Succeeding in Literature Reviews and Research Project Plans for Nursing Students

Dr Graham R Williamson is a Lecturer in Adult Nursing at the University of Plymouth. His clinical background is in acute medical nursing. His areas of teaching expertise are in evidence-based practice and research, as well as health policy. His research interests concern supporting students in clinical practice. He is a Core Team Member of the University’s Centre of Excellence in professional Placement Learning. Andrew Whittaker, PhD, is Professor of Social Work Research at London South Bank University, England, where he is head of the Risk Resilience and Expert Decision Making (RRED) research group. His research on risk and decision making has ranged from ethnographic to randomised controlled trial research designs. Andrew recently completed a review of professional decision making for a child death inquiry in Queensland, Australia. He is the Convenor of the Decisions, Assessment and Risk Special Interest Group (DARSIG) of the European Social Work Research Association. DARSIG is the main European network for researchers in the field of assessment, risk and decision making in social work, with more than 80 members in over 20 countries. Andrew is Editor of the Journal of Social Work Practice.

Introduction
Section 1 Getting Started
Getting started on your final year project
Section 2 Planning and preparing for your final year project
Planning and undertaking a literature review or documentary analysis
Planning your research proposal or dissertation
Section 3 Using and critiquing research for your final year project
Using and critiquing research methods: interviews and focus groups
Analysing qualitative data
Using and critiquing research methods: surveys and experimental designs
Section 4 Writing up and finishing
Writing up your literature review and documentary analysis
Writing your research proposal and dissertation
Conclusion