The National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) is committed to identifying and providing opportunities for the implementation, dissemination and evaluation of research-based care by pediatric nurse practitioners (PNPs) and their fellow pediatric-focused advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs). With a very active research committee and an evolving Research Agenda, NAPNAP continues to meet the needs of nurse researchers while expanding opportunities to improve children’s health.
Accessing Members for Research or Scholarship
We understand that our members and other healthcare providers rely on the expert opinions and experience our members can offer to improve the quality of available research data. We limit access to our full membership to research and scholarship proposals designed by experienced investigators only and vetted by our Research Committee. A completed Research Mailing List Request Form and application fee are required to begin the review and approval process. The review process can take up to four weeks for final approval.Â
All NAPNAP student member research and scholarship requests require a faculty mentor or experienced researcher to be on the investigative team. Biographical information (NIH-type biosketch or professional CV) for the faculty mentor must also be included in the application. We do not accept applications from nonmember students. Only well designed research, quality improvement or evidence-based projects will be considered for email distribution to the student’s chapter upon review and approval by the association’s Research Committee and the current chapter president. Student members may not request access to our full membership and cannot engage the NAPNAP full membership by listing their faculty advisor as the Principal Investigator (PI).
The research committee suggests that student investigators review established guidelines for conducting internet surveys and research and that DNP students review the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) The Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice for their scholarly change project.
Members who apply must be the PI or co-PI and cannot apply on behalf of the PI or co-PI if that individual is not a NAPNAP member. Please do not circumvent the research committee review process by posting a message/link for your unapproved research or scholarship survey project on a chapter or SIG e-community or Open Forum in TeamPeds Member Network. NAPNAP reserves the right to remove any posts about research/scholarship that have not been approved by the Research Committee.Â
- Access to the NAPNAP membership or any subgroup for research/scholarship purposes is generally reserved to only NAPNAP members for nursing-related research/scholarship. Access may be permitted to non-members by special permission from the Research Chair.
- All research/scholarship requests are reviewed by the NAPNAP Research Committee.
- NAPNAP may limit the number of research/scholarship requests to NAPNAP members each quarter.
- The NAPNAP Research Access Request form must be submitted online and we must receive the application fee in order to process the request.
- If approved, the researcher is required to share the results with NAPNAP’s Research Committee after the data analysis is complete.
- The researcher must acknowledge the NAPNAP membership as a data source in any publications developed from the survey.
- School/health care agency affiliation and department
- Name of faculty advisor, if applicant is a student
- Bio-sketch of the principal investigator (NIH format) or CV if no Bio-sketch available for QI/EBP Project Leads
- Proof of IRB approval/or exempt status approval (required to process the application)
- Proposed timeline for the study and anticipated date for blast email distribution
- Description of how NAPNAP will be acknowledged in the final research summary
- Formatted abstract of 300 words or less with following required headings: background and significance, purpose/aims, methods, expected impact, plans for dissemination (see descriptions for abstracts for research studies and evidence-based projects below)
- Draft of email body copy or cover letter that will accompany the research survey link (advisor’s name and contact information must be included in the email for student member requests) Please note: emails cannot have attachments.
- Rationale and evidence to support the reason for conducting the research, quality improvement or evidence-based project.
- Sample of all surveys to be distributed, including proof of reliability and validity of surveys. A full copy of the survey must be sent as either a Word document or PDF.
- Signed acknowledgement agreeing to the terms of the request
- Signed faculty endorsement, if applicant is a student
Please format research study abstracts with:
- No more than three pages, not including not including citations (APA or AMA).
- Single line spacing.Â
- One inch all around margin.
- Times New Roman 11-point font.
- References in APA or AMA format.
Please structure research study abstracts to include:
- Background and significance of study. This section includes the major research (problem) area and the specific issue(s) being addressed by the study. It provides a brief synthesis of the literature, underscoring what is known about the problem and the gap or issue that your study is addressing. This section also states how the proposed study aligns with one of NAPNAP’s research priorities and the potential contribution of the study to your field.
- Purpose /aims of the study. Clearly state the purpose of the study, including the specific aims to be accomplished.
- Methods. This section details the research design, the setting, sampling method(s), sample size, and inclusion and exclusion criteria, intervention (if applicable), data collection procedures, study measures and their reliability and validity (for quantitative studies), and data analysis plan.
- Expected impact of the study.
- Plans for dissemination of the outcomes of the study. Name of the journal to which the manuscript will be sent.
- Reference page for all citations. This page is not included in the 3-page limit for the proposal narrative.
Please format evidence-based/QI project abstracts with:
- No more than three pages, not including not including citations (APA or AMA).
- Single line spacing.Â
- One inch all around margin.
- Times New Roman 11-point font.
- Reference in APA or AMA format.Â
Please structure evidence-based/QI project abstracts to include:
- Background and significance of study. This section includes the major research (problem) area and the specific issue(s) being addressed by the study. It provides a brief synthesis of the literature, underscoring what is known about the problem that your project is addressing. This section also states how the proposed study aligns with one of NAPNAP’s research priorities and the potential contribution of the study to your field.
- PICOT question or the equivalent (e g. PIPOH, PECODR, PESICO, ECLIPSE, SPICE). Clearly state the purpose of the study, including the specific aims to be accomplished.
- Methods. This section details the project setting, sampling method(s), sample size, and inclusion and exclusion criteria, intervention (if applicable), data collection procedures, and basic data analysis plan.
- Clinical expertise and patient values. This section indicates how this will be integrated into the project.
- Expected impact of the project. This section should address how this will be implemented in the population of interest and how its effectiveness will be evaluated.
- Plans for dissemination of the outcomes of the study. Name of the journal to which the manuscript will be sent.
- Reference page for all citations. This page is not included in the 3-page limit for the proposal narrative.
- Does the purpose of the project align with NAPNAPs research agenda priorities?
- Are project methods articulated well within the abstract?
- Does the proposed survey/tool or project align with proposed purpose objectives (i.e., do the methods match the objectives, are the tools valid and reliable [if indicated])?
- Is the project one that NAPNAP members would be convinced is an important endeavor?
- Would NAPNAP have concerns with their name being associated with the published results?
Non-refundable review fees
- NAPNAP member and student member: $50
- Nonmember: $100
Email fees
Approved researchers are entitled to one National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners generated email, with or without survey link, to the full association membership to promote an approved research survey. NAPNAP does not send out survey reminders.
- NAPNAP member: $500
- Non-member individual: $650
- Organization: $1,300
If you have any questions, please contact Alexandra Rojas at [email protected] or 917-746-8293.Â
Below are several research resources to assist new researchers and those who are looking to learn more about research opportunities.
Research Resources
All persons who are responsible for the design, conduct, data analysis or reporting of research that involves human subjects must complete Human Subject Research Protection Training. Thereafter, a refresher course must be completed every two years. If you have never participated in a human subject tutorial or you are due to complete a refresher course, please visit HRSA’s Protecting Human Subjects Training.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and its individual institutes/centers offer an array of frequently asked questions (and answers) in response to inquiries on policies and programs affecting the grants process. Bookmark this page for future reference and monitor for updates.
Checkout the NAPNAP Foundation website to see if there is a research grant or scholarship opportunity available for you.
Evidence based practice is ranked by how the evidence is collected. The following is an example of a hierarchy system:
Level 1: Systematic reviews of randomized and non-randomized clinical trials
Level 2: Single randomized and non-randomized clinical trials
Level 3: Systematic review of correlational and observational studies
Level 4: Single correlational and observational studies
Level 5: Systematic review of descriptive, qualitative and physiologic studies
Level 6: Single descriptive, qualitative, and physiologic studies
Level 7: Opinions from authorities, and expert committees
Level 1 is the best resource to use when looking for evidence-based practice.
Reference: Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2008) Nursing research: generating and assessing evidence for nursing practice Eighth Edition. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Philadelphia, Pa.
