REFINING OF DATA ANALYSIS AND SYNTHESISIZATION
2023 - 2026
Introduction
Throughout my Honors College experience, I have had various opportunities to further my knowledge and expand my expertise as a nursing student. Below are a few of the opportunities:
1. An honors class centered around research and collecting data for a literature review that we will finish in May of 2026.
2. An honors contract based in a psychology class in which I participated in a research project on how birth order affects personality.
3. A Nursing Research and EBP class in which I participated in an Evidence Based-Practice project and wrote a paper.
Within these classes I have had the opportunity to further develop my data synthesis and analysis skills. This is beneficial for my nursing practice as I can find proper data to support evidence-based practice, thus improving patient satisfaction and health outcomes.
Nursing Honors Colloquium - Fall 2024 to Spring of 2026
The purpose of this class is to collect and analyze data on the self-acceptability of self-collection HPV collection in underserved communities. After synthesis of the data, we began working on an abstract and literature review.
Abstract
Review of Articles
Reflection
During this class, I experienced significant growth in my ability to analyze and interpret research data while working on our literature review about HPV self-sampling among women. Through reviewing and comparing many articles, I became more confident identifying study designs, distinguishing between qualitative and quantitative research, and determining whether the data supported our PICO question. As I practiced evaluating the reliability and relevance of research findings, I improved my ability to interpret meaningful results and focus on the most important evidence. This process helped me better understand how data analysis contributes to evidence-based practice and the development of interventions that support underserved and marginalized populations. Overall, this course strengthened my confidence in analyzing research data and applying it to improve patient care and health outcomes.
Psychology 101: Personality and Birth Order - Spring 2023
Honors Contract
For my honors contract, I worked with another honors student on a topic of our choosing. We chose finding and analyzing data on whether or not a person's personality was shaped by their birth order.
Outline
Annotated Bibliography
Reflection
The myth of birth order shaping personality project helped me grow in my ability to analyze and synthesize data. While researching the topic, I reviewed multiple studies that examined whether birth order truly influences personality traits. By comparing the findings across different articles, I had to evaluate the strength of the evidence, identify patterns in the data, and determine whether the conclusions supported or challenged the common myth. This process required me to synthesize information from several sources rather than relying on a single study, which helped me better understand how research findings are interpreted and applied. Developing these data analysis and synthesis skills is beneficial because it allows me to critically evaluate information and use reliable evidence to inform decisions. In nursing practice, these skills are essential for interpreting research, applying evidence-based interventions, and ensuring that patient care is guided by accurate and trustworthy data.
Nursing Research and EBP - Spring 2025
For this class we completed an evidence-based project on educational benefits on breastfeeding duration and success. We conducted a literature review of existing data to determine how successful antepartum and postpartum education would be on breastfeeding rates.
EBP Paper
EBP Presentation
Reflection
Working on my evidence-based practice project helped me significantly grow my data analysis and synthesis skills. While reviewing multiple research studies on breastfeeding education and success rates, I had to carefully examine the data, compare findings across different study designs, and determine how each article contributed to answering our PICO question. This required identifying patterns in results, evaluating the strength of the evidence, and combining the key findings into a clear synthesis that supported our proposed intervention. For example, many of the studies demonstrated that prenatal and postpartum breastfeeding education improved breastfeeding success rates, which helped guide our conclusions about changes in practice.
Through this process, I developed a stronger ability to interpret research data and connect evidence from multiple sources to form meaningful conclusions. These skills are beneficial because they allow me to critically evaluate research and apply evidence-based findings to improve patient care and clinical decision-making in my future nursing practice.
