Nursing Critical Research Appraisal Assignment. You will select one research report with a qualitative design and one with quantitative design and answer the following questions regarding the following categories:
Discuss what is meant by the term Qualitative Research
Briefly, describe the characteristics of qualitative research and identify nursing issues/phenomena that lend themselves to a qualitative research approach.
Compare and contrast three different qualitative research methodologies.
Briefly, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of qualitative research evidence for informing nursing practice.
Communicate how this research design used in research.
The study, sampling, data collection, analysis, rigor, findings and limitations
Identify the purpose of the study.
Briefly, describe the design of the study and explain why you think it is either appropriate or inappropriate to meet the purpose.
Identify ethical issues related to the study and how they were/were not addressed.
Identify the sampling method and recruitment strategy that was used.
Discuss whether sampling and recruitment were appropriate to the aims of the research.
Identify the data collection method(s) and discuss whether the method(s) is/are appropriate to the aims of the study.
Identify how the data was analyzed and discuss whether the method(s) of analysis is/are appropriate to the aims of the study.
Identify four (4) criteria by which the rigor of a qualitative project can be judged.
Discuss the rigor of this study using the four criteria.
Briefly, describe the findings of the study and identify any limitations.
Use the information that you have gained from your critique of the study to discuss the trustworthiness and applicability of the study. Include in your discussion any implications for the discipline of nursing.
Discuss what you understand by the term Quantitative Research – Use the following dot points to guide your discussion (give reasons for your argument and support with references):
Describe the characteristics of quantitative research.
Identify nursing issues/phenomena that lend themselves to a quantitative research approach
Differentiate between observational and interventional research designs and also between experimental and quasi-experimental designs.
Briefly, outline the difference between inferential and descriptive statistics and their relationship to levels of measurement.
Communicate how this research design used in research.
Critique the Quantitative Research Report – Use the following headings to guide your critique (in all discussions and explanations give reasons for your argument and support with references):
The study
Identify the purpose and design of the study.
Explain what is meant by ‘blinding’ and ‘randomization’ and discuss how these were addressed in the design of the study.
Identify ethical issues related to the study and how they were/were not addressed.
Sampling
Explain the sampling method and recruitment strategy that was used.
Discuss how the sample size was determined – include in your discussion an explanation of terms used.
Data collection
Briefly, outline how the data was collected and identify any data collection instrument(s).
Define the terms validity and reliability and discuss how the validity & reliability of the instruments were/were not addressed in this study and why this is important.
Data analysis
Outline how the data were analyzed.
Identify the statistics used and the level of measurement of the data described by each statistical test – include in your discussion an explanation of terms used.
Findings and limitations
Briefly, outline the findings and identify any limitations of the study
Use the information that you have gained from your critique of the study to briefly discuss the trustworthiness and applicability of the study. Include in your discussion an explanation of the term statistical significance and name the tests of statistical significance used in this study.
Qualitative Research:
Discuss what is meant by the term Qualitative Research:
Qualitative research is an inquiry method that is exploratory, subjective, and interpretive. It aims to understand human behavior, experiences, and perceptions by examining the meaning that individuals assign to their lives. The approach is used to explore complex phenomena and generates rich, descriptive data that is not easily quantifiable.
Briefly describe the characteristics of qualitative research and identify nursing issues/phenomena that lend themselves to a qualitative research approach:
Qualitative research is characterized by its subjective, inductive, and flexible nature. It emphasizes on the richness of data and seeks to understand the experiences and perceptions of the participants. Nursing issues that lend themselves to a qualitative approach include patient experiences, caregiver experiences, patient satisfaction, perceptions of quality of care, and understanding the context in which health care is delivered.
Compare and contrast three different qualitative research methodologies:
Three qualitative research methodologies are ethnography, grounded theory, and phenomenology. Ethnography is concerned with exploring cultural and social phenomena in their natural setting. Grounded theory seeks to generate theories from data by identifying themes and patterns that emerge from the data. Phenomenology is interested in understanding how individuals perceive and interpret their experiences of the world.
Briefly discuss the strengths and weaknesses of qualitative research evidence for informing nursing practice:
The strengths of qualitative research evidence for informing nursing practice include providing a detailed understanding of phenomena, generating new insights and ideas, and providing contextually relevant information. The weaknesses include the subjective nature of the approach, the difficulty of generalizing findings, and the potential for researcher bias.
Communicate how this research design used in research:
In a qualitative research design, the researcher uses methods such as interviews, focus groups, and observation to collect data. The data is then analyzed using techniques such as thematic analysis, content analysis, and grounded theory. The aim is to identify themes and patterns in the data, interpret the meaning of the data, and generate theories from the data.
Critique of Qualitative Research Report:
Identify the purpose of the study:
The purpose of the study is to explore the experiences of patients with chronic pain in managing their pain.
Briefly describe the design of the study and explain why you think it is either appropriate or inappropriate to meet the purpose:
The design of the study is a phenomenological approach. This is appropriate as the study aims to explore the experiences of patients with chronic pain in managing their pain, and phenomenology is a suitable approach for understanding how individuals perceive and interpret their experiences of the world.
Identify ethical issues related to the study and how they were/were not addressed:
Ethical issues related to the study include ensuring informed consent, confidentiality, and protecting vulnerable participants. The study addressed these issues by obtaining informed consent, ensuring confidentiality, and maintaining the anonymity of participants.
Identify the sampling method and recruitment strategy that was used:
The sampling method used was purposive sampling, and the recruitment strategy was through referrals from pain clinics and advertisements.
Discuss whether sampling and recruitment were appropriate to the aims of the research:
The sampling and recruitment were appropriate to the aims of the research as the study aimed to explore the experiences of patients with chronic pain in managing their pain, and the sample was selected from individuals who had experienced chronic pain.
Identify the data collection method(s) and discuss whether the method(s) is/are appropriate to the aims of the study:
The data collection methods used were semi-structured interviews, and this method is appropriate for exploring the experiences and perceptions of the participants.
Identify how the data was analyzed and discuss whether the method(s) of analysis is/are appropriate to the aims of the study:
The data was analyzed using thematic analysis. This method is
Edwin Mariam
The data was analyzed using thematic analysis. This method is
a qualitative research methodology used to identify patterns or themes within qualitative data. Thematic analysis involves systematically coding and categorizing data in order to identify recurring themes or patterns that emerge from the data. This process involves several steps, including familiarization with the data, generating initial codes, identifying themes, reviewing and refining themes, and defining and naming themes. Thematic analysis is a flexible and widely used approach to analyzing qualitative data, and can be applied to a variety of research questions and settings.
