A two-time AJN Book of the Year Award winner and a 2013 Doody Core Title!

This distinguished text provides top-tier guidance for advanced practice nurses on how to perform a comprehensive systematic review of available research to inform scholarly work, particularly in DNP and PhD programs.

With a strategic focus on the search process and assessing the quality of the evidence, this text presents, clearly and comprehensively, all of the knowledge and skills necessary to conduct a foundational CSR in eight concrete steps. This text examines how to write a CSR proposal, final report, and a policy brief based on systematic review findings. Two finished proposals and two completed systematic reviews demonstrate each step of the process from start to finish. Additionally, the text covers software used in research queries and provides helpful strategies for effectively using the search function when seeking information.

The Third Edition offers four new chapters with incisive recommendations for performing a CSR and addressing new ways CSR is being implemented in today’s healthcare environment. It describes the latest methodological advances, including living systematic reviews and dominance scores for economic review. Two complete CSRs along with new and updated examples throughout the book further aid readers in their pursuit of excellence in scholarly work.

New to the Third Edition:

• New Chapters:
  • How to choose the right critical appraisal tool
  • Writing the final report and disseminating the results of systematic reviews
  • Disseminating results with how to write a policy brief and/or press release on CSR results
  • Example of a meta-analysis using GRADE
• Offers increased focus on dissemination
• Includes new and updated examples reflecting latest trends in nursing scholarly work

Key Features:

• Provides the knowledge and skills necessary to conduct a CSR from start to finish
• Teaches readers how to conduct high-quality systematic reviews
• Instructs readers on pertinent resources and methods for optimal library-related systematic review research efforts
• Describes how to best search research databases to facilitate scholarly work
• Includes objectives, summary points, end-of-chapter exercises, discussion questions, suggested reading, and references to enhance understanding