NU 500 Unit 2 DQ 1 concept analysis discussion guide
Find a concept analysis article in CINAHL on a concept of interest, describe the method used, discuss the author's aim and purpose, describe the defining attributes of the concept, explain the benefits of concept analysis, and attach the article to your post.
Editorial process
Last reviewed · August 14, 2026
The method determines everything that follows
The first task is to name the method, and it matters more than it looks, because the three methods the prompt names produce visibly different articles. Walker and Avant is the most procedural: select a concept, determine aims, identify uses, determine defining attributes, construct model, borderline and contrary cases, identify antecedents and consequences, define empirical referents. If your article has a model case and a contrary case, you almost certainly have a Walker and Avant analysis. Rodgers is evolutionary, treating a concept as something that changes over time and across disciplines, so it samples literature across periods and reports surrogate terms and related concepts rather than constructed cases. Meleis approaches concepts through theory development and clarifies them in relation to a discipline's evolving knowledge. Read the article's methods section and say which it used before writing anything else. Getting this wrong makes every later answer describe a different article from the one you attached.
Defining attributes are the part students most often get wrong, so be precise. They are the characteristics that appear repeatedly whenever the concept appears — the features without which the instance would not be an instance of this concept at all. They are not causes, which are antecedents, and not effects, which are consequences. If your article says resilience requires adversity, adversity is an antecedent rather than an attribute. Then the last questions ask why any of this matters, and the honest answer is measurement and communication. A concept with agreed attributes can be operationalised into an instrument, taught consistently, and used in research without two studies meaning different things by the same word. That is also the answer to how defining concepts strengthens the profession: a discipline that cannot say precisely what it means cannot test whether it works. Name the instrument if your article mentions one, since that is the benefit made concrete.
Likely learning objectives
Inferred from the brief — check these against your own rubric.
- 01Identify which concept analysis method an article used from its structure.
- 02Distinguish defining attributes from antecedents and consequences.
- 03Summarise an author's stated aim and purpose accurately.
- 04Explain how conceptual clarity enables measurement and research.
- 05Relate disciplinary definition to professional standing.
Read the full question
Review every instruction before using the planning guidance that follows.
Course-wide instructions that accompany this question
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. Herzing NU 500 Unit 2 DQ 1 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.
Turn the brief into deliverables
- 01A named concept analysis article located through CINAHL.
- 02The method used, identified from the article's structure.
- 03The author's aim and purpose for analysing this concept.
- 04The defining attributes as the article reports them.
- 05An argument for the benefits of concept analysis to theory, research and practice.
- 06The article itself, attached to the post.
Method, aim, attributes, then the payoff
The article and the concept
Introduce the concept analysed and where the article was published.
Which method, and how you know
Name the method and cite the structural evidence for that identification.
The author's aim and purpose
Report why the author undertook the analysis.
Defining attributes
Set out the attributes and separate them from antecedents and consequences.
Why concept analysis matters
Argue from conceptual clarity to measurement, teaching and professional standing.
Finding a real concept analysis in CINAHL
Recommended databases
- CINAHL
- PubMed
- StatPearls via NCBI Bookshelf
- American Nurses Association
- Your library's nursing theory collection
Search sequence
- 1.Search CINAHL for concept analysis together with a concept you care about.
- 2.Open the methods section and match its structure against the three named methods.
- 3.Copy the attributes exactly as the article words them before paraphrasing.
- 4.Check whether each item you listed is an attribute, antecedent or consequence.
- 5.Find one instrument built on this concept, as evidence for the benefits argument.
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.
- 01
Nursing Process
StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2023
Shows how defined concepts become assessable steps in nursing practice.
- 02
Nursing Professional Development Evidence-Based Practice
StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf · 2024
Connects conceptual clarity to the measurement that evidence-based practice depends on.
- 03
PubMed® and MEDLINE®: Additional Resources
National Library of Medicine · 2024
Search strategy guidance for locating a concept analysis rather than a review.
- 04
Official Position Statements
American Nurses Association · 2024
Examples of the profession defining its own terms, for the professional standing argument.
Review before submission
Common mistakes
- Naming the method without checking the article's structure against it.
- Listing antecedents or consequences as defining attributes.
- Substituting your own definition of the concept for the article's attributes.
- Answering the benefits question with generalities about knowledge.
- Choosing a concept so broad that the attributes could belong to anything.
- Forgetting to attach the article, which the prompt requires explicitly.
Submission checklist
- The article is a genuine concept analysis, not a literature review.
- The method is named and matched to evidence in the article.
- Aim and purpose are reported as the author states them.
- Attributes are separated from antecedents and consequences.
- The benefits argument covers theory, research and practice.
- The article is attached to the initial post.
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.