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Question: In adult hospitalized post-surgical patients, how does the use of pharmacological measures compared to nonpharmacological measures affect pain control within the first 48 hours post-operatively ? 
Significance of the Study to Nursing
· Describe the importance of the study to nursing and justify the need for the study through clinical experience and through a review of the literature.
· Include primarily nursing literature, although literature from other disciplines can be used also.
o Example: This study is being conducted in an attempt to provide empirical data that will contribute to Nursing’s evidence-based practice. While nursing studies have been conducted to empirically investigate factors that influence African American women in following the breast cancer screening guidelines each have concluded that a qualitative study is indicated (Cullen, 2007, Anderson, 2008 and Smith, 2009).
Research Questions and/or Research Hypotheses
A study can designate either to have research questions or research hypotheses. The researcher will decide which one is appropriate depending on the research problem statement.
Research Questions:
· Write the research question(s) clearly concisely.
· The questions need to contain the population to be studied, the setting, and the variables of interest.
· The relationship between the problem and the research questions needs to be clear and indisputable.
· Connect the questions with the identified dependent and independent variables
o Example: In African American women ages 30 to 65 living in the Southeastern region of the United States, how does lack of insurance affect having a mammogram?
Research Hypotheses
· Write each hypothesis to state the expected outcome and indicate how this will be measured.
· You can write a simple hypothesis, which is a hypothesis that expresses an expected relationship between one independent and one dependent variable.
· A complex hypothesis refers to a prediction of a relationship between two (or more) independent variables and/or two (or more) dependent variables.
o Example: More African American women ages 30 to 45 who participate in a breast cancer education will get a mammogram than African American women ages 55 to 65 who receive only printed literature.
Theoretical/Conceptual Framework
In this section select a nursing or other theory that describes the problem being identified.
· Describe fully the theoretical or conceptual framework you selected to guide the development of the study.
· Explain the theory in sufficient detail to allow the reader to follow the logical flow between the theory and the proposed study.
· Make a conceptual map identifying the linkage between the problem, the theory, the interventions and the expected outcomes.
o Example: The theory that will be used to guide this research is Imogene King’s Theory of Goal Attainment (King,1981) because this theory states that individuals have the capacity to think, make choices, and select alterative courses of action that influence the goals they set and attain.