The purpose of the assignment is to demonstrate your working knowledge of APA format by writing a paper.

The doctoral Learning process is uniquely autonomous. It is important to develop individual plans for success and use personal strategies to reach your goals.

General Requirements:

• Review the APA Quiz questions prior to beginning work on your paper.
• When writing this paper ensure you are speaking from a formal standpoint and are not using I-statements.
• Doctoral learners are required to use APA style for their writing assignments. The APA Style Guide is located in the Student Success Center.
• This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
• You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.

Directions:

In 750-1,000 words, construct a paper that addresses the following.

1. Discuss learning experiences one may face prior to the doctoral learning experience. Support your discussion with scholarly evidence.
2. Research the autonomous nature of doctoral learning. Discuss how doctoral programs and learning skills and strategies employed when completing them is different than other learning experience.
3.  Conduct a literature review of five scholarly articles related to strategies for success in doctoral programs.
4. Based upon your research discuss specific strategies you recommend when developing a plan for successful completion of a doctoral program.

The purpose of this assignment is to draft an appropriate and effective PICOT question that can be related to your DNP project. Keep in mind your project will continue to evolve and take more specific shape as you move through your program. That is expected. It is important to begin with a workable PICOT question in mind so that you start off on the right track and can continue to refine your area in subsequent courses.

Consider an advanced practice nursing care problem or issue related to your intended DPI Project. Conduct a search in the GCU Library using CINAHL, The Cochrane Library, the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI), OVID, or Sage Research Methods databases to find appropriate empirical resources regarding applicable nursing intervention research.

General Requirements:

• Doctoral learners are required to use Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.
• This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
• You are not required to submit this assignment to Turnitin.
• Review the “PICOT Decision Pathway” and “PICOT Selection Guidelines” resources.

Directions:

1. Utilizing your feedback you have received on your draft PICOT question from Topic 2 DQ1, create a draft PICOT question specifically related to your project. This PICOT will be revised and in Topic 8 will be submitted for approval by the college.
2. Use the “PICOT Decision Pathway” to determine if your PICOT question is appropriate and can be supported with substantial research.
3. Using the “PICOT Question Template”, formulate an evidence-based practice (EBP) question that pertains to your project focus.
4. In addition to your evidence-based practice PICOT question, prepare a brief abstract about your topic. Include a rationale for why you have selected this topic and why you believe it is in line with the PICOT selection guidelines. If you have selected a route that advises caution on the “PICOT Decision Pathway” explain how you think you might mitigate complications that could occur to ensure you are able to successfully accomplish your project in a timely manner.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.
   • 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.