all sources must be dated within last 5 years. Page 1-5
State all concepts, models, and/or theories used to inform the doctoral project.
Concisely describe the sources of evidence and how obtained and analytical strategies used in the doctoral project.
Summarize potential implications for nursing practice and for positive social change.
Briefly introduce the topic/problem, the nature of the DNP doctoral project, and potential positive social change implications of the doctoral project (later sections will allow you to elaborate).

Briefly explain how the doctoral project holds significance for the field of nursing practice.
Describe the meaningful gap-in-practice that this doctoral project addresses.
Clarify how this doctoral project has potential to address that gap-in-practice.
Briefly identify the sources of evidence that will be collected to meet the purpose of this doctoral project, and how they will be obtained (you will elaborate on these topics in Section 3, and you will change the tense in the final document).
Briefly summarize the approach that will be used in this doctoral project to organize and analyze the evidence (you will elaborate on this topic in the Section 3, and you will change the tense in the final document).
Include a concise statement of the doctoral project purpose that connects the gap-in-practice to the anticipated findings from that analysis.
Identify all stakeholders and how they may be potentially impacted by addressing the local problem.
Identify potential contributions of the doctoral project to nursing practice.
Highlight any potential transferability of the doctoral project to similar practice areas.
Describe potential implications for positive social change.
Summarize the main points of Section 1. Provide a transition to Section 2.

Page 6-10
Name, describe, and provide a rationale for the use of all concepts, models, and/or theories that inform the doctoral project.
Synthesize primary writings by key theorists, philosophers, and/or foundational/seminal scholars related to the concepts, models, and/or theories used in the doctoral project.
Clarify any terms used in the doctoral project that may have multiple meanings (e.g., socioeconomic status, educator, client, etc.). Do not include terms with generally and universally accepted meanings in nursing practice.
Citing existing scholarship on the topic, provide a brief history of the broader problem in nursing practice in which this specific doctoral project is embedded.
Identify any strategies and standard practices that have been used previously to address this gap-in-practice (i.e., how have others approached this issue in the past?)

Describe how the present doctoral project advances nursing practice or fills at least one gap-in-practice revealed in the literature.
Provide a concise summary of the local evidence on the relevance of the problem, which justifies the practice-focused questions (s) (i.e., why examine this topic in the first place?). All evidence used to answer the practice-focused question(s) will be covered in Section 3.
Describe the institutional context as applicable to the problem being addressed in this doctoral project (most often demographics, community setting, regulatory environment, governance, mission, and strategic vision).
Provide concise definitions of locally used terms or operational processes relevant to understanding the doctoral project.
Describe state and/or federal contexts applicable to the problem in this doctoral project.
Describe any potential biases you may possess, and steps taken to address them.
Role of the Project Team (if applicable)
If applicable to this doctoral project, describe how a project team will be used.
Describe the process(es) by which the doctoral project team members will be presented with background information, evidence, and other forms of information.
Describe opportunities for team members to share their expertise and contextual insight relative to the doctoral project. (If members of the team are providing evidence that will be included in Section 3, note that fact here).
Describe the timeline and responsibilities of team members to review and provide feedback on doctoral project results.
Summary
Provide a transition to connect the gap-in-practice to the methods described in Section 3.
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SECTION 3: Collection and Analysis of Evidence
Introduction
Restate the problem and purpose as discussed in Section 1, and summarize the background and context from Section 2.
Practice-focused Question(s)
Restate the local problem, the gap-in-practice, and the practice-focused question(s).
Clarify the purpose and how this approach aligns to the practice-focused question(s).
Clarify operational definitions of any key aspects of the doctoral project.
Note: The DNP doctoral project proposal describes a plan for collecting and analyzing evidence, and as such, this section should be written in the future tense for the proposal
Sources of Evidence
Clearly identify the sources of evidence on which you will rely to address the practice-focused question(s).
Clarify the relationship of this evidence to the purpose described in Section 1.
Restate how collection and analysis of this evidence will provide the appropriate way to address the practice-focused question(s).
Published Outcomes and Research
You should complete this subsection when conducting a systematic review of relevant published findings and conclusions from other researchers and scholars. Data and evidence that have not been analyzed belong in the next sections.
List databases and search engines used to find outcomes and research related to the practice problem.
List key search terms and combinations of search terms used. (More detailed search terms may be included in an appendix and referenced here, if appropriate).
Describe the scope of this review in terms of years searched, as well as types of literature and sources searched.
Clarify how this search will be exhaustive and comprehensive.
Note: This type of systematic review needs to be a deeper and more thorough exploration of the topic, as discussed in the Context subsection in Section 2.
Archival and Operational Data
Describe the nature of the data, including information on who contributed them originally.
Justify the relevance of these data to the practice problem in this project.
Describe how the data were originally collected by the organization, focusing on their overall validity as a source of evidence. Note any limitations inherent in the data.
Describe the procedure for gaining access to the evidence, including permissions to gain access to operational data
If historical or legal documents are used as a source of evidence, demonstrate the reputability of the sources and justify why they represent the best source.
Evidence Generated for the Doctoral Project
You should complete this section for evidence and data that will be primarily generated for the purpose the doctoral project, and not part of the normal operations of the site.
Provide a step-by-step description of how this evidence will be collected, paying specific attention to the following topics.
Participants
Describe the individuals who will contribute evidence to address the practice-focused question(s), paying attention to:
• choice for number of participants,
• how they were selected, and
• relevance of these participants to the practice-focused question(s).
Procedures
Describe all tools and/or techniques used to collect that evidence and their alignment with the constructs in the doctoral project.
• For existing measurement instruments, if applicable, discuss validity and reliability of the scores produced by the instruments, along with any concepts, constructs, or outcomes measured by them. Discuss also, in terms of the above, modifications that were made to any instruments.
• For tools that you have created, if applicable, detail must be provided on how they were developed and what strategies were used to assure the validity of the information produced by them.
Note: Identify any instruments to be used in the a) table of contents, b) text of the manuscript, and c) appendices.
Protections
Describe procedures used to ensure ethical protection of these participants in the doctoral project.
• Discuss strategies for recruiting and developing working relationships with participants.
• Discuss measures taken to ensure ethical protection of participants, including data retention plans, incentives, consent process, safeguarding of privacy, and measures to permit participants to withdraw participation.
•Describe the role of the University IRB or other bodies in approving the doctoral project.
Analysis and Synthesis
Describe the systems used for recording, tracking, organizing, and analyzing the evidence—including any software used for these purposes.

Outline the procedures used to assure the integrity of the evidence, including approaches to managing outliers and missing information.
Describe analysis procedures used in the doctoral project to address the practice-focused question(s) (e.g., coding, statistical analyses, etc.).
Summary
Section 3 should end with a summary emphasizing key points