NURS9010 moves from identifying a problem to building the case for a specific solution — a systematic literature review and a theoretical or conceptual framework that will guide the eventual intervention design.
Conducting a doctoral-level literature review
NURS9010 requires a systematic, comprehensive literature review of evidence related to the identified practice problem, synthesizing findings across multiple studies to build a strong evidence base for why a specific type of intervention is likely to be effective. This review must go beyond simply summarizing individual studies to critically synthesize the body of evidence, identifying convergent findings and any significant gaps or contradictions.
Selecting a theoretical or conceptual framework
The course requires selecting a theoretical or conceptual framework — such as a change theory (like Lewin's or Kotter's models) or an implementation science framework (like the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research) — to guide how the eventual intervention will be designed and implemented. Students learn that a DNP project without an explicit guiding framework risks an ad hoc intervention design that doesn't account for known barriers to successful practice change.
Key topics in NURS9010
- Conducting a systematic, synthesized literature review for a DNP project
- Evaluating the strength and quality of evidence supporting a potential intervention
- Selecting an appropriate theoretical or conceptual change/implementation framework
- Applying change theory (Lewin, Kotter) or implementation science frameworks to project design
- Identifying gaps and contradictions in the existing evidence base
- Connecting the literature review directly to the eventual intervention design
Working on your DNP literature review or selecting a theoretical framework?
Our doctoral nursing experts build NURS9010-level literature reviews with genuine synthesis and framework selection.
Worked example: selecting a framework based on the literature findings
- Literature finding: Studies show that similar hand hygiene interventions succeeded when they included visible leadership commitment and failed when implemented as a purely educational, top-down mandate
- Framework implication: This finding points toward selecting an implementation science framework (like CFIR) that explicitly accounts for organizational and leadership-engagement barriers, rather than a purely educational behavior-change model
- Design consequence: The eventual NURS9010-informed intervention design will need to build in visible unit leadership participation, not rely on education alone
- Lesson: The literature review doesn't just justify that a problem exists — it directly informs which framework and intervention design is likely to actually succeed
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DNP literature review and theoretical framework selection assignments.
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Frequently asked questions
A literature review can establish that a certain type of intervention has generally been effective for a similar problem, but without an explicit theoretical or conceptual framework guiding implementation, a DNP student risks designing an intervention that ignores well-documented barriers to organizational change — barriers that implementation science frameworks like CFIR (Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research) are specifically built to account for, such as organizational culture, available resources, and individual staff characteristics affecting adoption. NURS9010 requires this framework selection because doctoral-level practice improvement work is expected to be theoretically grounded, not just evidence-informed — a framework provides a structured lens for anticipating implementation challenges and designing the intervention (and its evaluation plan) more rigorously than an ad hoc approach based solely on "the literature says this works."
Change theories like Lewin's Unfreeze-Change-Refreeze model describe the general psychological and organizational process of moving people and systems from a current state to a new state — they offer a broad conceptual roadmap for managing change but don't necessarily specify the detailed, granular factors that determine whether a specific healthcare intervention succeeds or fails in a specific setting. Implementation science frameworks like CFIR are more specifically designed for healthcare and other applied settings, providing a detailed taxonomy of domains (intervention characteristics, outer setting, inner setting, characteristics of individuals, and the implementation process itself) that researchers and practitioners can use to systematically assess and address the many specific factors that influence whether an evidence-based practice actually gets adopted and sustained. NURS9010 teaches students to choose based on what their specific project needs — a broader change theory might suffice for a simpler, more contained project, while a complex, multi-stakeholder DNP project addressing systemic barriers often benefits from the more granular, comprehensive lens an implementation science framework provides.