Tips prior to starting DNP/FNP program!

PG2018 · May 12, 2016

I'd suggest developing an expedited way to crank out APA papers double quick.

I suffer from diarrhea of both the mouth and keyboard. Great speeches, papers, and letters to Congress off the cuff.

I'll tell you my research system if you like.

Guest603994 · May 12, 2016

Yes! That would be absolutely fantastic! Thank you again!

AZBlueBell · May 12, 2016

I'd suggest developing an expedited way to crank out APA papers double quick.
I suffer from diarrhea of both the mouth and keyboard. Great speeches, papers, and letters to Congress off the cuff.
I'll tell you my research system if you like.

Would love to know your research system as well!

B_rac777 · May 12, 2016

I'm starting school this fall as well, would love if you could PM me or post your method in this thread!

Thanks!

sadiemae1123 · May 12, 2016

As far as using APA style with writing your papers, I would suggest investing in a software program that automatically formats your writing and stores your bibliography sources. You'll still have to double check your work, but these can save you so much grief and points lost over picky details.

If you already have an idea of what you want to do your project on, choose that as your topic on any papers where that is an option. It'll save you time on your project when researching.

In my program conciseness and brevity were important for most papers. Most papers had a maximum length of 3 pages or less, with the exception of my final project.

PG2018 · May 13, 2016

1. Decide on a topic you can research that will have realistic sources to draw from.

2. Sit down at PubMed and other choice databases and search and save articles. Judge by title and if at all related skim abstract. If seemingly acceptable save it into another more refined list.

3. After you've got two to three times the papers you think you need go back to the abstracts and further review. If questions dig into the meat of given areas of the paper. If send to an again more refined list.y you gradually taper off the number of papers.

4. Once you're satisfied with your list. Printeach article and staple.

4b. Make an APA reference list to refer back to. 4 couldn't have been as easy as printing and stapling!

5. Skim and decide on sequencing.

6. Read and highlight what you want.

7. Stop and don't do anything for a couple of days at least.

8. Read the highlighted stuff.

9. Sit down at keyboard and start typing using quotes, paraphrases, and "your own words."

10. Keep typing. Dont stop. Sit there all day screaming in agony. Pound on the table and maybe even kick a chair over. It's an adult tantrum. It's fine . You may even spill a bowl of ranch on your dog. Ive. Done it too.

11. Soon you're done.

12. Type up intro, closing, title page.

13. Edit and finalize.

14. Submit.

15. Leave all that **** laying out for a week and rejoice in your completion, pick it all up, out it away, and you've made an A on your paper.

BlackBettyRN,OCN · May 16, 2016

1. Decide on a topic you can research that will have realistic sources to draw from.
2. Sit down at PubMed and other choice databases and search and save articles. Judge by title and if at all related skim abstract. If seemingly acceptable save it into another more refined list.
3. After you've got two to three times the papers you think you need go back to the abstracts and further review. If questions dig into the meat of given areas of the paper. If send to an again more refined list.y you gradually taper off the number of papers.
4. Once you're satisfied with your list. Printeach article and staple.
4b. Make an APA reference list to refer back to. 4 couldn't have been as easy as printing and stapling!
5. Skim and decide on sequencing.
6. Read and highlight what you want.
7. Stop and don't do anything for a couple of days at least.
8. Read the highlighted stuff.
9. Sit down at keyboard and start typing using quotes, paraphrases, and "your own words."
10. Keep typing. Dont stop. Sit there all day screaming in agony. Pound on the table and maybe even kick a chair over. It's an adult tantrum. It's fine . You may even spill a bowl of ranch on your dog. Ive. Done it too.
11. Soon you're done.
12. Type up intro, closing, title page.
13. Edit and finalize.
14. Submit.
15. Leave all that **** laying out for a week and rejoice in your completion, pick it all up, out it away, and you've made an A on your paper.

This was almost the exact method I had to endure while completing my final literature review for my research class this semester lol!

B_rac777 · May 16, 2016

Can you recomend a software package, or PM me a good recommendation, please?

sadiemae1123 · May 17, 2016

I think I used PERRLA. It cost about $30 and used Word. There are lots of others I believe.

If you google APA format software, you'll get a lot of hits. Some offer free versions so you can download a few to see which works best for your writing style.

You could also ask students a year or so ahead of you if any particular software program is better suited for your school. Or the librarian. Some school's online library are compatible with different types of software programs, so you can upload any articles from places like PubMed straight to the formatting software for easy referencing, quoting, and citations.

Honestly, this was the best thing I invested in during school. I'm not a detail oriented person, so it drove me nuts trying to figure out where each indentation, colon, semicolon, etc was supposed to be placed for each type of reference. And I lost needless points on papers because I kept making those type of mistakes.

B_rac777 · May 18, 2016

Thanks so much for the suggestion, I never really thought of using software for the formatting!