Quantitative Study Assignment
Quantitative Study Assignment
Question Description
Critical Appraisal of a Quantitative Study Assignment Guideline and Rubric
The goals of this assignment are to:
Help students understand the fundamentals of conducting a literature review/critical appraisal.
Assist students in grasping the fundamentals of conducting an evidence-based practice review.
Give students the basics of scientific knowledge on a chosen procedure/topic related to nursing research.
Process steps include:
Choose a topic with the instructor’s approval. Important because some of the articles I’ve seen are neither quantitative nor qualitative
research studies from peer-reviewed journals. The article should be quantitative or qualitative, and it should come from a nursing research journal. (Please submit your article by the end of the day on Monday so that I can critique it and evaluate your critique.)
Apply the guidelines in Chapter 12 to critically evaluate the article.
This is the information from the syllabus.
Prepare a presentation to facilitate discussion of aspects of the critique by a/the group member(s). (See the guidelines/questions section below.) Power point is suggested because it can provide creativity and pique the interest of the audience.
Data to be included in the report (see examples on pages 433-442)
Problem and Goal of Research
Why is the issue important in nursing?
Will the problem and purpose of the study generate or refine knowledge for nursing practice?
Literature Review
How up to date is the literature review?
Is there a rationale and direction for the study in the literature review?
Is a clear, concise summary of current empirical and theoretical knowledge in the field of study provided?
Framework for Research
Is the framework/theoretical foundation presented clearly?
Is a map or model adequate to explain the phenomenon under consideration?
Is a proposition from a theory clearly identified and linked to the study hypotheses if it is tested?
Objectives, questions, or hypotheses for research
Are the goals, questions, or hypotheses stated clearly?
Is the research purpose and framework logically linked to the objectives, questions, or hypotheses?
Are the research objectives, questions, or hypotheses related to the framework’s concepts and relationships?
Variables
Do the variables reflect the framework’s identified concepts?
Are the variables defined clearly?
Is a variable’s conceptual definition consistent with its operational definition?
Method/Design
.
What kind of study is it? Explain.
How were study subjects chosen?
Are any subjects excluded from the study without a good reason because of their age, socioeconomic status, or race?
Do the groups appear equivalent when more than one is used?
Are human subjects’ rights protected?
Is the study’s setting typical of clinical settings?
Measurements
What instruments were used to measure variables, and if they were scales or questionnaires, did the investigator(s) clearly describe them, particularly the instruments’ reliability/validity?
If data were gathered through observation, as in qualitative studies,
Are the observed phenomena clearly identified and defined?
Is there a description of interrater and intrarater reliability?
Are the methods for documenting observations described?
Interviews
Do the interview questions address the research problem’s concerns?
Is the content of the interview questions relevant to the research’s purpose, objectives, questions, or hypotheses?
Physiological Tests
Are the physiological measurements or instruments described in detail?
Are the methods for collecting data from physiological measures described in detail?
Data Gathering and Analysis
Is the data collection process described in detail?
Is data collector training well-described and adequate?
Are the results presented in a comprehensible manner?
Findings Interpretation
Are findings discussed in relation to each objective, question, or hypothesis?
Is the research clinically significant?
Do you think there are any limitations that the investigator(s) failed to identify?
Evaluation
What do you think the study’s major strengths and weaknesses are?
What populations can the findings be applied to?
What questions arise as a result of the findings, and are these recognized by the researcher?
What future research is possible? Can other researchers replicate the study?
How do the findings influence your nursing practice?
When the findings of previous studies are examined, what is now known and unknown about the phenomenon under study? That is, are the findings consistent with previous research?
Does the author discuss how the findings might be applied in practice? What are the findings’ implications for nursing practice?
NURS 400 – INTRODUCTION TO NURSING RESEARCH
Rubric for evaluation of research critique NURS 400 – INTRODUCTION TO NURSING RESEARCH
Rubric for evaluation of research critique
TITLE OF ARTICLE:
CRITERIA
Value
%
%
Earned
COMMENTS
STRUCTURE
Evaluation of overall
Critique
Introduction (10%)
Title of article
How was article selected
Purpose of the study
Paper logically arranged to address main points of criteria for critique: (70%)
Statement of the problem
Hypotheses
Theoretical framework
Literature review
Variables
Operational definition(s)
Sample
Instruments
Data collection and analysis
Results
Summary: (10%)
Conclusions/How do findings inform nursingpractice?
90%
APA
Where necessary uses APA format correctly (5%)
Uses correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.
Article critiqued is from peer reviewed journal (5%)
10%
FINAL GRADE
100%
100%
You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.
Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.
Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.
The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.