NURS 500 is the MSN research course at Liberty University Online. Its written work is one research proposal built in four weekly parts (Weeks 3 to 6), a 200-point article critique in Week 7, and two discussion forums. Each graded written assignment has its own guide below.
Liberty's catalog lists the course as NURS 500 Research, 3 credit hours; Canvas and the course guide file print it as NURS500.
What NURS 500 covers
The catalog description: This course expands upon research knowledge acquired at the baccalaureate level and focuses on in-depth study of the research process, theory-based research, data collection and analysis methods, and application of nursing and related research findings to nursing practice. The importance of evidence-based practice is emphasized. Quantitative and qualitative methodologies are examined.
The course takes the research knowledge from a BSN and pushes it to the level of designing a study. The four proposal parts walk through the whole research process in order: the problem and question, the literature, the methods, and measurement and analysis. The critique in Week 7 asks you to judge someone else's study with the same tools.
The thread running through every assignment is evidence-based practice: how a nurse leader reads research, decides whether it is strong enough to act on, and turns a clinical problem into a question that can be studied.
Textbook named in the published guide: Grove et al., The Practice of Nursing Research (2017). Check the current edition in your Canvas section.
NURS 500 assignments, week by week
Every graded written assignment in the published guide has its own how-to guide below. Quizzes, exams, checklists and class introductions are left out because there is nothing to write.
| Week | Assignment | Points | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Discussion Board Forum 1 | 50 | Thread at least 500 words |
| 3 | Research Proposal Part 1 | 100 | Part 1 of a 9 to 16-page proposal (about 2 to 4 pages for this part) |
| 4 | Research Proposal Part 2 | 100 | Part 2 of a 9 to 16-page proposal (the literature review is usually the longest part, about 3 to 4 pages) |
| 5 | Research Proposal Part 3 | 100 | Part 3 of a 9 to 16-page proposal (about 2 to 4 pages) |
| 6 | Research Proposal Part 4 | 100 | Part 4 of a 9 to 16-page proposal (about 2 to 3 pages) |
| 7 | Research Article Critique | 200 | No more than 10 pages, including the title and reference pages |
| 8 | Discussion Board Forum 2 | 50 | Thread at least 500 words |
Week 1: Discussion Board Forum 1
The first of two 50-point forums: a 500-word thread with two scholarly sources and a biblical integration, plus two 250-word replies. How to write NURS 500 Week 1 Discussion Board Forum 1.
Week 3: Research Proposal Part 1
Background, significance and research questions: the problem and the question the whole proposal will carry. How to write NURS 500 Week 3 Research Proposal Part 1.
Week 4: Research Proposal Part 2
The literature review: current studies organized by theme, compared, and ending with the gap your study fills. How to write NURS 500 Week 4 Research Proposal Part 2.
Week 5: Research Proposal Part 3
The methodology: setting, design, sampling, ethics and IRB, and data collection, planned so someone could carry it out. How to write NURS 500 Week 5 Research Proposal Part 3.
Week 6: Research Proposal Part 4
Measurement, analysis and outcomes: valid measures for each variable and an analysis matched to each research question. How to write NURS 500 Week 6 Research Proposal Part 4.
Week 7: Research Article Critique
A 200-point critique of a provided research article, written in narrative form, no more than 10 pages including title and references. How to write NURS 500 Week 7 Research Article Critique.
Week 8: Discussion Board Forum 2
The closing 50-point forum in Week 8, alongside the final chapter of Grove et al., with the same thread and reply rules as Forum 1. How to write NURS 500 Week 8 Discussion Board Forum 2.
How NURS 500 is graded
The published guide totals 1,010 points. Written work carries most of them: the four proposal parts are 100 points each and the article critique is 200, so 600 points ride on the proposal and the critique. The two forums are 50 points each. The CITI module certificate (100 points), four quizzes (50 each) and the course requirements checklist (10) make up the rest.
| Graded item | Points |
|---|---|
| Research Proposal Parts 1 to 4 | 400 |
| Research Article Critique | 200 |
| Discussion Board Forums (2) | 100 |
| CITI Module Certificate | 100 |
| Quizzes (4) | 200 |
| Course Requirements Checklist | 10 |
The published scale puts an A at 940 to 1010 points.
Week timing in the published guide: Each course module/week begins on Monday morning at 12:00 a.m. (ET) and ends on Sunday night at 11:59 p.m. (ET). The final module/week ends at 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday.
How to approach NURS 500
Choose the proposal topic in Week 1, not Week 3. The four parts have to fit together, and a problem picked in a hurry tends to fall apart at the methods stage in Week 5. Pick a problem you have seen in practice, that the literature has studied, and that a modest primary study could address: a unit-level question about falls, hand-off communication, pain reassessment or nurse burnout works better than a system-wide one.
Keep one working document for the whole proposal and paste each part in as you finish it. The guide asks for a complete proposal of 9 to 16 pages with 10 to 15 references across all four parts, so plan where the references fall: most in the background and literature review, a few for design and instruments later. Read your instructor's feedback on each part before writing the next one.
Questions students ask
Is the NURS 500 research proposal graded as one paper or four?
Four. The guide grades Part 1 (Week 3), Part 2 (Week 4), Part 3 (Week 5) and Part 4 (Week 6) separately at 100 points each. The guide describes the complete proposal as 9 to 16 pages with 10 to 15 cumulative references, so the parts should read as one study.
Do I have to collect data for the NURS 500 proposal?
No. The assignment is a proposal for a primary research study, so you design the study and explain how data would be collected and analyzed. Nothing is carried out.
Which article do I critique in NURS 500?
The guide describes the Week 7 critique as a critique of a provided article, so the article comes from the course in Canvas rather than your own search.
Working through NURS 500 now?
Tell us the week and the assignment. A tutor who knows the course replies with a plan for the draft.