75.0 %Criteria

5.0 %Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION: This section briefly overviews the project focus or practice problem, states why the project is worth conducting, and describes how the project will be completed. (3-4 paragraphs or approximately 1 page)

Item is not present.

Not all components are present. There are large gaps in the components that leave the reader with significant questions.

Components are present and adequate, but there are small gaps that leave the reader with questions.

Components are addressed clearly and comprehensively. There are no gaps that leave the reader with questions.

75.0 %Criteria

5.0 %Chapter 1: BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT: The background section of Chapter 1 explains both the history of and the present state of the problem and project focus. This section summarizes the Background section from Chapter 2. (2-3 paragraphs or approximately 1 page)

Item is not present.

Not all components are present. There are large gaps in the components that leave the reader with significant questions.

Components are present and adequate, but there are small gaps that leave the reader with questions.

Components are addressed clearly and comprehensively. There are no gaps that leave the reader with questions.

75.0 %Criteria

10.0 %Chapter 1: PROBLEM STATEMENT: This section clearly states the problem or project focus, the population affected, and how the project will contribute to solving the problem. This section of Chapter 1 should be comprehensive yet simple, providing context for the practice project. This section is later summarized in Chapter 3. (3-4 paragraphs or approximately 1 page)

Item is not present.

Not all components are present. There are large gaps in the components that leave the reader with significant questions.

Components are present and adequate, but there are small gaps that leave the reader with questions.

Components are addressed clearly and comprehensively. There are no gaps that leave the reader with questions.

75.0 %Criteria

10.0 %Chapter 1: PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT: The purpose statement section provides a reflection of the problem statement and identifies how the project will be accomplished. It explains how the proposed project will contribute to the field. This section is summarized in Chapter 3. (2-3 paragraphs). The intervention must be clear within the purpose, and there must be a measurable patient/practice outcome.

Item is not present.

Not all components are present. There are large gaps in the components that leave the reader with significant questions.

Components are present and adequate, but there are small gaps that leave the reader with questions.

Components are addressed clearly and comprehensively. There are no gaps that leave the reader with questions.

75.0 %Criteria

10.0 %Chapter 1: CLINICAL QUESTIONS: This section narrows the focus of the project and specifies the clinical questions to address the problem statement. Based on the clinical questions, it describes the variables or groups and their hypothesized relationship for a quantitative project or the phenomena under investigation for a qualitative project. The clinical questions should be derived from, and are directly aligned with, the problem and purpose statements, methods, and data analyses. The Clinical Questions section of Chapter 1 will be presented again in Chapter 3 to provide clear continuity for the reader and to help frame the data analysis in Chapter 4. (2-3 paragraphs or approximately 1 page)

Item is not present.

Not all components are present. There are large gaps in the components that leave the reader with significant questions.

Components are present and adequate, but there are small gaps that leave the reader with questions.

Components are addressed clearly and comprehensively. There are no gaps that leave the reader with questions.

75.0 %Criteria

5.0 %Chapter 1: ADVANCING SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE: This section specifically describes how the proposed project will advance population health outcomes on the topic. This advancement may be a small step forward in a line of current research. This section summarizes the Theoretical Foundations section from Chapter 2 by identifying the theory or model upon which the project is built. It also describes how the project will advance that theory or model. It also describes how the project will advance that theory or model. (2-3 paragraphs or approximately 1 page)

Item is not present.

Not all components are present. There are large gaps in the components that leave the reader with significant questions.

Components are present and adequate, but there are small gaps that leave the reader with questions.

Components are addressed clearly and comprehensively. There are no gaps that leave the reader with questions.

75.0 %Criteria

5.0 %Chapter 1: SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT: This section identifies and describes the significance of the project. It also discusses the implications of the potential results based on the project questions and problem statement, hypotheses, or the investigated phenomena. Further, it describes how the project fits within, and will contribute to, the current literature or body of research. Finally, it describes the potential practical applications from the project. This section is of particular importance because it justifies the need for, and the relevance of, the project. (3-4 paragraphs)

Item is not present.

Not all components are present. There are large gaps in the components that leave the reader with significant questions.

Components are present and adequate, but there are small gaps that leave the reader with questions.

Components are addressed clearly and comprehensively. There are no gaps that leave the reader with questions.

75.0 %Criteria

5.0 %Chapter 1: RATIONALE FOR METHODOLOGY: This section clearly justifies the methodology the investigator plans to use for conducting the project. It argues how the methodological framework is the best approach to answer the project questions and address the problem statement. It uses citations from textbooks and articles on research methodology or articles on related studies to justify the methodology. (2-3 paragraphs or approximately 1 page)

Item is not present.

Not all components are present. There are large gaps in the components that leave the reader with significant questions.

Components are present and adequate, but there are small gaps that leave the reader with questions.

Components are addressed clearly and comprehensively. There are no gaps that leave the reader with questions.

75.0 %Criteria

5.0 %Chapter 1: NATURE OF THE PROJECT DESIGN: This section describes the specific project design to answer the clinical questions and why this approach was selected. Here, the learner discusses why the selected design is the best design to address the problem statement and clinical questions as compared to other designs. This section also contains a description of the project sample being studied, as well as the process that will be used to collect the data on the sample. In effect, this section provides a preview of Chapter 3: Methodology and succinctly conveys the project approach to answer clinical questions or test the hypotheses. It provides citations from research textbooks, research articles, and articles on similar studies. (3-4 paragraphs or approximately 1 page)

Item is not present.

Not all components are present. There are large gaps in the components that leave the reader with significant questions.

Components are present and adequate, but there are small gaps that leave the reader with questions.

Components are addressed clearly and comprehensively. There are no gaps that leave the reader with questions.

75.0 %Criteria

5.0 %Chapter 1: DEFINITIONS OF TERMS: This section defines the project constructs and provides a common understanding of the technical terms, exclusive jargon, variables, phenomena, concepts, and sundry terminology used within the scope of the project. Terms are defined in lay terms and in the context in which they are used within the project. This section includes any words that may be unknown to a layperson (words with unusual or ambiguous meanings or technical terms) from the research or literature. It provides a rationale for each assumption, defines the variables for a quantitative project, or the phenomena for a qualitative project, from the research or literature. (Each definition may be a few sentences to a paragraph in length. The section is a minimum of 1 page.)

Item is not present.

Not all components are present. There are large gaps in the components that leave the reader with significant questions.

Components are present and adequate, but there are small gaps that leave the reader with questions.

Components are addressed clearly and comprehensively. There are no gaps that leave the reader with questions.

75.0 %Criteria

5.0 %Chapter 1: ASSUMPTIONS, LIMITATIONS AND DELIMITATIONS: This section identifies the assumptions and specifies the limitations and the delimitations of the project. (3-4 paragraphs)

Item is not present.

Not all components are present. There are large gaps in the components that leave the reader with significant questions.

Components are present and adequate, but there are small gaps that leave the reader with questions.

Components are addressed clearly and comprehensively. There are no gaps that leave the reader with questions.

75.0 %Criteria

5.0 %Chapter 1: SUMMARY AND ORGANIZATION OF THE REMAINDER OF THE PROJECT: This section summarizes the key points of Chapter 1 and provides supporting citations for those key points. It then provides a transition discussion to Chapter 2 followed by a description of the remaining chapters. The Proposal, but not the Project, provides a timeline for completing the research and writing up the practice improvement project. (3-4 paragraphs or 1 page)

Item is not present.

Not all components are present. There are large gaps in the components that leave the reader with significant questions.

Components are present and adequate, but there are small gaps that leave the reader with questions.

Components are addressed clearly and comprehensively. There are no gaps that leave the reader with questions.

15.0 %Organization and Effectiveness

15.0 %Mechanics of Writing (includes spelling, punctuation, grammar, language use)

Frequent and repetitive mechanical errors distract the reader. Inconsistencies in language choice (register) or word choice are present.

Some mechanical errors or typos are present, but they are not overly distracting to the reader. Correct and varied sentence structure and audience-appropriate language are employed.

Prose is largely free of mechanical errors, although a few may be present. The writer uses a variety of effective sentence structures and figures of speech.

Writer is clearly in command of standard, written, academic English.

10.0 %Format

5.0 %Paper Format (use of appropriate style for the major and assignment)

Template is not used appropriately or documentation format is rarely followed correctly.

Appropriate template is used, but some elements are missing or mistaken. A lack of control with formatting is apparent.

Appropriate template is fully used. There are virtually no errors in formatting style.

All format elements are correct.

5.0 %Documentation of Sources (citations, footnotes, references, bibliography, etc., as appropriate to assignment and style)

Sources are not documented.

Documentation of sources is inconsistent or incorrect, as appropriate to assignment and style, with numerous formatting errors.

Sources are documented, as appropriate to assignment and style, and format is mostly correct.

Sources are completely and correctly documented, as appropriate to assignment and style, and format is free of error.

100 %Total Weightage