2022 AP Exam Administration Student Samples and Commentary

2022

Research

Academic

Paper

Sample Student Responses

and Scoring Commentary

Inside:

Sample G

• • Scoring Guidelines

••

Student Samples

•• Scoring Commentary

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Research Academic Paper 2022 Scoring Guidelines

The Response…

Score of 1

Report on Existing Knowledge

Score of 2

Report on Existing Knowledge with

Simplistic Use of a Research

Method

Score of 3

Ineffectual Argument for a New

Understanding

Score of 4

Well-Supported, Articulate

Argument Conveying a New

Understanding

Score of 5

Rich Analysis of a New

Understanding Addressing a Gap

in the Research Base

Presents an overly broad topic of

inquiry.

Presents a topic of inquiry with

narrowing scope or focus, that is

NOT carried through either in the

method or in the overall line of

reasoning.

Carries the focus or scope of a topic

of inquiry through the method AND

overall line of reasoning, even though

the focus or scope might still be

narrowing.

Focuses a topic of inquiry with clear

and narrow parameters, which are

addressed through the method and

the conclusion.

Focuses a topic of inquiry with clear

and narrow parameters, which are

addressed through the method and

the conclusion.

Situates a topic of inquiry within a

single perspective derived from

scholarly works OR through a variety

of perspectives derived from mostly

non-scholarly works.

Situates a topic of inquiry within a

single perspective derived from

scholarly works OR through a variety

of perspectives derived from mostly

non-scholarly works.

Situates a topic of inquiry within

relevant scholarly works of varying

perspectives, although connections

to some works may be unclear.

Explicitly connects a topic of inquiry

to relevant scholarly works of

varying perspectives AND logically

explains how the topic of inquiry

addresses a gap.

Explicitly connects a topic of inquiry

to relevant scholarly works of

varying perspectives AND logically

explains how the topic of inquiry

addresses a gap.

Describes a search and report

process.

Describes a nonreplicable research

method OR provides an

oversimplified description of a

method, with questionable alignment

to the purpose of the inquiry.

Describes a reasonably replicable

research method, with questionable

alignment to the purpose of the

inquiry.

Logically defends the alignment of a

detailed, replicable research method

to the purpose of the inquiry.

Logically defends the alignment of a

detailed, replicable research method

to the purpose of the inquiry.

Summarizes or reports existing

knowledge in the field of

understanding pertaining to the topic

of inquiry.

Summarizes or reports existing

nowledge in the field of

understanding pertaining to the topic

of inquiry.

Conveys a new understanding or

conclusion, with an underdeveloped

line of reasoning OR insufficient

evidence.

Supports a new understanding or

onclusion through a logically

organized line of reasoning AND

sufficient evidence. The limitations

and/or implications, if present, of the

new understanding or conclusion are

oversimplified.

Justifies a new understanding or

onclusion through a logical

progression of inquiry choices,

sufficient evidence, explanation of

the limitations of the conclusion, and

an explanation of the implications to

the community of practice.

Generally communicates the

student’s ideas, although errors in

grammar, discipline-specific style,

and organization distract or confuse

the reader.

Generally communicates the

tudent’s ideas, although errors in

grammar, discipline-specific style,

and organization distract or confuse

the reader.

Competently communicates the

tudent’s ideas, although there may

be some errors in grammar,

discipline-specific style, and

organization.

Competently communicates the

tudent’s ideas, although there may

be some errors in grammar,

discipline-specific style, and

organization.

Enhances the communication of the

student’s ideas through organization,

use of design elements, conventions

of grammar, style, mechanics, and

word precision, with few to no errors.

Cites AND/OR attributes sources (in

bibliography/ works cited and/or in-

text), with multiple errors and/or an

inconsistent use of a discipline-

specific style.

Cites AND/OR attributes sources (in

bibliography/ works cited and/or in-

text), with multiple errors and/or an

inconsistent use of a discipline-

specific style.

Cites AND attributes sources, using a

discipline-specific style (in both

bibliography/works cited AND in-

text), with few errors or

inconsistencies.

Cites AND attributes sources, with a

consistent use of an appropriate

discipline-specific style (in both

bibliography/works cited AND in-

text), with few to no errors.

Cites AND attributes sources, with a

consistent use of an appropriate

discipline-specific style (in both

bibliography/works cited AND in-

text), with few to no errors.

Research 2022 Scoring Commentary

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Academic Paper

Overview

This performance task was intended to assess students’ ability to conduct scholarly and responsible

res

earch and articulate an evidence-based argument that clearly communicates the conclusion,

solution, or answer to their stated research question. More specifically, this performance task was

intended to assess students’ ability to:

• Generate a focused research question that is situated within or connected to a larger scholarly

context or community;

• Explore relationships between and among multiple works representing multiple perspectives

ithin the scholarly literature related to the topic of inquiry;

• Articulate what approach, method, or process they have chosen to use to address their research

uestion, why they have chosen that approach to answering their question, and how they

employed it;

• Develop and present their own argument, conclusion, or new understanding while

knowledging its limitations and discussing implications;

• Support their conclusion through the compilation, use, and synthesis of relevant and significant

idence generated by their research;

• Use organizational and design elements to effectively convey the paper’s message;

• Consistently and accurately cite, attribute, and integrate the knowledge and work of others,

while distinguishing between the student’s voice and that of others;

• Generate a paper in which word choice and syntax enhance communication by adhering to

stablished conventions of grammar, usage, and mechanics.

How will the shortage in staff of registered nurses affect the future of current nursing students in

Southern California?

How will the shortage in staff of registered nurses affect the future of current nursing students in

Southern California?

April 14, 2022

AP Research

Word Count: 4003

Research Sample G

1 of 14

Research Sample G 2 of 14

How will the shortage in staff of registered nurses affect the future of current nursing students in

Southern California?

The heroes of our society are constantly being mistreated through the lack of support

needed to get through each day. Registered nurses are heroes because they aid patients back to

good health by providing care and support, along with educating them on ways to maintain their

wellbeing. However, every day nurses are overwhelmed by all the responsibilities that come with

being a caretaker, especially with the virus, Covid-19. Even before the virus, there has been a

scarcity of staff within the field for about sixty years which is still continuously growing to this

day. There is a lack of awareness of the decrease in staff, not many individuals enhance this

awareness which is increasing the chances of our hospitals losing more nursing staff and possibly

current nursing students who are in the process of becoming one. Some do not ascertain the

long-term effect this issue can have on the future, it may cause a huge change in the nursing field

if this issue affects current nursing students. More people should be aware of the shortage of

nurses because the longer this issue is ignored, the fewer nurses we are going to have.

Addressing the issue of nursing staff brought up the question of How will the shortage in

staff of registered nurses affect the future of current nursing students in Southern California?

Having only a small variety of people who know about the issue and the effects that this shortage

has on hospitals, patients, and nurses themselves puts a risk on the availability of future health

care. Also, the concern for the future nurses, is that it has been difficult for them to graduate

because of the overload of patients in hospitals. This creates longer hours for nurses who are on

call to work and even ones who are not. Unfortunately, overload of patients is not the only cause

of this issue. These issues include the stress put on nurses, the coronavirus, the retirement of

older nurses, the struggle of finding nurses to come work, not enough graduate nurses being

hired, and many more that you will read later in this paper.

Research Sample G 3 of 14

How will the shortage in staff of registered nurses affect the future of current nursing students in

Southern California?

The most important effect people need to acknowledge about the shortage of registered

nurses is the increasing amount of stress that has developed throughout the years of this being an

issue. It has driven each and every nurse to be experienced born out and is even driving some to

quit their jobs. This then creates the number of staff to drop, meaning less nursing staff, which

equals less care for patients. An article titled, “Nurse Shortage In California Reaching Crisis

Point” written by Catherine Burger, who has a medical degree in Human Medicine from

Michigan State University College, explains the impact covid-19 has had on the nursing

shortage. According to Burger, Covid-19 does play a substantial role in the cause of shortness of

staff because it has decreased the number of nurses who are employed and has put hospitals in

the position where they are also struggling with equipment. Burger states, “...without the staff to

keep up with the influx of patients, nurses found themselves in the stressful positions of

providing care as hospitals struggled to provide enough equipment and necessary PPE” (Burger,

2021). A large amount of covid patients has added on to the patients who are in the hospital for

other natural needs of healthcare causing there not to be enough equipment to help hospitalize

those patients, putting more stress on those nurses not being able to provide care for every single

patient.

There are many possible ways that there is a nursing shortage, but it seems to be that the

coronavirus is one of the main sources of the increasing problem of this issue. Working in a

hospital around sick patients, specifically, ones that are infected with the coronavirus can expose

those nurses to that virus. Being in an environment filled with patients that carry the virus puts

all nurses at a higher risk of obtaining it, especially older nurses who are much more vulnerable.

Rebecca Wolfson a multi-media producer and reporter has an article titled, “California Faces

Research Sample G 4 of 14

How will the shortage in staff of registered nurses affect the future of current nursing students in

Southern California?

Short-Term Nursing Shortage From Covid-19 Retirements,” in which she mentions the high

exposure to the coronavirus at hospitals, causes older nurses to consider retiring. It also leads

other registered nurses to quit within the next two years (Wolfson, 2021). Wolfson also mentions

that hospitals are facing challenges in filling those nursing positions of the ones who are quitting

or retiring. Nursing programs are not accepting more nursing students that are needed and it has

created a more difficult route for the nursing students and for those positions to be filled. The

nursing shortage will just continue to cycle starting with nursing programs not accepting more

than half of their applicants, and nurses wanting to retire and quit. This is affecting the healthcare

system extensively because of the lack of staff in hospitals and the effects coronavirus has put on

this problem.

The virus has made the shortage of nurses worse, it has also created a picture in people's

heads of fear and death. According to an article titled “How The Coronavirus Might Worsen

California’s Nurse Shortage” by Claire Trageser and Jill Castellano, who are investigative

reporters state that colleges across California are having to pull nursing students from their

clinical experiences in hospitals in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. This is a way to

reduce the spread of covid-19 and protect the nursing students from being exposed, but students

may not have the clinical hours that are required to graduate, which will continue California’s

ongoing nursing shortage (Trageser, Castellano, 2020). The virus has caused more worries within

the field leading back to the nursing shortage which is putting the future of nursing at stake.

On top of nursing students not being able to graduate because of the loss of

hospitalization hours, nursing programs are also one of the leading causes of the nursing

shortage. Nursing programs are falling behind in accepting students who want to be in their

Research Sample G 5 of 14

How will the shortage in staff of registered nurses affect the future of current nursing students in

Southern California?

nursing program because of how competitive and difficult they are. Matt Krupnick who wrote an

article titled “When Nurses Are Needed Most, Nursing Programs Aren’t Keeping Up With

Demand” states that over 1,200 students applied to enter the associate degree program in nursing

at Long Beach City College but they only accepted 32, also that California State University is

not enrolling any students until at least next fall (Krupnick, 2021). Nursing teachers are also

quitting in large numbers, which is decreasing the amount of required clinical training nursing

students need in order to graduate (Krupnick, 2021). It is worsening the education system for

nursing students because they are losing their nursing teachers, their chances to get clinical

hours, and even the chance to get into a nursing program.

All of these causes and effects of the nursing shortage can lead one to wonder if it will

continue to grow far into the future. The shortage of nursing staff has been uncontrollably

unstable for the past three years because of the coronavirus, and it might have caused a long-term

effect on the future of nurses. An article titled “The Future Of Nursing 2020-2030” is about

exploring the thoughts of nursing in the future of 2030, and improving the well-being of the

people in the U.S. in the 21st century, which is held together by a committee. These visions the

committee considers are great ways to help the nursing shortage as a result of the pandemic. The

committees are very dedicated to helping this issue because they want to take into account the

dramatic changes in clinical care, nurse education, nursing leadership, and nursing community

partnerships as a result of the pandemic (National Academy Of Medicine). Having this

information is a liability for this issue and could be a short-term solution, being that not many

people are educated enough and are not aware of the issue or this committee.

Research Sample G 6 of 14

How will the shortage in staff of registered nurses affect the future of current nursing students in

Southern California?

Another issue that includes coronavirus and is affecting nursing students' education, is

that “budgets are so constrained that student nurses are forced to buy their protection equipment

or PPE” (Krupnick). Hospitals do not have enough money to provide nursing students with

protection from the coronavirus, including masks, shields, gloves, etc. also with the basic

equipment required to be a nursing student.

Being that nursing staff have been in shortage for a while and not many people know how

they are feeling emotionally, mentally, and physically, or what the causes of this issue are.

Participants were chosen to be interviewed which will allow their voices to be heard, getting a

first-hand perspective on how the lack of staff has been affecting them and the hospital care.

They were asked to sign for consent to sit down, have a one-on-one conversation while being

asked questions such as, “What do you know about the nursing shortage? Do you believe this

issue has a long-term effect on the future of the nursing field? Do you believe covid-19 plays a

big role in the nursing shortage?” and more. Getting a first-hand perspective and having a

one-on-one conversation with these nurses can help me the experience and better understand

where they are coming from and further allow me to prove to others that they are going through a

tough time. The participants could also have possible answers to why there has been a shortage

and why it is continuing to still happen. Getting their input on what they know about the shortage

could reveal how it possibly will affect the future of nursing students. There were a few nurse

participants that were willing to sit down and talk about what they know, including a hospital

nurse, a nurse that has recently graduated from nursing school, and a school nurse. The first

interview was with a registered nurse who is currently employed at a local hospital, the second

was with a recent nursing graduate who is specialized in school nursing and I asked them a series

Research Sample G 7 of 14

How will the shortage in staff of registered nurses affect the future of current nursing students in

Southern California?

of questions. Along with if the nursing shortage has personally affected them or anyone they

know if they are comfortable with answering that question. Most importantly they were asked if

they think covid-19 has caused the issue to grow bigger and how it has a part in the shortage of

nurses.

While the participants were being asked a series of questions, their answers were

recorded onto a word document and will be used as evidence, and each interview did not last

longer than 30 minutes to an hour because of the sake of time. After contacting the current

participants who have signed a consent form, I was hoping they would possibly know of other

registered nurses who are willing to do the same, but it turns out most of them were busy or not

willing to participate. Which created less perspectives for me to see and connect to the research I

had already done. Unfortunately, in the middle of the method, some of the participants were

unable to participate so it brought me down to two participants in total, which is not the amount

that I wanted.

As for my results, I did manage to get enough information from those two participants to

use as evidence. Regarding the subjects who were not able to participate, each participant had a

similar response to the series of questions, just different experiences. Participant one, who is a

stroke nurse at a hospital in Southern California, was asked about their personal experience and

what they knew about the issue. He stated that they struggle with getting staff to work day and

night to come in and take care of the patients in the hospitals. When they are not able to fill in

those positions for the nurses who are not working that day, it is difficult to take care of the

patients who are sick due to not enough nurses that are available to work. Those sick patients go

to the emergency department and stay there for hours causing them to get even sicker because of

Research Sample G 8 of 14

How will the shortage in staff of registered nurses affect the future of current nursing students in

Southern California?

the lack of care they are receiving. This is causing a large affect on patients as well as nurses

because it puts patients care at risk of not getting the actual care that they need in order to stay

healthy. Along with nurses, who worry about their well-being themselves, they are rushing

throughout the hospital trying to get to as many patients as they can since there are not enough

workers to provide that care for them. Which puts more weight on their back with stress and

responsibilities. With mostly all hospitals under the impression that they need more nurses, they

are fighting to hire the same registered nurses, and are competing for their service to fill in those

missing work positions.

Participant number two is a recent nursing graduate who works for an agency and is

currently working at a school as a school registry nurse. She was asked the same question and

stated that she got hired into the field because she was needed to help with the nursing shortage.

This made her a perfect participant to interview because she was a nursing student while the

pandemic was still in motion. They were both asked if they think there will be a long-term effect

on the future of the nursing field and both participants agreed with “yes” and had similar

responses as to why. Participant number one said that there are a lot of senior nurses that are

retiring which is adding to the shortage, along with schools for nurses, because they are not

producing enough nursing graduates. With a similar idea, participant number two states that “we

can't fit as many nurses into nursing schools, as we need to replace the nurses that are leaving.”

Which is the cause of a loop in why we are in a nursing shortage, because since nurses are

quitting and retiring we can’t fill in those spots with incoming nurses because there are not

enough being hired into the field. With the craziness within the field they are looking for

hardworking and dedicated people that could handle the stress, to get hired into the field. Their

Research Sample G 9 of 14

How will the shortage in staff of registered nurses affect the future of current nursing students in

Southern California?

responses connect with the information that I have found in many articles which proves to me

that that information is true and nurses are suffering greatly from not being able to have as much

help from their colleagues.

The participants were also asked what they think caused this issue, adding to what they

have mentioned before but they both have very different experiences. Participant number one

says that nurses are quitting their position in hospitals to become travel nurses because being a

travel nurse has more benefits. For example, they get sent to different parts of the world to help

patients in need of care and they get paid much more than a regular registered nurse. Participant

number 2 mentions the baby generation of nurses and how not many of them are planning to be

hired into the field because the program is only allowing a certain amount of students in. The

baby generation of nurses is the new incoming nursing students or the generation that are

planning to become a nurse. Overall, since there are a lot of senior nurses that are retiring and not

enough nursing students getting hired into the nursing field, it adds to the shortage of registered

nurses. It causes more destruction and is very difficult trying to fill in those missing work

positions.

Going back to the coronavirus and how it has made a major impact on the nursing

shortage, these participants were asked if the covid-19 virus has played a big role in the nursing

shortage. Both of the participants come to the agreement of yes it does play a big role because it

has caused a major build-up of stress on the nurses. The loss of retired nurses and not enough

incoming nurses create such busy work for those nurses because as participant number two

states, “Since a lot of people are at retiring age, they also don’t want to get sick and even more so

wanting them to retire which makes hospitals even busier, creating such busy work.” The retiring

Research Sample G 10 of 14

How will the shortage in staff of registered nurses affect the future of current nursing students in

Southern California?

nurses are causing the number of employed nurses to decrease, making it more difficult to fill in

the spots of those who had already quit, along with not many nursing graduates being able to get

hired. This is why nurses are so burnt out and are driving even more to quit. As a recent graduate

participant number two mentioned that it is difficult for students to get hired because they want

people were are genuine and who know how to work.

Adding on to the stress nurses have gained, one of the more mind-blowing pieces of

information that were gathered is when the question “What major changes in the nursing field

were made because of the coronavirus?” was asked. Participant number one had said that it is

mandated for nurses to come in and work even if they have covid but have no symptoms, or they

would be laid off. Along with that participant number two was asked the same questions and she

had a similar response, saying that nurses are getting fired from their jobs for being unvaccinated

which adds to the number of nurses missing from the field. She also mentions that patient care

has been decreasing because the number of patients has increased due to the nurses that are

leaving or getting fired. These issues are causing the quality of patient care to go down and

creating a more overwhelming environment and job for the nurses. Participant number two also

states that in California there is a ratio of patients that the nurses receive, and in the medical field

there is a maximum of six patients that each nurse receives. But because of the nursing shortage

and the huge amount of losses, some of those ratios have increased to about eight people per

nurse, and because of that, the quality of patient care has gone down. She makes a really good

point when she mentioned that they now have added to the number of patients each nurse gets

because that is one of the reasons why our nurses are being so burnt out. Due to the amount of

Research Sample G 11 of 14

How will the shortage in staff of registered nurses affect the future of current nursing students in

Southern California?

responsibilities they originally had this added to them causing the stress that all nurses are

stating, which is driving them to quit.

Arguably the most important question that I asked the participants was if this nursing

shortage has affected them personally because getting to know their personal experiences can

show that it is affecting nurses more than people think. Participant number one said that it has

been affecting him personally because currently, he is now a stroke nurse, but he is being forced

to work at his old position in the ICU, which is the intensive care unit in a hospital for patients

that are very ill. It affects him and even other nurses because it adds another level to their

stressfulness when their job is already stressful. This should not be okay for nurses to be working

in other specialties, it creates a confusing and more stressful envoinrmment in hospitals, in which

nurses and other healthare takers do not need. He also mentions how they do not get any breaks

to even, drink water, eat food, use the restroom, and they do not even get to go on as many

vacations because of how there is limited staff. This is one of the reasons why nurses are

quitting, because it is said that nurses are quitting to become travel nurses, they get to travel the

world, and be on vacation, while saving peoples lives all at the same time. However, Participant

number two has a different experience than participant number one because she was barely

finishing nursing school. It has affected her because she said when graduated from nursing

school, hospitals were so busy due to the lack of nurses that there were not many people to

interview, and weren't able to get back to them because of how busy everyone was. Which

decreased the amount of experience the nursing students could of had, along with the lack of

practice and help to prepare them for he actual job of being a nurse.

Research Sample G 12 of 14

How will the shortage in staff of registered nurses affect the future of current nursing students in

Southern California?

A cause of nursing burnout is how covid has taken a toll on people because they do not

have enough help. Nursing students who graduated last year have been burnt out because of how

busy hospitals are and according to participant number two, they “don't know if they can do it

anymore.” According to participant number one, nurses are getting overworked and hospital

administrations are taking away their help, he states that “we're not getting paid enough for this

very stressful job.” He mentions that they are always “cutting corners” which can put the

patient's health in danger and the health of the nurses as well.

Asking the participants the question “do you think if we spread more awareness of this

issue it would help?” they responded very differently and is the first question where they both

had different opinions. Participant number one thinks that spreading awareness is not going to

benefit as much because “money runs the health industry and if they could cut corners

somewhere, they will do it to save a penny.” That is coming from the experience of working in a

hospital and what he has seen within the hospital's borders. However, participant number two

says that yes spreading more awareness could help this issue, but “within our state.” She states

that if it can be spread “the state can make more opportunities for students to become a nurse, or

influence them to be in the field.”

Besides all of the good outcomes of my method, not everything went right in the process

of developing my results. As a result of being in a nursing shortage, many nurses are so busy it

was difficult to get in contact with some nurses I wanted to be a part of my research. I lost some

of my original participants because they were too busy with their schedules that it was hard to

work around it and find a time when they are free. Being that I could not get a hold of some

subjects I was left with only two participants to interview, bringing me to my limitation of

Research Sample G 13 of 14

How will the shortage in staff of registered nurses affect the future of current nursing students in

Southern California?

perspectives I could bring into my research. At first, it was one of my major concerns while

putting all my data together, but it was handled once I came to the realization that I had enough

information that was collected when doing literature reviews to connect them with each other.

With all of the causes and affects of the nursing shortage, it is putting a very high risk of hurting

the future of the nursing program if colleges and hospitals are ot allowing that many students to

be put in the nursing field or even allow them into a nursing progrm.

The future of nursing students are under a lot of pressure and is filled with a variety of

questions, asking when will the shortage stop, or if it will ever stop. The shortage of registered

nurses does have a huge effect on current nursing students today, but a bigger problem that has

affected this issue is the coronavirus. With all of the information collected almost every single

source used mentions the coronavirus and how it has worsened the shortage of nurses, and I have

concluded that the nursing shortage is not only affecting nursing students but also affects all of

us, including registered nurses and patients. It seems to be that, comparing a hospital nurses

experience with a recent graduate in the school nurse specialty experience, that this shortage is

affecting mostly nurses overall. With that being said being aware of the nursing shortage issue is

important to show appreciation for nurses and the work they do to provide care for others by

taking the time out of their day.

Research Sample G 14 of 14

How will the shortage in staff of registered nurses affect the future of current nursing students in

Southern California?

Works Cited

Catherine Burger, M. S. O. L. (2021, September 24). The places with the largest nursing

shortages. The Places with the Largest Nursing Shortages ||

RegisteredNursing.org.https://www.registerednursing.org/articles/largest-nursing-shortag

es/.

Krupnick, M. (2021, April 1). When nurses are needed most, nursing programs aren't keeping up

with demand. The Hechinger Report.

https://hechingerreport.org/when-nurses-are-needed-most-nursing-programs-arent-keepin

g-up-with-demand/

Nursing shortage by state: 2020 ... - Nightingale College. NURSING SHORTAGE BY STATE:

WHICH U.S. STATES NEED NURSES THE MOST AND WHICH ONES WILL HAVE

TOO MANY? (n.d.). https://nightingale.edu/blog/nursing-shortage-by-state/.

Trageser, C., & Castellano, J. (2020, December 15). How the coronavirus might worsen

California's nurse shortage. inewsource.

https://inewsource.org/2020/03/27/coronavirus-california-nurse-shortage/.

Wolfson, R. (2021, November 15). California faces a short-term nursing shortage from

covid-19 retirements. California Faces Short-Term Nursing Shortage from COVID-19

Retirements | UC San Francisco. https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2021/0

Research 2022 Scoring Commentary

Academic Paper

Note: Student samples are quoted verbatim and may contain spelling and grammatical errors.

Sample: G

Score: 2

This p

aper earned a score of 2. While the paper begins with a narrowing topic of inquiry and a

research question, “How will the shortage in staff of registered nurses affect the future of current

nursing students in Southern California?” its focus shifts and broadens, as evidenced on page 6. The

researcher states, “Participants were chosen to be interviewed which will allow their voices to be

heard, getting a first-hand perspective on how the lack of staff has been affecting them and the hospital

care.” The answer to this question is present in the paper’s literature review, specifically in the

discussion of the Catherine Burger article discussed on page 3. It is again discussed on page 4 where

the researcher states, “Nursing programs are not accepting more nursing students that are needed and

it has created a more difficult route for the nursing students and for those positions to be filled. The

nursing shortage will just continue to cycle starting with nursing programs not accepting more than

half of their applicants, and nurses wanting to retire and quit. This is affecting the healthcare system

extensively because of the lack of staff in hospitals and the effects coronavirus has put on this

problem.” This problem is compounded in the paper’s conclusions on page 13 (see final paragraph),

where the paper, once again, repeats what is already known. Because the student does not generate

new evidence supporting their research question, there is no new understanding conveyed.

It is also important to note that the shifting focus from nursing students to exploring perspectives of

ursing staff during the Covid staffing crisis prevents the paper’s focus from being carried out through

the method and the overall line of reasoning.

This paper does not earn a score of a 3 for all the reasons listed above. Additionally, though, the

per’s method section is not reasonably replicable. While parts of the interview questions are

embedded, the complete questions are never provided. This is illustrated on page 6 when the paper

states the questions but adds to them by saying “and more.” Additionally, the paper only uses 5

sources, none of which are scholarly. Communication is impaired due to informal phrases like “the

more mind-blowing pieces of information that were gathered” (page 10), and there is a lack of clearly

demarcated sections.

This paper does not earn a score of 1 as there is an attempt at a method and generating new evidence

ia the interviews of two nurses. But, as stated earlier, the method is not reasonably replicable and is

significantly misaligned with the paper’s stated goals.

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