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Assignment questions
NursingResearch paperCritical appraisal

Determining the credibility of evidence and resources

In a 2-4 page scholarly paper, describe a quality or safety issue or a chosen diagnosis, explain the criteria for judging the credibility of journal articles and websites, analyse specific resources against those criteria within your chosen scenario, and explain why credible evidence matters in an EBP model.

Editorial process

Last reviewed · August 13, 2026

01

Criteria, then applied to your own scenario

Three scenario options are offered and the brief says any is acceptable, so the first decision is which one you can actually source evidence for. The Vila Health simulation, the diagnosis from your previous assessment and a personal practice experience of a sentinel event are all equally acceptable, but they are not equally easy: the personal sentinel event gives the most vivid issue and the least ready- made evidence base, while the diagnosis route lets you continue a literature search you have already begun and whose shape you already know. Whichever you choose, choose it early, because every later section is supposed to sit inside it. The scoring guide language is a hint worth taking literally — the analysis of credibility must be done within the context of your chosen scenario, which means naming actual articles and websites you would use and judging those, not describing credibility in the abstract.

The criteria themselves should be organised rather than listed, and separating journal articles from websites is what the question asks for because the criteria genuinely differ. For journal articles: peer review status, study design and where it sits in the evidence hierarchy, sample and methods, currency against the five- year limit the submission requirements impose, author credentials, conflicts of interest and whether findings have been replicated. For websites: domain and sponsoring organisation, whether authorship and editorial process are disclosed, whether claims are referenced to primary sources, date of last update, and whether the site is selling something. Then the CRAAP or similar framework can organise both without replacing the judgement. The final section asks why credible evidence matters inside an EBP model specifically, so name the model you are using and show where in its steps appraisal sits, rather than arguing generally that good evidence is better than bad evidence.

Likely learning objectives

Inferred from the brief — check these against your own rubric.

  • 01
    Describe a quality or safety issue that would benefit from an evidence-based approach.
  • 02
    Distinguish credibility criteria for peer-reviewed articles from those for websites.
  • 03
    Apply appraisal criteria to specific named resources.
  • 04
    Judge relevance as well as credibility within a defined clinical context.
  • 05
    Locate evidence appraisal within the steps of a named EBP model.
Assignment instructionsQuoted verbatim

Read the full question

Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.

Develop a 2-4-page scholarly paper in which you describe a quality or safety issue, or a chosen diagnosis, and then identify and analyze credible evidence that could be used as the basis for applying EBP to the issue. The goal of using evidence-based research findings is to enhance safety and quality of patient care and ensure optimal outcomes are achieved. It is not uncommon to hear a nurse say, “why change it as we’ve always done it this way.” However, this is no longer acceptable in today’s practice environment. The profession of nursing has evolved, and the expectation is that the professional nurse has a scientific foundation to support the care that is provided. As the profession of nursing continues to evolve and engage in health care transformation, baccalaureate-prepared nurses are expanding taking on leadership roles that include incorporating EBPs. To be able to do this, the nurse needs to understand the criteria and makes a resource credible, as this is crucial when deciding if the research is valid and reliable for implementation into health care settings. It would be an excellent choice to complete the Vila Health Determining the Credibility of Evidence activity prior to developing the report. The activity is a media simulation that offers an opportunity to review a scenario and work on determining the credibility of presented evidence. These skills will be necessary to complete Assessment 2 successfully. This media simulation is one potential source of context on which to base your assessment submission. This will take just a few minutes of your time and is not graded. Demonstration of Proficiency By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria: Competency 2: Analyze the relevance and potential effectiveness of evidence when making a decision. Determining The Credibility Of Evidence And Resource DQ Explain criteria that should be considered when determining credibility of resources such as journal articles and websites. Analyze the credibility and relevance of evidence and resources within the context of a quality or safety issue, or a chosen diagnosis. Competency 3: Apply an evidence-based practice model to address a practice issue. Explain the importance of incorporating credible evidence into an EBP model used to address a quality or safety issue, or a chosen diagnosis. Competency 4: Plan care based on the best available evidence. Describe a quality or safety issue, or a chosen diagnosis, that could benefit from an evidence-based approach. Competency 5: Apply professional, scholarly communication strategies to lead practice changes based on evidence. Communicate using writing that is clear, logical, and professional with correct grammar and spelling using current APA style. Professional Context As a baccalaureate-prepared nurse, you will be responsible for locating and identifying credible and scholarly resources to incorporate the best available evidence for the purposes of enhancing clinical reasoning and judgement skills. When reliable and relevant evidence-based findings are utilized, patients, health care systems, and nursing practice outcomes are positively impacted. Scenario For this assessment, you may choose from the following options as the context for the quality or safety issue or chosen diagnosis for researching and completing this assessment: The specific diagnosis you identified in your previous assessment. The simulation Vila Health: Determining the Credibility of Evidence. A personal practice experience in which a sentinel event occurred. Instructions The purpose of this analysis is to better understand what constitutes credibility of journal articles as well as websites. The role of the baccalaureate-prepared nurse in incorporating evidence-based research continues to growth in clinical practice. As quality improvement (QI) measures to reduce safety risks continue to be emphasized, the need for evidence-based models and evidence-based templates is growing. This type of systematic approach to incorporating evidence-based findings allows nurses to make clinical and operational decisions based upon the best available evidence. When the most up-to-date evidence-based findings are utilized, patient-centered care improves outcomes and enhances the patient experience. Determining The Credibility Of Evidence And Resource DQ For this assessment: Explain the criteria that should be used when determining the credibility of journal articles as well as websites. Support your explanations with references to the literature or research articles that describe criteria that should be used to determine credibility. Your identification and determination of credibility should be done within the context of your chosen scenario for this assessment. For example, if you choose to use the provided Vila Health scenario, your initial identification of resources should be of resources that will best help address the presented issue. However, if you are locating resources to help provide evidence-based care for the diagnosis you identified in the first assessment, you may want to begin your literature and evidence search from the databases that identified. Any of the three scenario options are acceptable. So, pick the one that most interests you. Be sure to address the following in this assessment, which correspond to the grading criteria in the scoring guide. Please study the scoring guide carefully so that you will know what is needed for a distinguished score. Describe a quality or safety issue, or a chosen diagnosis, that could benefit from an evidence-based approach. Explain criteria that should be considered when determining credibility of resources such as journal articles and websites. Analyze the credibility and relevance of evidence and resources within the context of a quality or safety issue, or a chosen diagnosis. This is where you are selecting the specific resources to help address the issue in your chosen scenario. Explain the importance of incorporating credible evidence into an EBP model used to address a quality or safety issue, or a chosen diagnosis. Communicate using writing that is clear, logical, and professional with correct grammar and spelling using current APA style. Submission Requirements Your assessment should meet the following requirements: Length of submission: 2–4-page scholarly paper, this does not include the APA-formatted title page and reference list. Number of references: Cite 3–5 sources of scholarly or professional evidence that support your findings and considerations. Resources should be no more than five years old. APA formatting: References and citations are formatted according to current APA style.
02

Turn the brief into deliverables

  1. 01
    A described quality or safety issue, or chosen diagnosis, from one of the three scenarios.
  2. 02
    Explained criteria for determining credibility of journal articles and of websites.
  3. 03
    An analysis of the credibility and relevance of specific resources in that context.
  4. 04
    An explanation of why credible evidence matters within an EBP model.
  5. 05
    A 2-4 page paper in current APA style with 3-5 sources no more than five years old.
03

Issue, criteria, applied analysis, EBP model

01

The issue and the scenario

One of the three scenarios chosen, with the quality or safety issue described.

02

Criteria for journal articles

Peer review, design and hierarchy, methods, currency, authorship and replication.

03

Criteria for websites

Sponsorship, disclosed authorship, referencing, currency and commercial interest.

04

Applying the criteria

Named resources judged for credibility and for relevance to this issue.

05

Credible evidence in an EBP model

A named model with appraisal located in its sequence of steps.

04

Appraisal frameworks and evidence hierarchies

Recommended databases

  • CINAHL
  • PubMed
  • StatPearls via NCBI Bookshelf
  • AHRQ Patient Safety Network
  • Course library appraisal guides

Search sequence

  1. 1.
    Choose one of the three scenarios and define the issue precisely.
  2. 2.
    Read on levels of evidence and where each study design sits.
  3. 3.
    Read a published appraisal framework for scholarly and web sources.
  4. 4.
    Locate three to five resources under five years old on the chosen issue.
  5. 5.
    Read a description of one EBP model and note where appraisal occurs in it.
05

Reference shortlist

These are authoritative starting points, not a ready-made bibliography. A qualified reviewer must confirm that each source fits the assignment and supports the claim beside which it is cited.

Nothing here is cleared for citation until you have read it.

  1. 01

    Evidence-Based Medicine

    StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2024

    The appraisal step within evidence-based practice, which is what the final section has to locate.

  2. 02

    Epidemiology Of Study Design

    StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2024

    Study designs and their relative strength, the backbone of the journal article criteria.

  3. 03

    Culture of Safety

    AHRQ Patient Safety Network · 2024

    Framing for the quality or safety issue, particularly if the sentinel event scenario is chosen.

  4. 04

    Evaluating Internet Health Information

    MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine · 2024

    Federal guidance on judging health websites, which is exactly the second criteria set.

06

Review before submission

Common mistakes

  • Describing credibility criteria in general and never applying them to a named resource.
  • Giving one undifferentiated criteria list for both articles and websites.
  • Switching scenarios between sections so the analysis has no fixed context.
  • Citing sources older than five years when the submission requirements forbid it.
  • Referring to evidence-based practice without naming a specific EBP model.
  • Assessing credibility but never assessing relevance to the issue.

Submission checklist

  • One scenario is chosen and used throughout.
  • Criteria for journal articles and for websites are given separately.
  • Named resources are analysed against those criteria.
  • Relevance is assessed alongside credibility.
  • A specific EBP model is named and appraisal located within it.
  • The paper is 2-4 pages with 3-5 sources under five years old, in APA style.

Use this guide to plan and review your own work. Follow your institution's rules and read our academic-integrity policy.

Written by

Aaron Bishop

MA, Education

assignment interpretation and research-methods coaching across disciplines

Aaron leads the EssayCrackers editorial desk. He works on how assignment briefs are read — what a rubric is actually asking for, and where students most often answer a different question than the one set.

Reviewed by

Dr. Nathan Cole

PhD, Rhetoric & Composition

Argumentation and thesis development

Nathan teaches first-year composition and directs a university writing center. He reviews EssayCrackers guides for argumentative soundness and citation accuracy.

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