CRITICAL APPRAISAL GUIDELINES: QUANTITATIVE STUDY
Introduction
- Develop a topic sentence in which you will define the purpose of the Research Critique.
- Formulate a thesis statement which briefly provides a broad indication of your point of view in composing this assignment.
- Include a summary outline to describe the organization and main topics you will include in the body paragraphs of the assignments (see below sections).
Protection of Human Participants
- Identify the benefits and risks of participation addressed by the authors. Were there benefits or risks the authors do not identify?
- Was informed consent obtained from the subjects or participants?
- Did it seem that the subjects participated voluntarily in the study?
- Was institutional review board approval obtained from the agency in which the study was conducted?
Data Collection
- Are the major variables (independent and dependent variables) identified and defined? What were these variables?
- How were data collected in this study?
- What rationale did the author provide for using this data collection method?
- Identify the time period for data collection of the study.
- Describe the sequence of data collection events for a participant.
Data Management and Analysis
- Describe the data management and analysis methods used in the study.
- Did the author discuss how the rigor of the process was assured? For example, does the author describe maintaining a paper trail of critical decisions that were made during the analysis of the data? Was statistical software used to ensure accuracy of the analysis?
- What measures were used to minimize the effects of researcher bias (their experiences and perspectives)? For example, did two researchers independently analyze the data and compare their analyses?
Findings / Interpretation of Findings: Implications for Practice and Future Research
- What is the researcher’s interpretation of findings?
- Are the findings valid or an accurate reflection of reality? Do you have confidence in the findings?
- What limitations of the study were identified by researchers?
- Was there a coherent logic to the presentation of findings?
- What implications do the findings have for nursing practice? For example, can the study findings be applied to general nursing practice, to a specific population, to a specific area of nursing?
- What suggestions are made for further studies?
Conclusion
- Emphasize the importance and congruity of the thesis statement
- Provide a logical wrap-up to bring the appraisal to completion and to leave a lasting impression and take-away points useful in nursing practice.
- Incorporate a critical appraisal and a brief analysis of the utility and applicability of the findings to nursing practice.
- Integrate asummary of the knowledge learned.
Reference
Burns, N., & Grove, S. (2011). Understanding Nursing Research (5thed.). Elsevier. ISBN-13: 9781437707502