Assistant Professor, College of Nursing, Washington State University, Spokane, WA, USA.
Associate Professor, College of Nursing, Washington State University, Puyallup, WA, USA.
J Nurs Scholarsh. 2018 May;50(3):314-323. doi: 10.1111/jnu.12374. Epub 2018 Mar 8.
Among research-focused nursing doctoral (PhD) programs in the United States, the traditional dissertation format has recently given way to a series of publication-ready manuscripts, often bookended by introduction and conclusion chapters. To help programs make decisions about the use of these formats, this study undertook a national survey of programs offering PhDs in nursing. The purpose of this study was to explore the advantages and disadvantages of the traditional format versus manuscript option for dissertations among nursing PhD programs in the United States.
Cross-sectional census survey of U.S. nursing PhD programs.
A web-based survey was administered to all U.S. nursing PhD programs. Respondents indicated formats offered, factors contributing to decisions of which formats to offer, and lessons learned. Descriptive statistics and inductive content analyses were used for analysis.
Of 121 eligible institutions, 79 provided eligible responses (66.7%). The majority (59%) offered both formats; 11% offered the manuscript option only, and 24% offered the traditional format only. Faculty support (or lack thereof) contributed to adoption (or not) of the manuscript option. Respondents' approaches to the manuscript option (e.g., number of papers) and advice are summarized.
Manuscript option dissertations are commonly offered and provide benefits to students and faculty; however, thoughtful implementation is critical. Programs need to agree upon clear expectations and have graduate school support (e.g., formatting). Faculty need mentorship in advising manuscript option students who choose to use this format, and the time and support. Finally, students need additional writing skills that could be provided through coursework or via individual work with mentors.
As nursing education continues to expand further into doctoral research, programs must examine dissertation formats in order to both prepare future nurse scholars and disseminate nursing research that is critical to improving nursing education, patient care, and clinical practice.
在美国以研究为重点的护理博士（PhD）项目中，传统的论文格式最近让位于一系列可发表的手稿，通常由引言和结论章节组成。为了帮助项目就这些格式的使用做出决策，本研究对提供护理博士学位的项目进行了全国调查。本研究的目的是探讨美国护理博士项目中传统格式与论文选择的优缺点。
对美国护理博士项目的横断面普查。
向所有美国护理博士项目的在线调查。受访者表示提供的格式、影响提供格式决策的因素以及吸取的教训。使用描述性统计和归纳内容分析进行分析。
在 121 个符合条件的机构中，有 79 个提供了符合条件的回复（66.7%）。大多数（59%）提供了两种格式；11%仅提供论文选项，24%仅提供传统格式。教师支持（或缺乏）促成了论文选项的采用（或不采用）。总结了受访者对论文选项的方法（例如，论文数量）和建议。
论文选项论文通常是提供的，并为学生和教师带来好处；然而，深思熟虑的实施是至关重要的。项目需要就明确的期望达成一致，并获得研究生院的支持（例如，格式）。教师需要指导选择使用这种格式的论文选项学生，以及时间和支持。最后，学生需要额外的写作技能，可以通过课程或与导师的个人工作提供。
随着护理教育进一步扩展到博士研究，项目必须检查论文格式，以便既能为未来的护理学者做好准备，又能传播对改善护理教育、患者护理和临床实践至关重要的护理研究。
