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Master’s Paper Guidelines

Description
Collaborative Endeavors
Registration & Grading
Types of Papers
Steps of the Process
Timeline
Format
Dissemination

Description & Purpose

The master’s paper is a scholarly piece of research, analysis, and writing, which must be relevant to the discipline of nursing and the student's chosen advanced practice area. The purpose of this activity is to foster an understanding and application of the scientific method as a basis for studying problems in advanced practice nursing. The paper should be analytic in nature, and grounded in theory and research.

Collaborative Endeavors

The Master's Paper should represent the independent effort of the individual student. It is possible for two students to work jointly on the Master's Paper. The committee chair is responsible for assuring that the project provides sufficient experience for each student.

In those cases where two students collaborate on a single activity, an outline describing each student's specific contribution to the scholarly paper must be submitted to the committee chair at two points in time:

(a)when the initial written proposal is reviewed prior to implementation, and
(b)upon completion of the paper.

There must be clear evidence of each student's contribution so that the chair and committee members can evaluate the ability of each student to conceptualize and synthesize results in a scholarly manner.

Registration & Grading

Only three credits of N992 will count towards the course requirements for the master's degree. The student may enroll in NURS 992 more than once if more time is needed, but this approach is strongly discouraged. The student must be enrolled in NURS 992 during the semester in which the final defense of the project is scheduled.

To receive a final grade for NURS 992, the student's master’s paper must be completed successfully and approved by the advisory committee. An S (satisfactory) or IN (incomplete) may be given until the final paper has been written and successfully defended. A grade of S indicates that the student has made satisfactory progress in the work related to the thesis or research project. Any S grades given during the process of a master’s paper will be changed to an H, P or L grade at the completion of the project.

An IN grade indicates that the student has not made sufficient progress in work associated with the master’s paper. An IN or S grade must be changed to an H, P, L grade within one year or the grade reverts to an F.

A graduate student is academically ineligible to continue in the Graduate School if a grade of F has been given. The student may be reinstated upon initiating a petition to the Graduate School. Students are responsible for keeping track of IN grades.

Types of Papers

In general, there are three types of master’s papers: (a) the research paper, (b) the clinical issue paper, and (c) the organizational or policy analysis paper. There are also other types of papers such as papers focused on nursing history or needs assessments. Please see the Program Director with any questions.

This type of scholarly activity focuses on a research question or hypothesis (or set of research questions or hypotheses) and seeks to answer the question or hypothesis through scientific testing using one of several research designs.

Research endeavors may involve primary data collection, which may be both expensive and time-consuming. Serious consideration should be given to identifying existing and readily available data sets.

Examples of research projects include (but are not limited to):

(d)A secondary analysis, that is, a research activity involving analysis of data already collected to address a specific problem. These data may be acquired by the student’s participation in a faculty investigator’s research project or using pre-existing data sources, such as medical records.

(e)An integrative review of literature that addresses a particular research question. This option involves systematic data collection and analysis (of the literature), and produces an integration of the results in written form. See the Printable Guidelines for an Integrative Research Review for more details.

(f)Research utilization or change projects provide students with the opportunity to integrate knowledge, scholarly inquiry and leadership to address a problem in practice. The research utilization project may focus on such things as the development of a research-based clinical protocol, or the evaluation or testing of a standardized protocol. A change project may also include a quality assurance review of some area of practice.

State of the Science Clinical Paper ( Printable Guidelines for a Clinical Paper)

This type of master’s paper is a scholarly review of current knowledge about a particular issue of concern in practice. The paper should address a relevant practice question, and use the literature to analyze the clinical problem and develop a management strategy that synthesizes consensus and conflict in the literature, and the exploration of a variety of diagnostic and therapeutic modalities.

The goal of the clinical paper is to identify, review, and analyze a challenge, dilemma, or controversy in clinical practice from the perspective of advanced nursing practice. The analysis of clinical problems and development of management strategies necessitates a comprehensive understanding of underlying pathophysiology (if applicable), consensus and conflict in the literature, and the exploration of a variety of diagnostic and therapeutic modalities.

The key for selecting an appropriate subject for the Clinical Paper are the words, ‘challenge’, ‘dilemma’, or ‘controversy’. The final paper builds on the proposal, which provides the basis for clinical recommendations and/or a protocol if appropriate.

Organizational or Policy Analysis Paper ( Printable Guidelines for a Policy Analysis Paper)

This type of master’s paper involves either an organizational problem analysis, or a more generalized policy analysis of a significant health issue. The problem-solving model allows a student to conduct an in-depth exploration of an organizational or policy situation to develop an understanding of the internal and external influences.

The paper should include a description of the situation, the history of policy development including problems that prompted the development of the policy, an examination of the evidence base for the policy, how the policy was implemented, and conclusions including recommendations about the policy’s utility. Example: A policy analysis in which a current or pending health policy is analyzed from two or more perspectives.

Steps of the Process

  1. Select a Focus

    Students are encouraged to begin discussing ideas for the master’s paper or thesis requirement upon entry into the MSN program. Students are encouraged to meet with their academic advisor and other faculty to explore ideas for extensions of the faculty member's research or related interests. Discussions with clinical preceptors and fellow graduate students are also excellent ways to identify everyday practice questions that can be the focus of a research experience.

    The Research Support Center and Center for Research on Chronic Illness Web sites contain more information about UNC-Chapel Hill School of Nursing faculty research, including a list of ongoing funded research and faculty research interests and activities.

  2. Find a Committee Chair

    When a potential focus has been identified, the student identifies faculty members with related expertise and interests. The student should schedule a meeting with a faculty member to discuss the idea, determine if their interests are well matched, and explore the possibility of an advisor agreement to chair the activity.

    The committee chair is the graduate faculty member that works closely with the student to develop their interests and ideas to successfully complete the scholarly activity. The committee chair may be a regular or fixed-term faculty member of the School of Nursing Graduate Faculty with permission to chair master’s papers.

    The Office of Academic Affairs can help students identify eligible members of the graduate faculty to serve as committee chairs for master’s papers or theses.

    Supervision of a master’s paper is a significant faculty responsibility. Students are asked to keep in mind that faculty may decline to serve as a chair because they do not have the expertise necessary or time available that best fits the student’s desired focus and time line.

    If a student cannot find a faculty member who is willing to serve as chair of the advisory committee or faculty to serve as committee members, the student should discuss this with their academic advisor.

  3. Form an Advisory Committee

    Once the focus and scope of the planned research has been determined, the committee chair and student mutually will identify potential faculty to serve on the advisory committee. The student then contacts potential faculty and obtains their agreement to serve on the committee.

    The advisory committee must include a minimum of two committee members, the committee chair and one additional member. The following criteria apply to the composition of the research project committee:

    1. The committee chair that is a regular member or fixed-term member of the School of Nursing Graduate Faculty with permission to chair a research project committee is the first member of the committee. The chair does not have to be from the student's specialty area.
    2. The second committee member must have a graduate faculty appointment or qualify for a special graduate appointment.
    3. At least one faculty member on the committee must be from the student's advanced practice area.

    4. Faculty members from other UNC-Chapel Hill departments or schools with Graduate Faculty appointments may serve on master’s paper or thesis committees and do not require special appointments.

    If a non-UNC-Chapel Hill faculty member or someone without a graduate appointment is needed on a committee:

    • The student should obtain a copy of the individual's curriculum vitae and give it to the committee chair.
    • The committee chair should submit the vitae with a request for a special graduate school appointment to the Director of Master’s Programs in the Office of Academic Affairs.

    The Director of Master's Programs will review the prospective appointee and forward nominations for special appointments to the Graduate School. In general, appointees with special appointments shall be appointed for terms of two years in length, though such terms may be renewed indefinitely.

  4. Submit the Committee Composition Form

    When the chair and advisory committee have been selected, the student prints or obtains a copy of the Master's Paper/Thesis Committee Composition Form and gets all members of the advisory committee to sign the form.

    If a committee member must be replaced, the committee chair should work with the student to identify an appropriate replacement. Although no formal permission is necessary to replace a committee chair, it is recommended that the student discuss the reasons for this change with that committee chair. The student may choose to discuss this change with the Director of Master's Programs.

    The student must secure agreement of the new and continuing committee member(s) to serve on the research advisory committee. The student must obtain a new Master's Paper/Thesis Committee Composition Form and have it signed by all members of the newly formed advisory committee.

    The student must submit the form to the Office of Academic Affairs for approval by the Director of Master's Programs. The student and committee chair will receive a copy of the form approving the membership of the research advisory committee from the Director of Master's Programs.

  5. Develop the Proposal

    (a) Determine a timeline & handling of costs

    The student will meet with the committee chair and set a schedule for regular appointments and outline a realistic time frame for the endeavor. Remember, students register for NURS 992 or NURS 993 during the semester that they plan to complete the activity and submit the final written report.

    Plans to handle costs (e.g., printing costs, transcription of interviews) should be included during the development phase. If there is no source of funding available for the endeavor, any costs associated with endeavor are to be shared in an equitable manner by each student involved.

    (b) Write the proposal

    In conjunction with the committee chair, the student develops a written proposal approximately 7-10 pages including references for the scholarly activity. Students work closely with the chair that will determine the general content, organization, and format for the proposal. Advisory committee members are consulted as appropriate during the development of the proposal. In general, the proposal includes a statement of the problem, purpose/ research question(s), brief background, methods, and proposal data analysis plan, if applicable. Advisory committee members are consulted as appropriate during the development of the proposal.

    In cases where two students work on the same research project, a single paper may be submitted for the written research proposal. However, an outline describing each student's specific contribution to the scholarly paper must be submitted to the committee chair at two points in time: (a) when the initial written proposal is reviewed prior to implementation and (b) upon completion of the paper.

    There must be clear evidence of each student's contribution so that the chair and committee members can evaluate the ability of each student to conceptualize and synthesize project results in a scholarly manner. This written record must be on file in the office of the committee chair.

    The committee chair will determine when you will share a draft of your proposal with committee members. Development of the proposal is an iterative process, and may require several drafts before submitting the document to the research committee. The committee chair will handle any disagreements among committee members about the proposal.

    6. If applicable, you will also develop the Institutional Review Board (IRB) Process proposal (see Institutional Review Board Process) with the assistance of the committee chair. This includes:

    • Obtaining written permission for data collection in the agencies involved in the study as well as for the use of instruments that require permission for use.
    • Submitting IRB materials to the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Nursing IRB.
    • Obtaining written approval from UNC-Chapel Hill School of Nursing IRB prior to initiating data collection.

  6. Schedule and Complete a Proposal Defense

    The chair is responsible for determining that the proposal is ready for evaluation. Whether a formal proposal defense meeting is required is at the discretion of the committee chair in conjunction with the advisory committee.

    If a formal defense meeting is required and the committee chair has approved the proposal for defense, the student arranges a proposal defense meeting of one hour (up to two hours) with the entire committee. The student will coordinate a date, time and place (reserve a room in the School of Nursing) for the proposal meeting (if required) with all committee members. All students involved in a master’s paper (NURS 992) must participate in the defense.

    Each committee member must receive the final draft of the proposal at least one week before the proposal defense meeting. While minor changes may be made in the proposal at the defense meeting, it is assumed that the advisory committee will approve the proposal largely as defended.

    In cases where the proposal is not adequately developed, a second proposal defense meeting will be held. A student passes the proposal defense upon approval by both committee members. For master’s paper committees with three (or more) members, a student passes the proposal defense upon approval by at least two-thirds of the committee members.

    If a formal defense is not required, at a minimum, the committee chair must have the student meet independently with each committee member to discuss the project and approve the written proposal prior to submission to IRB (if required) or data collection. If the proposal is not adequately developed, the committee members will provide the committee chair in writing their recommendations to strengthen the proposal.

    The student will make all necessary changes to the written proposal. The above process will be repeated until committee members approve the written proposal.

  7. Submit Signed Proposal Defense Form & IRB Tracking Form

    Upon successful completion of the proposal defense, the student will submit the required forms to the Office of Academic Affairs. It is strongly recommended that the committee chair and student keep a photocopy of all forms for their own files.

    If the master’s activity requires IRB approval, the stamped IRB tracking form must be submitted with the approved proposal to the School of Nursing IRB (see Institutional Review Board Process).

  8. Carry Out the Proposal

    (a)General considerations

    If working collaboratively, each student must participate in all major components of the endeavor. It is the student’s responsibility to keep the committee chair and advisory committees up-to-date on the timeline for the activity. Any changes made to the timetable must be made in conjunction with the chair and the students involved in the effort.

    It is anticipated the students will stay in close communication with each other and the committee chair about any known or unforeseen commitments that may alter the timeline.

    (b) Assistance with data analysis

    Students have various forms of support within the School of Nursing for data analysis. Assistance with qualitative analyses traditionally is handled in consultation with the student's research advisory committee.

    Assistance with quantitative analysis is handled first in consultation with the student's research advisory committee and then, if needed, from the teaching assistants in the Research Support Center (RSC). RSC support is, however, in the form of assistance only; students must assume the majority of the responsibility for conducting their analyses.

    While students may have data entered for analysis by other persons, students are responsible for the accuracy of the data and for doing their own analysis. Any violation of this standard will be considered a violation of the student honor code. Students are expected to work with the committee chair or a designated member of the research advisory committee to interpret the results.

    (c) Writing & format of the final report

    The written body of the final report should be at least 15 to 20 pages, excluding references, tables, and appendices. The student and the committee chair determine the exact outline and publication format (see Format of the Final Paper below) for the final report; it may follow the form of a manuscript for publication.

    Several drafts may be required before the final report is ready for a final defense or final approval by the committee. In general, two weeks is needed for the committee chair to read and critique each draft of the paper.

  9. Schedule and Complete a Final Defense

    The final paper must be discussed and/or defended with the advisory committee prior to final approval by the committee. Like the proposal development process, several drafts of the final paper may be required before submitting to the advisory committee for final defense. All students involved in a master’s paper must participate in the final defense and/or discussions.

    If a final defense meeting is required and the committee chair has approved the final report for defense, the student arranges a final defense meeting of one hour (up to two hours) with the entire committee. The student will coordinate a date, time and place (reserve a room in the School of Nursing) for the proposal meeting (if required) with all committee members. All students involved in a master’s paper (NURS 992) must participate in the defense.

    During the final defense, the student gives a brief overview of the study (15 to 20 minutes), including the major findings and the significance of findings to practice. Questions from committee members that relate to the master’s paper are appropriate. Committee members evaluate the student's ability to communicate the findings and demonstrate critical thinking in regard to all aspects of the activity.

    The committee may require at the time of the final oral defense (but no later) alterations and corrections that should be relatively minor changes agreed to by a majority of the committee members. The committee chair is responsible for verifying that the changes required by the committee have been made and may delegate the responsibility to the committee member(s) who requested the changes.

    For a master’s paper, a final defense meeting may not be required. The committee chair in conjunction with the advisory committee will make this decision. If a formal proposal defense meeting is not held, at a minimum, each committee member must have opportunity to: (a) discuss the completed project with the student and (b) examine, provide feedback and approve the final draft of the written manuscript.

    A student passes the final defense upon approval by at least two-thirds of the committee members. For a master’s paper with two committee members, a student passes the final defense upon approval by both committee members. The Graduate School considers the vote of the committee final.

  10. Submit Required Forms Designating Successful Completion of the Master’s Paper

    Upon successful completion of the final paper defense, submit each of the required forms described below to the Office of Academic Affairs. Forms must be completed and submitted for each student who has completed the master’s paper.

    The committee chair may ask the student to submit these forms to the Office of Academic Affairs. It is strongly recommended that the committee chair and student keep a photocopy of all forms for their own files.

    • Master's Comprehensive Examination or Approved Substitute Report, Part III: Report of the Master's Degree Final Oral Examination. The signatures of the committee chair and all committee members are required.
    • Report of Approved Substitute for a Master's Thesis (submitted for Master’s Paper only). The signature of the committee chair is required.

  11. Submit the Final Paper

    Once the research advisory committee approves the final written report of the master’s paper, the student makes all final changes and has them approved by the committee chair and committee members, if necessary.

    The student submits one copy (if two students, one copy per student) of the completed paper to the Office of Academic Affairs for review by the Director of Master's Programs or a designated proxy. In addition, the student will submit one copy to the chair and all advisory committee members.

    It is the student’s responsibility to have the paper in the agreed upon format and defended by the established deadlines. The final paper must be turned in by the School of Nursing's internal deadline for submission of theses and research projects. This deadline typically falls about one week before the University's published deadline.

    The completed paper will be placed in the student's permanent file and will remain in the School of Nursing for five years. It will be available for review and use by other graduate students.

Timeline

The student and committee chair will determine a timeline. The timeline should include specific dates when activities and drafts of the paper will be due. Please note that IRB approval (if applicable) may take up to 4-6 weeks and must be factored into the agreed upon timeline.

Each student is responsible for meeting the established deadlines. Failure to meet deadlines may delay the student’s date of graduation.

An example of a timeline is found below. The specific timetable will depend on the type of scholarly activity to be completed and the anticipated date of graduation.

Task Anticipated Date of Graduation
  Dec 2007 May 2008 Aug 2008
Meet with committee chair to discuss idea Dec 2006 May 2007 Aug 2007
Select committee members & submit Committee Composition Form Mar 2007 Aug Nov
First draft1 Apr Sept Dec
Second draft May Oct Jan
Third draft, if needed June Nov Feb
Proposal defense & submit to IRB if needed Aug Dec 2 Mar
Drafts to chair1 Oct Feb-Mar May
Final defense Nov Mar June
Submit final paper3 Nov
TBA		 Apr
TBA		 July
TBA
1 The student should allow approximately two weeks for each round of reviews.
2 If the proposal defense has not been approved by this date, the student may not be able to complete the activity in time for May graduation.
3 Deadline for submitting the paper is set by the School of Nursing and is approximately 1 week before the deadline set by the University for receipt of all graduation paperwork.

Format

The final report of the master’s paper must be prepared in a style consistent with the publication standards recommended by the supervising committee. The most commonly used standards are those found in the fifth (or most current) edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

The committee chair and student determine the exact outline for the final paper; it may follow the form of a manuscript for publication. A title page with the original signatures of all advisory committee members must be the first page of the report.

The approved final master’s paper must include on the title page the original signatures of all advisory committee members.

Dissemination

All students are encouraged to disseminate the results of their scholarly endeavor. Avenues for dissemination include presentations to staff in the site where the activity was conducted; local, regional and national presentations or posters; and publication of results, independently or collaboratively with faculty.

The University guidelines for co-authorship should be followed and discussed by the student and committee chair as early as possible in the planned experience.

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