.
• Experience with MEL systems of various donors, including USAID, FCDO, EU,UNs etc.
• Familiarity with Humanitarian Principles preferred.
• Leadership experience in emergency response programs preferred.
• Strong knowledge of software applications typically used for data management, collection, analysis, and reporting (e.g., Excel, Access, SPSS/STATA, ODK, Kobo, Enketo, Ona, CommCare, TolaData, PowerBI, Visual Studio, MAXQDA, or others).
• Excellent oral and written communication skills both in English and French
• Demonstrated attention to detail, meet deadlines, take initiative, anticipate, and solve problems.
• Multi-tasking, coordination, organization, and prioritization skills essential.
• Willingness to engage in regular travel to program sites in the field.

Languages :

• Must be conversant with English and French (written and spoken)

To apply for this job please visit airderp.org .

Consultant – External Evaluation of the AIRD ERP System

Sub office manager (mechanics).