Introduction and General Information

In the unlikely event that a student’s research advisor recommends that the student complete a thesis, rather that a scholarly project, the following information is provided.

Study designs:

Descriptive (may include gathering and analysis of qualitative data such as content analysis of interviews, journals, observations).  Descriptive studies may emphasize the description of the variable(s) of interest, or include correlation and/or comparison among variables.

Intervention studies emphasize the manipulation of variables with a comparison of outcomes.  It is important for the student to remember that intervention studies may take longer to complete than descriptive studies, depending on the interval between the exposure to the intervention and the measurement of the outcomes.

Pilot studies are designed to provide information about the feasibility of conducting a larger study.  The appropriateness of the research setting, the use of specific instruments and the study design and proposed methodology may all be evaluated in a pilot study. 

It should be noted that qualitative designs, such as ethnography, ethno nursing, grounded theory and phenomenology are deliberately excluded from the designs that students in the MSN program may use.

Regardless of the research design, any statistical data analysis is limited to descriptive and univariate statistical measures.  The use of multivariate methods is beyond the statistical preparation required in the MSN program.

Theoretical frameworks that guide research may be drawn from nursing or related disciplines. Students must remember that a theoretical framework must directly relate to the conduct of the study, to the analysis of the data and to the description of the findings.

The research document must be written in English and be free of grammatical errors, demonstrating competence in scientific writing.  That is, the writing must be concise, well organized and logical, showing a consistent attention to detail.  Individuals who have difficulty in writing to this standard are required to consult with the Writing Centers of the university whose campus is most convenient to them:

Clarion University         (814) 393-2173

Edinboro University      (814) 732-2682

Slippery Rock University          (724) 738-2654