Translational projects are essential because a lot of interventions that research has shown to be efficacious are never put into practice and, therefore, no one benefits from them. A project might focus on establishing routine use in health departments of an intervention found to reduce depression among low-income pregnant women. These projects are research projects, and are often funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other major agencies; therefore, a proposal for funding such a project needs to be written like the standard research proposal. Evidence-based practice (EBP) projects focus on providers; they are designed to improve care delivery; that is, they are quality improvement projects. Quality improvement efforts are in most cases designed to solve problems that many people or agencies experience and thus are EBP projects. All nurses have the clinical skills; the key is to recognize that good writing is about observing and making decisions.

This chapter provides the personal reflections between a dissertation chair and a doctoral student who conducted a hermeneutic phenomenological study about the meaning of health among midlife Russian-speaking women. It retraces the dialogue that occurred at select key points during the dissertation process: choosing a dissertation topic and committee, preparing the research proposal, collecting and analyzing data, and disseminating study results. The chapter explores that Dr. Lenore K. Resick (LKR) provides the doctoral student’s perspective, while Dr. Joan Such Lockhart (JSL) offers reflections in the dissertation chair role. LKR mentions that careful attention to the data management according to institutional review board (IRB) guidelines is vital. The chapter then presents ongoing communication between the dissertation chair and student in order to anticipate and manage possible challenges and issues was essential to the decision-making process and study findings.

This chapter examines the life history method in relation to the study of women’s experiences of living with a rare chronic illness. A life history study was conducted on the experience of women living with lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) over a life course. The life stories were analyzed using a modified version of Rosenthal’s method of narrative analysis. The method includes decision making related to the study design and data analysis and challenges concerning recruitment, data collection, and ethical issues. Disease progression ranges from very aggressive with rapid decline in lung function to slow progress with a gradual loss of lung function over decades before interfering with activities of daily living and requiring oxygen therapy. No literature examined in depth the patient experience of LAM as a rare, chronic, incurable condition, and there was a paucity of literature exploring the experience of living with a rare disease.

Qualitative research is a method of inquiry that allows researchers to gather in-depth data on a topic of interest. Metasynthesis is one such method that can be used to situate findings within a larger context. It can transform several individual studies into a unified, powerful body of knowledge. Noblit and Hare, in their seminal work on integrating and synthesizing qualitative research, coined the term, “meta-ethnography” to describe their method of integrating qualitative research findings. This chapter describes the process of conducting a metasynthesis and the challenges faced. Metasyntheses should reveal the essence of the phenomenon under study by generating novel interpretations of findings. Qualitative synthesis projects may lead to a more holistic understanding of patient experiences. Metasyntheses can help strengthen evidence-based practice, and care to patients may be improved when grounded more firmly in the evidence. Such evidence can positively affect decision making in health care policies.

Leader development and role-modeling professional moral courage (PMC) are imperatives for nurse executives. The nurse executive is in a unique position to advocate and influence on behalf of the nurse, patient, and organization. PMC in nurse executive practice promotes effective decision-making and leadership and, consequently, the ability to influence and advocate. The PMC competency framework underscores the qualities of perseverance, resilience, and authentic behavior as necessary characteristics in nurse executive practice. PMC weaved into nurse executive competency advances the leader’s ability to endure adversity and promotes the agility to navigate the healthcare landscape.

This chapter presents grant-writing guidance in the context of community-engaged (CE) research and collaborative community partnerships. Grant application requirements have moved beyond community-informed or -based involvement, to community engagement with documented commitment of all involved in the partnership and specific mandates for shared decision making and resources. When partnering with community members who are new to the research and project development, it is incumbent to empower them early by building their capacity to participate. The implementation of full community engagement requires careful planning and a full understanding by participants of what that commitment to a partnership approach means. The grant proposal must reflect not only one’s knowledge and grantsmanship, but also participation and commitment of all partners. The grant proposal must also show sensitivity to the original community needs in the evaluation plan and also the degree to which the community was engaged in the process.

This chapter provides information on the value of data to inform administrative and clinical decisions to achieve peak performance, anchor strategic initiatives, and improve operational thinking. Managers who operate in vision versus circumstances offer clarity when healthcare infrastructures require change. None of the changes are more discerning than understanding the value of how reliable and evidence-based data can inform administrative and clinical decisions. While governance and culture are significant in any organization, data are pivotal for successful leadership decisions. Meaningful data are key ingredient for quality, safety, and sustainable outcomes. All data, including the historical processes of collection, analysis, and subsequent actions must be considered in any organization when changes are required. The chapter discusses attributes of performance, strategic initiatives, and operational thinking in order to achieve peak performance. It identifies data analysis and evidence-based tools and the value they have when identifying problems, solutions, and achievement of defined outcomes.

To understand big data and its value in healthcare, reverse engineering of information and knowledge from information systems is necessary. This requires tracing the footprint of data from the initial human computer interaction and the larger information system to integration of data, decision support processes, and workflow as discrete electronic inputs are produced. Such inputs yield data that are available for clinical and administrative teams as strategic planning and evidence-based decisions are made. This chapter presents an overview of the footprint of data origin. It defines and discusses the five Vs of big data (volume, velocity, variety, veracity, and value). Quality improvement requires understanding and revising the production of processes on the basis of data. One of the most impactful advantages of electronic transaction processing and clinical documentation is the ability to enter data once and use it multiple times and in multiple ways.