Assessment Task 2: Research Project
Resources required for this assessment:
• Learning resources
• Access to the internet
• Access to a library of journals and research articles

Instructions to Student:
In order to be competent in this assessment you must complete research activities and develop actions based on your research findings for at least 2 different issues within nursing in Australia. You are to write a research report for each issue and hand both reports in to your assessor.
You must reference at least three different, credible sources per research task.
Select two disciplines that you would benefit from researching (you may select you own or choose from the list below), and discuss why you have chosen these with your assessor. Your choices must be disciplines that can support and improve your practice, and you must describe your objective with your assessor before commencing your research.

• Self-care / stress management for nurses
• Use of new technologies in nursing
• Medications and drugs
• Intravenous therapies
• Mental health strategies
• Support services for clients
• Carers involvement in client health matters
• Workplace Health and Safety
• Manual handling
• Cultural Diversity in nursing practice
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health initiatives
• Palliative Care
• Nutrition
• Aged Care
• Chronic Illness
• Acute illness
• Wound care
• Women’s Health
• Men’s Health
• Oncology

Once you have discussed your chosen area of study, area of study, objectives and research plan with your assessor, you can commence writing your report.
Follow the four steps below to build your research report.

Step 1: Plan information gathering activities
For this step, you will need to plan your research. Your research sources should be peer reviewed and you must reference them in a reference page at the back of the report, your assessor will check a sample of these for credibility and validity.
You must have a clear objective and rationale for conducting this research prior to commencing, and base your gathering of evidence on current practices and emerging trends in the nursing sector.
This step should be completed in consultation with your assessor, who will help you make sure you are on the right track before you gather your information.
Step 2: Gather information
For this step you are to gather information, evaluating different methods before making your selection. Describe how you have gathered your information in your report, this must indicate how you chose the information you gathered, and describing how you used a systematic approach to gathering it.
Your report must be organised in a way that shows how your research is relevant to your objectives and work requirements, and be organised in a way that supports analysis and future use.
Step 3: Analyse information
Analyse the information you have gathered by choosing information that is required for your objective and archiving information that is not and then comparing and contrasting information from difference sources to make sure you are working with current and consistent information
Assess your information to make sure it is accurate and strong, then analyse the risks and benefits of applying it. Finally, describe conclusions you have been able to draw from your information.
Step 4: Use information in practice
Now that you have determined practical applications for your information, and how they can be applied, you can begin an action plan to implement in your work practices.
In this step, you must explain how your findings from your research will be applied in your practice (either as a change to practises or as a confirmation that your practice is current) and if there are any additional requirements for further research into this area of study.
Guidelines:

Each report should be approximately 750-1000 words (with 10% allowance to go over or under) and include:
• An introduction which describes and evaluates current trends in this area of practice
• A clear objective for your research (how will this research improve your practice and what outcomes are you expecting)
• Where you have gathered information from, how you have gathered it and why you chose those sources and methods
• A comparison and contrast of the information you gathered
• A summary of your findings addressing
• Feasability
• Risks
• Benefits
• An evaluation of the strength, relevance, reliability and currency of the information you have gathered
• An analysis of your findings, including a conclusion or answer to your research question and objective
• How you will use this information to;
1. Make changes to your current practice
2. Guide you toward further research opportunities
You will be marked by your assessor using the marking guide below, familiarise yourself with this and take time to check your work against it before submission.
Attached assessment to the submission space provided below.