NR439: Evidence-Based Practice – Research Article Critique essay examples
Research Article Critique
Introduction
“The Effect of Mindfulness-Based Music Therapy on Attention and Mood in Women Receiving Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer: A Pilot Study” is an eight-page journal article that explores strategies for improving attention and decreasing mood distress for breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. The author acknowledges that chemotherapy use in cancer treatment is accompanied by a negative effect in the form of damaging the patients’ cognitive functioning. To address this negative effect as a concern, the study proposes the use of mindfulness since it applies contemplative practice to improve cognitive functioning NR439: Evidence-Based Practice – Research Article Critique essay examples. At the conclusion of the study, the author anticipated that the research results would recommend the use of mindfulness-based musing therapy as a supportive treatment strategy when using chemotherapy in treating breast cancer patients to reduce the incidences of cognitive functioning declines (Lesiuk, 2015).
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Research Question
Although the research question was not explicitly mentioned in the article, it was implied: Is mindfulness-based music therapy (MBMT) effective in improving attention and decreasing mood distress experienced by breast cancer receiving adjuvant chemotherapy treatment? This is an appropriate research question since it is realistic in noting that chemotherapy treatment causes increased mood distress and decreased attention. Given that mindfulness strategies have been shown to improve cognitive functioning, it is not hard to imagine that positive results would be noted when used alongside chemotherapy. Although mindfulness could improve cognitive functioning, the question is specific in exploring MBMT as a unique segment of mindfulness. In answering the question, the research shows that MBMT in particular, and not mindfulness in general, is an effective therapy when used alongside chemotherapy for treatment of breast cancer (Lesiuk, 2015). NR439: Evidence-Based Practice – Research Article Critique essay examples.
Design of the Study
The study applied a quantitative, descriptive, longitudinal design to collect primary data. In this case, the design was intended to evaluate the effect of MBMT on participants’ attention and mood as measured by Conners’ Continuous Performance Test II (CPT-II) version 5 and POMS-BF respectively NR439: Evidence-Based Practice – Research Article Critique essay examples. This entailed first recruiting 15 breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy after having received institutional approval for the study to proceed. Next, a unique MBMT program was applied over four weeks with one session every week. Finally, data was collected on mood and attention as the variables of interest before conducting statistical analysis to determine if the program had an effect on the variables and if this effect was statistically significant (Lesiuk, 2015). The applied design can be considered appropriate since it gained access to the population of interest and presented a true measure of the variables of interest, showing a true measure of how MBMP performed in influencing the attention and mood of breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy (Bryman & Bell, 2015). NR439: Evidence-Based Practice – Research Article Critique essay examples.
Sample/Population of the Study
The sample of the study comprised of 15 breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and who had expressed voluntary willingness to participate in the research. The sample was recruited from the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center where breast cancer patients undergo treatment. The sample can be considered appropriate since it comprised of the population of interest, breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. NR439: Evidence-Based Practice – Research Article Critique essay examples. Additionally, the sample was collected from the right location since the facility specializes as a cancer treatment center thereby ensuring that the population of interest would congregate at the center (Lesiuk, 2015). Still the sample size appears to have been low with implications on the research generalizability. It is understandable that the present sample size of 15 was collected through convenience that entailed identifying all patients who were willing to participate in the study. However, the low number make the results non-generalizable to the larger population of breast cancer patients. A larger population sample should be recruited to improve the results generalizability (Whitley, Kite & Adams, 2012).
Data Collection Methods
Data was collected by subjected the participants to Conners’ Continuous Performance Test II (CPT-II) version 5 that measured attention and POMS-BF that measured mood. These two tools were applied by the research after subjecting the participants to the MBMT program. While there is no mention whether participation was voluntary, the fact that institutional approval was received before the study proceeded is an indication that the participants’ rights were protected to include voluntary participation and withdrawal without repercussions. This would imply that the information the participants provided was honest and truthful since it was not coerced (Lesiuk, 2015). Although the researcher had a good understanding of the study that facilitated data collection efforts, this introduced the possibility of researcher bias. In fact, it is possible that the researcher could have modified the collected data to ensure that it conforms to some preconceived notions. As such, there was a need for the research to address the possibility of researcher bias in data collection (Bryman & Bell, 2015). NR439: Evidence-Based Practice – Research Article Critique essay examples.
Limitations
Although the article does not mention the research limitations, some are evident. Firstly, a small sample size of participants was recruited from a single facility thereby limiting the results to that facility. This implies that the results may not hold true for other cancer treatment facilities. The research should have been conducted with more participants from many facilities to address this limitation NR439: Evidence-Based Practice – Research Article Critique essay examples. Secondly, the study was dependent on an evaluation conducted at a single time rather than many evaluations conducted over a long period, which may have failed to capture some of the complexities of the MBMT program under scrutiny. Having more evaluations would improve results by collecting results from a wider demographic range thereby making for a complete discussion (Bryman & Bell, 2015; Lesiuk, 2015).
Findings
15 participants were recruited in the study with a mean age of 52.6 years. Their ages ranged from 27 to 70 years. An evaluation of attention scores that they improved with the implementation of the MBMT program with time being statistically significant (F[1,14] = 6.69, p=0.022). Additionally, mood scores showed improvement with implementation of the program with time being statistically significant (F[5,65] = 20.83, p<0.001). The results show that the MBMT program is effective in improving mood and attention for breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy (Lesiuk, 2015). The results can be considered credible since the data analysis procedure has been presented to facilitate replication. Based on the research results, it can be recommended that MBMT should be applied as a supportive treatment strategy when using chemotherapy in treating breast cancer patients to reduce the incidences of cognitive functioning declines particularly mood and attention. NR439: Evidence-Based Practice – Research Article Critique essay examples.
Summary of the Article
The article under review is an eight-page journal article that discusses MBMT as a strategy for improving attention and decreasing mood distress for breast cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. In fact, the study seeks to answer the question: Is MBMT effective in improving attention and decreasing mood distress experienced by breast cancer receiving adjuvant chemotherapy treatment? To answer the research question, the study applied a quantitative, descriptive, longitudinal design that collected primary data using Conners’ Continuous Performance Test II (CPT-II) version 5 and POMS-BF to collect information on attention and mood respectively. To facilitate data collection, 15 breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and subjected to the MBMT program before the two tools were used to collect information on attention and mood NR439: Evidence-Based Practice – Research Article Critique essay examples. Still, it was noted that the study was limited by the small sample size and dependence on an evaluation conducted at a single time rather than many evaluations conducted over a long period. The research results show that the MBMT program is effective in improving attention and mood for the study participants. Based on the study results, it is recommended that MBMT should be applied as a supportive treatment strategy when using chemotherapy in treating breast cancer patients to reduce the incidences of cognitive functioning declines particularly mood and attention. NR439: Evidence-Based Practice – Research Article Critique essay examples.
References
Bryman, A. & Bell, E. (2015). Business Research Methods (4th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Lesiuk, T. (2015). The effect of mindfulness-based music therapy on attention and mood in women receiving adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer: A pilot study. Oncology Nursing Forum, 42(3), 276-282.
Whitley, B., Kite, M. & Adams, H. (2012). Principles of Research in Behavioral Science (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. NR439: Evidence-Based Practice – Research Article Critique essay examples.
Purpose
The purpose of this assignment completed as an APA Paper is for the student to learn to examine, analyze, critique, and summarize an original research article.
Course Outcomes
Through this assignment, the student will demonstrate the ability to meet the following course outcomes:
CO1: Examine the sources of evidence that contribute to professional nursing practice.
CO2: Apply research principles to the interpretation of the content of published research studies.
CO4: Evaluate published nursing research for credibility and lab significance related to evidence-based practice. NR439: Evidence-Based Practice – Research Article Critique essay examples.
CO5: Recognize the role of research findings in evidence-based practice.
Requirements
Through this assignment, the student will:
Critique the required article found below and in your own words, describe the research question, sample, design of study, data collection method, findings, and limitations of each. (CO 1, CO2,)
Summarize the research article and evaluate the significance to nursing. Do not just quote the author’s words. Paraphrase the information. (CO 4, CO5).
You are required to use the article below or you will earn a “0” for the assignment. In addition, assignments that do not follow the current guidelines and use the required article will be evaluated for evidence of an academic integrity violation.
After the due date, there will be no opportunity for revision or resubmission of assignments that have been uploaded to the submission area. It is your responsibility to submit the correct assignment to the correct submission area NR439: Evidence-Based Practice – Research Article Critique essay examples.
Guidelines to Writing the Paper
This assignment is completed as an APA paper. APA resources can be found on the Course Resources Module.
Download the required article for analysis:
Lesiuk, T. (2015). The effect of mindfulness-based music therapy on attention and mood in women receiving adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer: A pilot study. Oncology Nursing Forum, 42(3), 276-282. NR439: Evidence-Based Practice – Research Article Critique essay examples.
https://chamberlainuniversity.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edswsc&AN=000354233000010&site=eds-live&scope=site (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Introduction (one paragraph): The introduction should be interesting and capture the reader’s attention.
Provide a brief description of the research article to be discussed.
Discuss the purpose of your paper. The purpose statement of the paper should relate to the research article reviewed and the implications that it has to evidence based nursing practice.
You will need to summarize and analyze the information from the article in your own words
Describe the research question for this study in a paragraph.
Describe the research in greater detail. NR439: Evidence-Based Practice – Research Article Critique essay examples.
Include your observations about this question.
Discuss events or trends that could have affected this question.
You will need to summarize and analyze the information from the article in your own words
Describe the research design of this study, and in your own words discuss the design.
Discuss the research design of the study.
Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the type of design and hypothesize why the author utilized the design as opposed to others.
You will need to summarize the information from the article in your own words
Describe the sample.
Briefly describe the sample size used for this study
Make a judgment as to whether the sample size was adequate and defend your answer.
Describe the number or participants and determine if the number of participants was adequate compared to the research question and the intent of the study.
Are these numbers adequate? Discuss gaps in that you identified.
You will need to summarize and analyze the information from the article in your own words
Describe the data collection method(s)’
Who collected the data? NR439: Evidence-Based Practice – Research Article Critique essay examples.
What tools were used?
What were the ethical considerations addressed and discuss gaps you identified.
You will need to summarize and analyze the information from the article in your own words
Describe the limitations of the study.
Identify the limitations within the study
Describe how the limitations could be overcome in subsequent studies
Comment on why limitations are important to list and discuss within a study
You will need to summarize and analyze the information from the article in your own words
Describe the findings reported in the study.
Describe the findings reported in the study
Discuss whether the findings of the study answered the research question posed within the study
Discuss the credibility of the findings NR439: Evidence-Based Practice – Research Article Critique essay examples.
If the findings do not support the research question posed within the study, what do you believe is the reason?
You will need to summarize and analyze the information from the article in your own words
Summary
Summarize important points from the body of your paper including the key components of the paper.
Include a statement about the research question and the findings.
Discuss the probability of implementation into practice. Based on these findings, is the evidence that you found on your topic strong enough to suggest a change in practice, or an idea for practice?
End with a concluding statement.
Citations and References must be included to support the information within each topic area. Refer to the APA manual, Chapter 7, for examples of proper reference format. In-text citations are to be noted for all information contained in your paper that is not your original idea or thought. Ask yourself, “How do I know this?” and then cite the source.
Reference Page: The Reference Page should start on a new page (insert a page break). All references should be cited within the body of the paper as (Author, year) and the full reference should be included in APA format on the reference page. A url link alone is not an adequate reference. See the APA Guidelines in Course Resources for examples of properly formatted references. NR439: Evidence-Based Practice – Research Article Critique essay examples.
NR439 Research Article Critique Paper Rubric
| Criteria | Ratings | Pts | ||||||
| Research Question
(Describe, analyze, and summarize the research question for this study your own words.) |
|
20.0 pts | ||||||
| Design of Study
(Describe, analyze, and summarize the research design of this study in your own words.) |
|
20.0 pts | ||||||
| Sample/Population of the Study
(Describe, analyze, and summarize the sample in your own words.) |
|
25.0 pts | ||||||
| Data Collection Methods
(Describe, analyze, and summarize the data collection method(s)’ in your own words.) |
|
25.0 pts | ||||||
| Limitations
(Describe, analyze, and summarize the limitations of the study in your own words.) |
|
20.0 pts | ||||||
| Findings
(Describe, analyze, and summarize the findings reported in the study in your own words) |
|
20.0 pts | ||||||
| Summary of Article
(Summarize important points from the body of your paper including the key components of the paper and discuss the probability of implementation into practice.) |
|
25.0 pts | ||||||
| Grammar, Punctuation, and Spelling/ APA Formatting
(No errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and APA formatting.) |
|
20.0 pts | ||||||
| Total Points: 175.0 | ||||||||
| NR439: Evidence-Based Practice – Research Article Critique essay examples | ||||||||
Research Article Critique
Introduction
Lesiuk (2015) presents the results of a research study to evaluate the position the mindfulness-based music therapy (MBMT) can play in improving the attention and mood of breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Titled “The Effect of Mindfulness-Based Music Therapy on Attention and Mood in Women Receiving Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer: A Pilot Study”, the eight-page article that although chemotherapy is an effective treatment for breast cancer, it has a negative effect on the mood and attention of the patients. The author notes this negative effects but proposes that since MBMT has been effective in improving cognitive functioning by applying contemplative practice, then it stands to reason that MBMT could improve the attention and mood of breast cancer patients. As such, the study presented in the article seeks to provide evidence to support the use of MBMT alongside chemotherapy to prevent mood distress and attention declines amongst breast cancer patients (Lesiuk, 2015) NR439: Evidence-Based Practice – Research Article Critique essay examples.
Research Question
The research question was not explicitly presented in the article. Still, the research question was implied that: Is there justification for using MBMT alongside adjuvant chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer patients to prevent attention decline and mood distress? In identifying this question, the research presents a clear purpose as well as goals whose achievement will indicate the end of the research. In this case, the research purpose is to evaluate the possibility of using MBMT to preempt the negative cognitive functioning effects noted when chemotherapy is used in the treatment of breast cancer. NR439: Evidence-Based Practice – Research Article Critique essay examples. To validate the research, the author notes that MBMT has been successfully used to improve cognitive functioning. As a result, the research intelligently postulates that MBMT will prevent attention decline and mood distress as aspects of cognitive functioning (Lesiuk, 2015).
Design of the Study
The study applied a quantitative, descriptive, longitudinal design to collect the required data. This entailed recruiting 15 breast cancer patients after receiving approval for the study to proceed from the concerned ethics boards. The inclusion criteria required that the patients be undergoing chemotherapy as part of their treatment plan. Once the selected participants gave their consent for inclusion in the study, they were subjected to MBMT before their attention and mood was evaluated. Attention was evaluated using Conners’ Continuous Performance Test II (CPT-II) version 5 whereas mood was evaluated using POMS-BF. At the conclusion of the study, the collected data was evaluated with regards to changes in attention and mood before and after MBMT had been applied. All differences noted before and after MBMT was applied were attributed to the program (Lesiuk, 2015). The design applied in the study can be considered appropriate. That is because it allowed the research to collect the true measure of the variables of interest, using verified tool to collect data so that the noted differences would be attributed to MBMT. That is to say that, any differences noted in mood and attention would show that MBMT is effective in influencing mood and attention for breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment (Babbie, 2015) NR439: Evidence-Based Practice – Research Article Critique essay examples.
Sample/Population of the Study
The study recruited a sample of 15 breast cancer patients who were undergoing chemotherapy treatment. The sample population was recruited from Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, identified as a facility that offers treatment for cancer patients. The recruited sample of participants was appropriate since it was collected from the population of interest to the study. Besides that, the participants were recruited in a treatment facility where the research setting can be controlled thus ensuring that the effects of MBMT could be extensively evaluated (Lesiuk, 2015). Although the study sample was appropriate since it was collected from the population of interest, the sample size of 15 participants recruited from a single location was not appropriate. A larger sample size collected from many locations would have been more appropriate since this would have evaluated different settings and allowed the results to be applied in a wider range of settings (Yanow & Schwartz-Shea, 2015). NR439: Evidence-Based Practice – Research Article Critique essay examples.
Data Collection Methods
Data of interest to the research was the attention and mood. This was collected using Conners’ Continuous Performance Test II (CPT-II) version 5 for attention and POMS-BF for mood. These two data collection methods are appropriate since they are tools that have been evaluated as accurate and valid in measuring the variables of interest. Besides that, the fact that participation was not coerced, as evidenced by the approval from the institutions ethics board, shows that the information was collected voluntary thus not providing any basis for falsehoods or dishonesty (Lesiuk, 2015). Although the data collection methods make an effort in ensuring that the required data was collected, it does not address researcher bias. This is a source of concern since the researcher is a tutor on music therapy programs and may be biased in supporting MBMT. As such, there was a need to have independent checks in place (other researchers) to ensure that the researcher was not biased in collecting the data to conform to a preconceived idea of what the study results should indicate (Creswell, 2013).
Limitations
The article does not indicate if the study faced any limitations. Still, there is one limitation that was faced in the research NR439: Evidence-Based Practice – Research Article Critique essay examples. The limitation is that the study recruited 15 participants and yet the population of interest is very large. It is difficult to infer the results from 15 breast cancer patients onto the whole population of breast cancer patients. This means that there is likely to be a population of breast cancer patients who will not conform to the research results. There is a need to recruit more participants in the research to address this limitation (Lesiuk, 2015).
Findings
The mean age for the 15 participants was reported as 52.6 years with the oldest being 70 years and the youngest being 27 years. The attention scores improved after the MBMT program was implemented (F[1,14] = 6.69, p=0.022). Similarly, the mood scores showed improvement after the MBMT program was implemented (F[5,65] = 20.83, p<0.001). Based on the research results, it can be accepted that the MBMT program improves attention and mood for breast cancer patients subjected to treatment using chemotherapy (Lesiuk, 2015). The whole research process has been presented in the article (to include the statistical analysis procedure) thereby showing that arriving at the research results following a logical process that can be replicated. The research findings answer the research question by showing that there is justification for using MBMT alongside adjuvant chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer patients to prevent attention decline and mood distress. Based on these findings, MBMT should be used alongside chemotherapy for treating breast cancer patients to ensure that the negative effects of chemotherapy noted in cognitive functions are preempted. NR439: Evidence-Based Practice – Research Article Critique essay examples.
Summary of the Article
Lesiuk (2015) explores the potential for using MBMT to preempt the attention decline and mod distress noted breast cancer patients treated using chemotherapy. This is achieved by applying a quantitative, descriptive, longitudinal design that uses Conners’ Continuous Performance Test II (CPT-II) version 5 to collect data on attention and POMS-BF to collect data on mood. 15 breast cancer patients undergoing treatment using chemotherapy were subjected to MBMT along with the data collection tools after which the participants mood and attention was evaluated for MBMT’s effect. Although the study proceeded to conclusion, the small sample size limited its application since this was a small sample when compared to the whole population of breast cancer patients. Based on the research results, it was noted that MBMT should be used alongside chemotherapy for treating breast cancer patients to ensure that the negative effects of chemotherapy noted in cognitive functions are preempted NR439: Evidence-Based Practice – Research Article Critique essay examples.
References
Babbie, E. (2016). The Basics of Social Research (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Creswell, J. (2013). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Lesiuk, T. (2015). The effect of mindfulness-based music therapy on attention and mood in women receiving adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer: A pilot study. Oncology Nursing Forum, 42(3), 276-282.
Yanow, D. & Schwartz-Shea, P. (2015). Interpretation and Method: Empirical research methods and the interpretive turn (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge. NR439: Evidence-Based Practice – Research Article Critique essay examples.