Research Critique Guidelines

Qualitative Study

Background of Study:

– Identify the clinical problem and research problem that prompted the study. What was unknown about the clinical problem that, if understood, could enhance healthcare delivery or patient outcomes? This knowledge gap serves as the research problem.
– How did the author establish the significance of the study? In other words, why should the reader care about this study? Look for statements about human suffering, treatment costs, or the number of people affected by the clinical problem.
– Identify the purpose of the study. The author may explicitly state the purpose or describe it as study goals, objectives, or aims.
– List research questions that the study aimed to answer. If the questions are not explicitly provided, attempt to infer them from the answers.
– Were the purpose and research questions related to the problem?

Method of Study:

– Were qualitative methods appropriate for addressing the research questions?
– Did the author specify a particular perspective from which the study was developed? If so, what was it?
– Did the author cite relevant quantitative and qualitative studies related to the study’s focus? What other types of literature were included?
– Are the references current? For qualitative studies, older studies beyond the typical 5-year limit used for quantitative studies may be included if they are relevant.
– Did the author evaluate or indicate the weaknesses of the available studies?
– Did the literature review include sufficient information to build a logical argument?
– If the grounded theory method of qualitative inquiry was used, was a framework developed from the study findings?

Results of Study:

– What were the study findings?
– What are the implications for nursing?
– Explain how the findings contribute to nursing knowledge/science. Do they impact practice, education, administration, or all areas of nursing?

Ethical Considerations:

– Was the study approved by an Institutional Review Board?
– Was patient privacy protected?
– Were there ethical considerations regarding the treatment or lack thereof?

Conclusion:

– Emphasize the importance and coherence of the thesis statement.
– Provide a logical wrap-up to conclude the critique and leave lasting impressions 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 a summary of the knowledge gained.

Quantitative Study

Background of Study:

– Identify the clinical problem and research problem that led to the study. What was not known about the clinical problem that, if understood, could improve health care delivery or patient outcomes? This gap in knowledge is the research problem.
– How did the author establish the significance of the study? Look for statements about human suffering, treatment costs, or the number of people affected by the clinical problem to understand why the reader should care about this study.
– Identify the purpose of the study. The author may clearly state the purpose or describe it as study goals, objectives, or aims.
– List research questions that the study aimed to answer. If the questions are not explicitly provided, try to infer them from the answers.
– Were the purpose and research questions related to the problem?

Methods of Study:

– Identify the benefits and risks of participation addressed by the authors. Were there any benefits or risks that the authors did 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 (IRB) approval obtained from the agency where the study was conducted?
– 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 in the study.
– Describe the sequence of data collection events for a participant.
– 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 made during data analysis? Was statistical software used to ensure accuracy?
– What measures were used to minimize the effects of researcher bias? For instance, did two researchers independently analyze the data and compare their analyses?

Results of Study:

– What is the researcher’s interpretation of findings?
– Are the findings valid and an accurate reflection of reality? Do you have confidence in the findings?
– What limitations of the study were identified by the researchers?
– Was there a coherent logic in the presentation of findings?
– What are the implications of the findings for nursing practice? Can the findings be applied to general nursing practice, a specific population, or a specific area of nursing?
– What suggestions are made for further studies?

Ethical Considerations:

– Was the study approved by an Institutional Review Board?
– Was patient privacy protected?
– Were there ethical considerations regarding the treatment or lack thereof?

Conclusion:

Reference:

Burns, N., & Grove, S. (2011). Understanding nursing research (5th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.

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Research Critique Guidelines