Assessment 1 Applying Library Research Skills – FlexPath BSN Annotated Bibliography
NURS-FPX4000 Assessment 1
Applying Library Research Skills
Capella University — BSN FlexPath | Developing a Nursing Perspective | 2025–2026
Assessment Overview
As a registered nurse entering BSN-level academic work, your ability to locate, evaluate, and apply peer-reviewed research is foundational to every evidence-based decision you will make in clinical and leadership settings. In this first assessment for NURS-FPX4000, you will demonstrate exactly that capability by constructing an annotated bibliography on a current nursing or healthcare problem of professional relevance to you.
You will select one healthcare problem or issue from the Assessment Topic Areas media piece provided in your courseroom. That same topic will carry forward into Assessment 4, so choose deliberately. Your goal in this assessment is not to solve the problem — it is to identify credible, peer-reviewed sources that address it, evaluate those sources systematically, and demonstrate your understanding of academic library search processes.
The completed assignment serves as the research foundation for the remainder of the course. Treat it with the same rigour you would apply to evidence you are using to support a quality improvement initiative at your facility.
Topic Selection
Review the Assessment Topic Areas media piece available in the NURS-FPX4000 courseroom. Select one healthcare problem or issue that you find professionally relevant and that you will be able to sustain across multiple written assessments. The topic areas from which you may choose include, but are not limited to:
- Topic 1: Limited Access to Healthcare
- Topic 2: Medication Errors and Patient Safety
- Topic 3: Healthcare Workforce Shortages and Nurse Burnout
- Topic 4: Healthcare Disparities and Social Determinants of Health
- Topic 5: Mental Health Integration in Primary Care Settings
- Topic 6: Health Informatics, Technology, and Patient Privacy
Once you select your topic, briefly explain why this problem is relevant to your current professional role or clinical environment. You do not need to write a full introduction — a concise paragraph connecting the issue to your nursing practice is sufficient as a contextual opener.
Assignment Instructions
Create a 3- to 5-page annotated bibliography and reflective summary based on your research into best practices related to the healthcare problem you selected. Your paper must be structured as follows.
Part I — Identifying Academic Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
Search for peer-reviewed journal articles relevant to your chosen healthcare problem using Capella University’s Summon search engine and library databases. Recommended databases include ProQuest Central, PubMed Central, CINAHL Complete, and Nursing & Allied Health Collection. At a minimum, locate and use four (4) peer-reviewed journal articles published within the last five years.
In this section of your paper, document your search process. Address each of the following:
- Which databases you searched and why
- The keywords and Boolean operators you used
- The filters or limiters you applied (e.g., peer-reviewed, full text, publication date range)
- How you determined that each article was from an academic, peer-reviewed journal
Part II — Assessing Credibility and Relevance of Sources
For each article you selected, evaluate it against recognised criteria for source credibility and relevance. Use the CRAAP framework (Currency, Relevance, Authority, Accuracy, Purpose) or an equivalent evaluation model. For each article, explain:
- Whether the source is current (published within five years)
- Whether the information is still relevant to current healthcare practice
- Whether the authors are qualified to publish in the subject area
- Whether the content is evidence-based and supports your nursing topic
Part III — Annotated Bibliography
Present your annotated bibliography in APA 7th edition format. Each entry must include:
- The full APA-formatted reference for the article (author, date, title, journal, volume, issue, pages, DOI)
- A paragraph of approximately 150 words (1–3 paragraphs) that:
- Identifies the purpose or research question of the article
- Summarises the key findings and conclusions
- Explains why this article was included (rationale for selection)
- States how it is relevant to your chosen healthcare problem
List all entries in alphabetical order by the first author’s last name. Apply double spacing and hanging indents throughout, consistent with APA 7th edition reference formatting.
Part IV — Reflective Summary
Conclude your paper with a separate reflective summary of one to two paragraphs. In this section:
- Summarise the main points you learned from reviewing these sources
- Describe how the research enhanced your understanding of the healthcare problem
- Identify any gaps or areas of conflicting evidence you noticed across sources
- Briefly explain how this research foundation will inform your approach to the subsequent assessments in this course
Formatting and Submission Requirements
- Length: 3–5 pages of content, not counting the APA title page or reference list
- Font and Spacing: Times New Roman or Calibri, 12-point font, double-spaced throughout
- Margins: 1-inch on all sides (APA 7th edition standard)
- Title Page: Required — include learner name, Capella University, course code, course title, instructor name, and submission date
- Headers: Use APA-level headings to organise your paper into the four sections above
- In-Text Citations: All paraphrased and quoted material must be cited in APA 7th edition format
- References: List all cited sources on a separate reference page in alphabetical order using APA 7th edition format with active DOI links where available
- Minimum Sources: Four (4) peer-reviewed journal articles, all published within the last five years
- File Format: Submit as a Microsoft Word (.docx) file through the Assessment area in your FlexPath courseroom
- Grammar and Mechanics: Proofread carefully; Capella’s Smarthinking writing support service is available to all learners
Refer to the BSN Program Library Research Guide and the APA Module resources available in your courseroom for guidance on database searching and citation formatting.
Competencies Assessed
This assessment maps directly to the following NURS-FPX4000 course competencies:
- Competency 1: Apply information literacy skills to locate credible and relevant healthcare evidence
- Competency 2: Evaluate the credibility, currency, and relevance of peer-reviewed nursing and healthcare literature
- Competency 3: Analyse peer-reviewed journal articles using the annotated bibliography format to build a knowledge foundation for healthcare problem-solving
- Competency 4: Write for a specific academic audience using appropriate tone, style, grammar, and APA 7th edition conventions consistent with Capella’s writing standards
Scoring Rubric — NURS-FPX4000 Assessment 1
The following scoring guide corresponds to the four course competencies. Each criterion is assessed at one of four performance levels: Distinguished, Proficient, Basic, or Non-Performance. To achieve a Distinguished rating on this FlexPath assessment, all criteria must meet or exceed the Proficient threshold. Most learners will need to resubmit at least once before reaching Distinguished on their first FlexPath assessment.
| Criterion | Distinguished (100%) | Proficient (85%) | Basic (75%) | Non-Performance (0%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Competency 1: Identify and locate peer-reviewed academic journal articles relevant to the selected healthcare problem using library databases | Identifies a minimum of four current, peer-reviewed journal articles from appropriate nursing/health databases. Clearly documents keyword strategy, Boolean operators, and database filters used. All articles are demonstrably relevant to the selected problem with no extraneous sources. | Identifies at least four peer-reviewed journal articles from recognised databases. Documents the search process including keywords and database names. Sources are relevant to the healthcare problem selected. | Identifies three or four articles but does not consistently verify peer-review status. Search process documentation is present but incomplete. Some sources may be marginally relevant or outside the five-year currency window. | Fewer than three articles provided, or sources are not peer-reviewed. Little or no documentation of the search process. The connection between sources and the stated healthcare problem is absent or unclear. |
| Competency 2: Assess the credibility, currency, and relevance of each selected information source | Applies a credibility framework (e.g., CRAAP) explicitly and consistently across all sources. Evaluates currency, authority, accuracy, and purpose for each article with specific supporting detail. Justifies relevance to the healthcare problem with precision. | Evaluates credibility and relevance for each article. Addresses currency and relevance explicitly. Justification for inclusion is present for all sources, though some evaluations may lack specific supporting detail. | Credibility evaluation is present but inconsistent. Some articles are assessed only for currency, without attention to author authority or purpose. Rationale for inclusion is superficial for one or more sources. | Credibility and relevance are not evaluated, or evaluation criteria are misunderstood. Sources are included without justification. Currency is not addressed. |
| Competency 3: Analyse peer-reviewed journal articles using the annotated bibliography format to develop a knowledge base for the healthcare problem | Each annotation is approximately 150 words, written in paragraph form, and addresses: purpose of the study, key findings, author conclusions, and specific rationale for inclusion. Annotations demonstrate synthesis and insight rather than surface-level summarising. Reference entries are correctly formatted in APA 7th edition with hanging indents, alphabetical order, and accurate DOI links. | Each annotation addresses purpose, findings, and rationale for inclusion in paragraph form. Reference formatting follows APA 7th edition conventions with minor errors only. Annotations are generally 150 words in length and are double-spaced with hanging indents. | Annotations are present but may be formatted as lists rather than paragraphs, or may omit one required element (e.g., rationale for inclusion or author conclusions). Reference formatting contains repeated APA errors. Length falls below 150 words for one or more entries. | Annotations are missing entirely or bear no resemblance to the required format. References are absent or formatted in a non-APA style. The purpose and findings of the articles are not addressed. |
| Competency 4: Write for a specific academic audience in appropriate tone and style following Capella’s writing standards and APA 7th edition requirements | Writing is clear, logical, and professional throughout. No grammatical, spelling, punctuation, or mechanical errors are present. APA in-text citations are used correctly for all paraphrased and quoted material. Reflective summary is cohesive and demonstrates integration of learning. Paper length falls within 3–5 pages. | Writing is clear and organised with minimal errors that do not impede comprehension. APA in-text citations are used for most sources with only minor lapses. Reflective summary addresses required elements. Paper meets the minimum length requirement. | Writing contains errors in grammar, punctuation, or mechanics that occasionally distract the reader. In-text citation use is inconsistent. Reflective summary is brief or addresses only one of the required elements. Paper may be slightly under minimum length. | Writing is unclear or disorganised, making it difficult to follow the argument. Significant grammatical and mechanical errors are present throughout. APA citations are absent or incorrectly applied. Reflective summary is missing. Paper is substantially below minimum length. |
Note on FlexPath Grading: NURS-FPX4000 uses a competency-based, pass/fail system. Assessments receive a rating of Distinguished, Proficient, Basic, or Non-Performance. You must achieve at minimum a Proficient rating on all criteria to pass this assessment and advance. You may resubmit as many times as needed within your subscription term — there is no penalty for resubmissions.
NURS-FPX4000 Assessment 1: Applying Library Research Skills
Medication errors remain among the most preventable and harmful events in acute care nursing, with studies estimating that such errors contribute to more than 7,000 patient deaths annually in the United States alone. Registered nurses are positioned at the final checkpoint in the medication administration process, making their information literacy and critical appraisal skills directly linked to patient safety outcomes. A targeted search of Capella University’s Summon database, using keywords such as “medication errors,” “nurse fatigue,” and “patient safety” filtered to peer-reviewed, full-text articles published between 2020 and 2025, returned over 400 results; applying the CINAHL Complete and PubMed Central database limiters narrowed this to 22 articles directly relevant to nursing-specific error prevention strategies. Among the sources identified, Bell et al. (2023) provide a particularly rigorous examination of how shift-work-related nurse fatigue compounds medication administration risk, demonstrating through a scoping review of 38 studies that fatigue was implicated in medication errors in 82% of cases reviewed — a finding that has direct implications for staffing models and safety culture at the unit level (Bell et al., 2023, Journal of Clinical Nursing, 32(17–18), 5445–5460. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.16620). Across the four articles gathered for this annotated bibliography, a consistent theme emerged: systemic-level interventions — including electronic medication administration record (eMAR) upgrades, clinical decision support systems, and structured handoff protocols — are more effective at sustained error reduction than individual-level training alone. Developing this annotated bibliography has reinforced the value of database searching skills as a professional nursing competency, not merely an academic exercise, and has provided the research foundation I will draw on when analysing and proposing evidence-based solutions in Assessment 4.
Peer-Reviewed References (APA Format)
- Bell, T., Sprajcer, M., Flenady, T. & Sahay, A. (2023). Fatigue in nurses and medication administration errors: A scoping review. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 32(17–18), 5445–5460. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.16620
- Liang, M.Q., Thibault, M., Jouvet, P., Lebel, D., Schuster, T., Moreault, M.-P. & Motulsky, A. (2023). Improving medication safety in a pediatric hospital: A mixed-methods evaluation of a newly implemented computerized provider order entry system. BMJ Health & Care Informatics, 30(1), e100622. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjhci-2022-100622
- Griffiths, P., Ball, J., Bloor, K., Böhning, D., Franklin, B.D., Murrels, T., Jones, J., Kovacs, C., Maben, J., Rafferty, A.M. & Simon, M. (2023). Nurse staffing and patient outcomes: Strengths and limitations of the evidence to inform policy and practice. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 141, 104465. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2023.104465
- Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing (2021). The future of nursing 2020–2030: Charting a path to achieve health equity. National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25982
- Rodziewicz, T.L., Houseman, B. & Hipskind, J.E. (2024). Medical error reduction and prevention. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499956/