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I need advice with my Nursing dissertation?


I have chosen my topic (management of exudate in chronic venous ulcer). got a barrel load of journal articles found a systematic review RCN guildlines and all sorts of model but uni are telling us different things. We keep being told not to be too discriptive. im confused. can any one point me in the direction of a good free web site for advice and samples of past disertations. all sites ive been on just want to write it for me.
i would be so greatful even for a few words of advice
thanks

I think all dissertations are different for each uni and every course even within universities as well, so if anyone gives you a dissertation sample website, it will probably not apply to you.

Do you have a supervisor for your dissertation? If so, that would be the best person to direct this question to. You might also be allowed to view past dissertation done by people on your course in previous years. Ask your supervisor for this

Being descriptive refers to the practice of simply relating factual information and relying on other people's opinions or arguments. What your lecturer is asking you to do is to be critical. You need to include your own opinion on the management of the ulcer. This should be based on the evidence from published studies but you should include an assessment of the reliability of the evidence. For example, what were the limits of the study, were there any design flaws, does the statistical analysis stand up to scrutiny, have the authors claimed too much on the back of their results?

Similarly, where relying on other people's arguments, you need to be critical. Does the person provide sufficient evidence or adequate reasons to support any claims he or she makes? Are there any contrary opinions? etc

While every dissertation will necessarily include some description, if you are looking to achieve a higher grade then you need to argue critically. The basic structure of each claim you are making in relation to the management of the ulcer should be:
Set out your claim supported by any empirical evidence and/or by reasons why the reader should accept your claim (the argument).
Fairly set out any counter opinions (the counter argument)
Explain why your approach is better, again providing evidence and any other relevant reasons (the counter counter argument).

The basic rule is, always make sure you give reasons why a claim should be accepted. It is also important to make sure you acknowledge the limits of any evidence and make a fair appraisal of its reliability.

For example (hypothetical): The standard management of chronic venous ulcers is bed rest, elevation and wound hygiene. This is based on a single study carried out in 1955 by Flowers et al. However, the study was a retrospective analysis, which means that the evidence is less robust than where the treatment has been assessed as part of a randomised controlled clinical trial. Furthermore, the study is now some 52 years old and healthcare has moved on since then. In a more recent study, Sawalko et al found that prolonged bed rest is actually less helpful than a regime that involves short periods of ambulatory exercise. However, Sawalko's study only involved venous ulcers of grade 2 or less. As such, it may not apply to the more serious Grade 3 or 4 ulcers. etc

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