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Assignment questions
NursingDiscussion postNursing research

A nursing problem and why it should be studied

Two questions, and the second is not 'why does this matter' but 'why should it be studied' — which is a claim about a gap in what is known, not about how serious the problem is.

Editorial process

Last reviewed · August 15, 2026

01

Why it should be studied is the graded half

The first half is straightforward: an overview of a problem you have seen in nursing, described concretely. Say what happens, to whom, how often and with what consequence, and keep it at a scale a study could actually address. 'Burnout' is a topic; 'nurses on our medical-surgical unit leave within eighteen months and the handover of unfamiliar patients that follows is where errors cluster' is a problem. Anonymise the setting, but do not generalise it away — the observation is what gives your post standing over a literature summary, and it is the part nobody else can write. Keep the description behavioural — what people did, what happened next, what it cost — rather than interpretive, since the interpretation belongs in the second half where you argue for studying it. A problem stated as its presumed cause has already closed the question a study would open.

The second half is where the marks are and it is a narrower question than it looks. Why should the problem be studied is not the same as why it matters. Something can matter enormously and not need studying, because the answer is already known and the failure is one of implementation. So make a claim about the state of knowledge: that the problem is prevalent and consequential, that existing evidence is absent, contested, or drawn from a population unlike yours, and that a study could produce something that would change practice. Support each of those with something citable — prevalence from a survey or registry, cost or outcome data, and a literature gap you can point at rather than assert. Then say what kind of study would answer it, because that shows the problem is researchable and not merely regrettable. If the evidence exists and is not being applied, say so and reframe: implementation is a research problem too.

Likely learning objectives

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

  • 01
    Describe an observed clinical problem at a scale a study could address.
  • 02
    Distinguish a problem's importance from its need for research.
  • 03
    Identify and evidence a gap in existing knowledge.
  • 04
    Propose the kind of study that would answer the question.
Assignment instructionsQuoted verbatim

Read the full question

Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.

Nursing research is used to study a dilemma or a problem in nursing. Examine a problem you have seen in nursing. Provide an overview of the problem and discuss why the problem should be studied. Provide rational and support for your answer.
Course-wide instructions that accompany this question

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes. Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages. Discussion: Problems in nursing. Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor. The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument. ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS Discussion Questions (DQ) Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words. Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source. One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words. I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses. Weekly Participation Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately. In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies. Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work). Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week. APA Format and Writing Quality Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required). Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation. I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition. Use of Direct Quotes I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly. As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content. It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source. LopesWrite Policy For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me. Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes. Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own? Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score. Late Policy The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies. Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances. If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect. I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension. As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading. Communication Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me: Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class. Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours. Discussion: Problems in nursing.

02

Turn the brief into deliverables

  1. 01
    An overview of a specific problem observed in practice.
  2. 02
    A rationale for studying it, based on the state of the evidence.
  3. 03
    Supporting citations for prevalence, consequence and the gap.
  4. 04
    A proposed study type appropriate to the question.
  5. 05
    APA-formatted references.
03

Overview, significance, then the rationale

01

Describe the observed problem

State what you saw, to whom, how often and with what consequence.

02

Prevalence and consequence

Support the problem's extent and cost with citable evidence.

03

The gap in what is known

Show that the evidence is absent, contested or drawn from a different population.

04

What kind of study would answer it

Propose a design proportionate to the question.

05

If the gap is implementation

Reframe honestly if the evidence exists but is not applied.

04

Evidencing that the problem matters

Recommended databases

  • CINAHL
  • PubMed Central
  • Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
  • Your unit's own incident or quality data

Search sequence

  1. 1.
    Search the literature before claiming a gap — an unsearched gap is the commonest weakness in this post.
  2. 2.
    Look for prevalence and cost data so the significance claim is evidenced.
  3. 3.
    Check whether existing studies used a population like yours; if not, that difference is your gap.
  4. 4.
    Decide the study type last, once you know what the missing evidence actually is.
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

    Asking Focused Questions

    Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, University of Oxford · 2024

    Converts an observed problem into a searchable question, which is what establishes whether a gap exists.

  2. 02

    Evidence-Based Medicine

    StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2024

    Frames what kinds of evidence answer what kinds of question, which the study-type proposal needs.

  3. 03

    Human Subjects Research Design

    StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2023

    Matches design to question, so the proposed study is proportionate rather than aspirational.

  4. 04

    About CAHPS

    Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality · 2024

    An example of a measurement programme, useful when the consequence you need to evidence is patient experience.

06

Review before submission

Common mistakes

  • Arguing that the problem is serious rather than that it is under-researched.
  • Choosing a problem so broad that no single study could address it.
  • Asserting a literature gap without having searched for one.
  • Omitting the consequence, which is what makes the problem worth a study's cost.
  • Ignoring the possibility that the evidence exists and implementation is the real problem.

Submission checklist

  • Is the problem specific enough for a study to target?
  • Does your rationale rest on the state of knowledge rather than on severity alone?
  • Have you cited prevalence and consequence?
  • Can you point at the gap rather than assert it?
  • Have you named the kind of study that would answer the question?

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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