To End With a Question of Inquiry: An Undergraduate Research Course Redesign

Purpose: The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) outlines the Essentials of Baccalaureate Education to include curricula designed to address the Scholarship of Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) (2008). Following a curricular review, nursing faculty noted course evaluations for the undergraduate research course consistently reflected student frustration with course design and an inability to see the relevance of the course to clinical practice. McCurry & Martins (2010) supported this perspective plus identified the need to develop innovative active learning approaches to teaching undergraduate nursing research. While active learning methods have been studied in nursing and health professions education, the need persists to examine the effectiveness of those strategies and overcome the challenges in teaching an undergraduate research course (Ryan, 2016; Sin & Bliquez, 2017; Waltz, et. al, 2014). A research course description comparison with ten comparable nursing programs, revealed three common focus areas across all course descriptions. Those areas included a(n): introduction to steps in the research process; critique of research studies; and presentation of evidence-based practice models. After review of the literature and aforementioned course descriptions, senior nursing faculty noted a lack of course emphasis on engagement and development of the student’s own process of inquiry relative to evidence-based practice.

Methods: With support from the University’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) curricular grant program, a senior faculty team redesigned the undergraduate research course to include opportunity for the student to: develop an individualized process of inquiry through contextualized research interests; expand their understanding of the clinical application of evidence-based practice; and present a strong foundation of diverse research methods. The aim of this course redesign was to improve student engagement and course interest. Inquiry-based learning activities (Pedaste et al., 2015; Widman & Self, 2014) were integrated throughout the course along with basic research concepts. The activities included nurse researcher interviews; reflective journaling (Ruiz-Lopez et al., 2016); socratic-guided seminars (Stoddard & O’Dell, 2016); and peer critique, which culminated into a unique, student guided research question symposium.

Results: The primary result was a student-centered undergraduate research course redesign which emphasized development of the student’s individual process of inquiry. Students each created a research question to present at an end-of-semester symposium. After obtaining IRB approval, a concurrent mixed method study was conducted. Student data were collected using pre and post-course evaluations using the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), HESI-RN© EBP sub-scores, and student journal entries, which were collected throughout the course. Student data were collected throughout three consecutive semesters.

Conclusion: The evaluation data, individual student journal entries, and overall course evaluations suggest this undergraduate research course redesign was effective in engaging students in a process of inquiry that promotes a Scholarship of EBP. Following course completion, 12 students have pursued independent research study in subsequent semesters with four student submissions, and one win, of the University’s annual undergraduate research day. The data and findings from this course redesign reflect an enriched student understanding and appreciation of research that holds implications for nursing education curriculum revision and improved lifelong inquiry in clinical practice.