A DNP project is not a small PhD, and writing it like one causes most of the trouble
The DNP scholarly project translates existing evidence into practice. It is not designed to generate new knowledge, and candidates who frame it as original research end up with a document that does not match what their program is assessing.
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Translation, implementation and evaluation, not discovery
A PhD in nursing asks a question nobody has answered. A DNP project takes something the evidence already supports, implements it in a real setting, and evaluates what happened. Both are doctoral. They are assessed on different things, and the writing differs accordingly.
This has a practical consequence that catches people out. Because a DNP project is often quality improvement rather than research, it may not require full IRB review, and many sites use a determination process instead. Getting that classification right matters, because treating QI as research adds months and treating research as QI is a compliance problem.
It also changes what the document reports. A QI project is reported against standards such as SQUIRE 2.0, which asks for things a research write-up does not: the local problem, the rationale for the intervention, the specific context, and what happened to the process measures as well as the outcomes.
- Framed as translation rather than as original research
- QI or research determination settled early with your site
- Written against the reporting standard your program expects
- Sustainability and dissemination addressed, not just results
What a review covers
On your own project document
- Whether the framing matches what your program is assessing
- The practice problem, stated with local data rather than national data
- Evidence synthesis: enough to justify the intervention, no more
- Measures: outcome, process and balancing, and whether they were defined in advance
- Whether the write-up meets SQUIRE 2.0 or your program's stated standard
Four recurring problems
Written as original research
Hypotheses, a gap in the literature and a claim to new knowledge. The committee is looking for implementation and evaluation, and the mismatch reads immediately.
A national problem, not a local one
Opening with national statistics and never showing the problem exists in your setting. The local data is what justifies the project, and it is frequently missing.
Measures chosen after the fact
Deciding what counts as success once results are in. Outcome, process and balancing measures should be defined before implementation and reported whether or not they moved.
No sustainability plan
The project ends when the candidate graduates and everything reverts. Committees ask what happens next, and a real answer is part of the contribution.
Your project, your setting, your write-up
- We do not write your project document or any section of it.
- We do not design your intervention.
- We do not analyze your data for you.
- We do not contact your site, your committee or your program.
- We review what you have written and tell you where it will not hold.
We also do not advise on whether your project needs IRB review. That determination belongs to your site and your program, and getting it in writing from them early is worth doing before implementation rather than after. Read the full policy.
Frequently Asked Questions
A PhD generates new knowledge. A DNP project translates existing evidence into practice in a specific setting and evaluates the result. The DNP is assessed on implementation, measurable practice change and sustainability rather than on originality of findings.
It depends on whether it is classified as quality improvement or as research, and that determination is made by your site and program rather than by you. Many QI projects go through a determination process instead of full review. Get the answer in writing before you implement anything.
A reporting standard for quality improvement work, widely used for DNP projects. It asks for the local problem, the rationale for the intervention, the context, the measures and what was learned about the process as well as the outcome. Check whether your program requires it before you structure the document.
No. A well-designed project that implemented faithfully and measured honestly is a successful project even when the outcome did not move. What matters is what you can say about why, usually from your process measures, and what you would do differently. Hiding a null result is the actual failure.
It is usually not framed that way. QI projects work with a defined population in a setting over a period rather than with a recruited sample, and the sizing question is whether you can detect a meaningful change in your measures. Your program's expectations are the guide here.
We can help you test whether one you are considering is workable: whether the evidence supports an intervention, whether you can get site buy-in, and whether you can measure the change in the time available. Choosing it is yours, and it should come from your own setting.
Send the project document and your program's requirements
We will tell you whether the framing matches what is being assessed, whether the local problem is established, and where the measures will be questioned.
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