Week 8 summative assignment: critique of Research Article

A research critique demonstrates your ability to critically read an investigative study. For this assignment, choose a research article related to nursing.

· Articles used for this assignment cannot be used for the other assignments (students should find new research articles for each new assignment).

· The selected articles should be original research articles. Review articles, concept analysis, meta-analysis, meta-synthesis, integrative review, and systemic review should not be used.

· Mixed-methods studies should not be used.

· Dissertations should not be used.

· Research articles shouldn’t be more then 5 years old

Your critique should include the following:

Research Problem/Purpose

· State the problem clearly as it is presented in the report.

· Have the investigators placed the study problem within the context of existing knowledge?

· Will the study solve a problem relevant to nursing?

· State the purpose of the research.

Review of the Literature

· Identify the concepts explored in the literature review.

· Were the references current? If not, what do you think the reasons are?

· Was there evidence of reflexivity in the design (qualitative)?

Theoretical Framework

· Are the theoretical concepts defined and related to the research?

· Does the research draw solely on nursing theory or does it draw on theory from other disciplines?

· Is a theoretical framework stated in this research piece?

· If not, suggest one that might be suitable for the study.

Variables/Hypotheses/Questions/Assumptions (Quantitative)

· What are the independent and dependent variables in this study?

· Are the operational definitions of the variables given? If so, are they concrete and measurable?

· Is the research question or the hypothesis stated? What is it?

Conceptual Underpinnings, Research Questions (Qualitative)

· Are key concepts defined conceptually?

· Is the philoosoophical basis, underlying tradition, conoceptual framework, or ideological orientation made explicit and is it appropriate for the problem?

· Are research questions explicitly stated? Are the questions consistent with the study’s philosophical basis, underlying tradition, conceptual framework, or ideological orientation?

Methodology

· What type of design (quantitative, qualitative, and type) was used in this study?

· Was inductive or deductive reasoning used in this study?

· State the sample size and study population, sampling method, and study setting.

· Did the investigator choose a probability or non-probability sample?

· State the type of reliability and the validity of the measurement tools (quantitative only)

Qualitative studies (answer the following questions in addition to those above except the last bulleted item)

· Were the methods of gathering data appropriate?

· Were data gathered through two or more methods to achieve triangulation?

· Did the researcher ask the right questions or make the right observations and were they recorded in an appropriate fashion?

· Was a sufficient amount of data gathered?

· Was the data of sufficient depth and richness?

Were ethical considerations addressed? Were appropriate procedures used to safeguard the rights of study participants?

Data Analysis

· What data analysis tool was used?

· Was saturation achieved? (qualitative)

· How were the results presented in the study?

· Were the data management (e.g., coding) and data analysis methods sufficiently described? (qualitative)

· Identify at least one (1) finding.

Summary/Conclusions, Implications, and Recommendations

· Do the themes adequately capture the meaning of the data?

· Did the analysis yield an insightful, provocative and meaningful picture of the phenomenon under investigation?

· Were methods used to enhance the trustworthiness of the data (and analysis) and was the description of those methods adequate?

· Are there clear explanation of the boundaries/limitations, thick description, audit trail?

· What are the strengths and limitations of the study?

· In terms of the findings, can the researcher generalize to other populations? Explain.

· Evaluate the findings and conclusions as to their significance for nursing (both qualitative and quantitative).

The body of your paper should be 4–6 double-spaced pages plus a cover page and a reference page. The critique must be attached to the article and follow APA guidelines.