Research Critique Paper
Research Critique Paper
Conduct an in-depth critical reading and appraisal of all components (parts) of the study report
Use a “gold standard” model (see Nieswiadomy’s extensive criteria about specifications/standards/ expectations that published research study reports should meet); use the textbook’s extensive critique questions and expected standards as benchmarks and points of comparison to guide the critique process and evaluate the study’s strengths, weaknesses, value, and worth
Objectively compare reading and review findings with “gold standard” model expectations
Record critical analyses of strengths and weaknesses
Constructively suggest ideas for improvement and/or future research
PROCESS to COMPLETE the Research Critique Paper:
Assume this investigative mission as a consumer of nursing research.
Explore, carefully read, and use your knowledge to analyze and critically evaluate the research study report.
Use the textbook as the expert and point of comparison source; you do not need any other sources.
Access the research study report: Shaw, J.D., O’Neal, D.J., Siddarthan, K., & Neugaard, B.J. (2014). Pilot program to improve self-management of patients with heart failure by redesigning care coordination. Nursing Research and Practice, 2014, http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/836921
Use the template to write your critique paper. The template headings represent standard components of a research study report.
Leave the headings and questions in place. Do not alter the template.
After each bolded question, type in a brief summary of Nieswiadomy’s recommendations. Follow the summary with your responses, using examples for the report to address the critique questions.
You must support your writing with citations from the textbook and from the research study report.
As a final step, consider your ideas for constructive suggestions to the study researcher(s).
Submit your final assignment per your course faculty’s directions. Turnitin will also review your final research critique paper.
Research Critique Paper
A research critique is a critical appraisal of a research article that has been subjected to a systematic review based on a known criterion. It is intended to judge the research’s scientific worth and merit to help in making a decision about whether or not the research content can be assimilated into clinical practice (Nieswiadomy, 2012). The purpose of this paper is to use Nieswiadomy‘s (2012) suggested guidelines to critique the research study report “Pilot program to improve self-management of patients with heart failure by redesigning care coordination” by Shaw et al. (2014).
Introduction of the Research Study Report
The title and abstract of the article capture the readers’ attention by offering a concise summary of the article’s content. The title explains that the article presents the results of a pilot program that was targeted at improving self-management of patients. The title is in line with the article’s objectives. The abstract offers a concise summary of the article’s content in 166 words. Readers are able to understand that improved patient knowledge helps with achieving better self-management for heart failure (HF) concerns (Shaw et al., 2014).
The two questions related to the problem and population of interest are:
- Do patient demographics such as level of education have implications for the results?
- Does the method of patient education delivery have implications for the results?
Variables
There were three groups of variables. The first group is the intervention that is presented as an interdependent variable (IV) and used to compare the intervention and control groups. The second group is demographics to include age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, smoking status, and appointment date. These are all IVs. The third group are health data measurements and readings to include troponin, creatinine, brain type natriuretic peptide, sodium, hemoglobin, ejection fraction, heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and body mass index. These are all dependent variables (DV) that were expected to change based on the intervention (Shaw et al., 2014).
In identifying which variable is which, the main question was which variable could stand alone and was not changed by the other variables. The intervention and demographics stand along thereby identifying them as IV while the values for the health data measurements and readings are dependent on the intervention thus identifying them as DVs (Nieswiadomy, 2012).
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Review of Literature
Shaw et al. (2014) identified and explore previous literature related to the study. The previous literature reports that better educated patients are able to make the right self-care choices to improve their health status because they are equipped with the right decision-making tools. This issue is of significance to nurses because it determines how much time, effort and resources is spent on educating patients. Research Critique Paper
Purpose
The purpose statement of the research focused on determining whether disease-specific knowledge improves self-management for HF. It identifies the focus of the study as determining the value of patient education in achieving better health outcomes (Shaw et al., 2014).
The researcher might pose the questions:
- What knowledge is useful to patients?
- How can patient education be delivered for the best outcomes?
Theoretical/Conceptual Framework
The theoretical framework for the research is that patients supported to acquire relevant knowledge will use that knowledge to improve care outcomes thereby supporting the medical interventions already in place. The framework is related to the problem and population of interest by explaining that patients will logically seek to improve their health, and patient education equips them with the right tools to make decisions that support health care interventions already in place (Shaw et al., 2014).
The question about this framework is that:
- How does patient education support other health care interventions?
Research Design
The research applied a mixed-method approach. This is evidenced by the used of descriptive analysis to present the data to show the use of a quantitative research approach. The presence of the questionnaire with open-questions shows the use of a qualitative research approach (Shaw et al., 2014).
Sampling
The study applies a purposive sampling approach that identifies prospective participants. This approach is intended to ensure that there is diversity and representation. The approach was specifically targeted at including patients who were admitted to any acute care unit to receive treatment for HF (Shaw et al., 2014).
Sampling Threats
The research applied a purposive sampling approach. Although the sampling threat is not discussed, this sampling approach is prone to researcher bias. The researcher makes generalized and subjective assumptions when choosing participants thus creating the possibility that these participants are not representative of the population of interest to the research. In addition, the participants were not randomized, and this could have implications for the results (Nieswiadomy, 2012).
Ethics
The researchers demonstrated the use of informed consent, noting that all prospective participants were approached for consent to participate. Those who did not consent to participate were excluded from the study. In addition, ethical approval was sought from the relevant institutional review board. This is an assurance that the research was conducted in an ethical manner and it protected the human subjects. Other than the issue of informed consent, the researchers may have encountered conflict of interest and funding concerns. The source of funding is not discussed and this could have implications for the study through creating opportunities for bias (Nieswiadomy, 2012).
Research Instruments
The research used a mixed-method approach that used a telephone interview to collect qualitative data and health records to collect quantitative data (Shaw et al., 2014). The reliability and validity of the observations was not described. In addition, the research does not mention instruments threats to validity. Still, there are validity and reliability concerns. The validity concerns are: the extent to which the observations correlate to other measuring instruments; the extent to which the observation accurately represents the constructs; and the extent to which the observation accurately represented the trait/property the researcher sought to measure. The reliability concerns are: the consistency of the scores; test-retest scores; and inter-rater reliability (Nieswiadomy, 2012).
Data Collection
Data was collected through using an interview and medical records. The two approaches offer a better understanding of how the intervention (education) affects the patients in terms of decisions they make to improve their health status (Shaw et al., 2014).
Data Analyses
The collected data was subjected to quantitative data analysis that compared the results for the intervention and control groups. Four familiar data analysis terms related to quantitative data analysis include: descriptive statistics; Fisher’s exact test; Unpaired t-test; and statistical analysis software (SAS). The data collection approach focused on collecting quantitative data, and this informed the data analysis approach (Shaw et al., 2014).
Findings
The research reveals that patients with higher knowledge levels about their medical condition and management are likely to undertake proactive action to improve their health. For HF patients, this would include having a weighing scale at home, tracking weight changes, and practicing healthier behaviors. The findings of the study are presented as a discussion, noting that although this was a pilot study, the results make a case for a larger research study (Shaw et al., 2014).
Implications for Nursing Practice
The research identifies patient education as an important intervention for improving self-care capacity. It encourages the use of patient education with a focus on how patients can act to improve their health status. This has implications for nursing practice through acting as evidence to support nurse-led patient education. In addition, it has implications for interprofessional teams by acting as evidence to support their inclusion of targeted patient education in their approaches (Shaw et al., 2014).
Implications for Nursing Education
The research has two implications for nursing education. Firstly, supports the inclusion of modules on nurse-led patient education. This allows nurses to understand how to effectively deliver patient education. Secondly, it has implications for continuing education through encouraging nurses to familiarize with patient-education as an ongoing concern. This ensures that nurses always have current information supported by evidence to deliver to their patients.
Recommendations for Research
The present research only recruited 40 participants. This number is not enough for making generalizations about the research results. There is a need to conduct a study with a larger number of participants. In addition, future research should explore how patient education offered by the different health care providers would affect care outcomes. This would help in identifying the specific providers equipped to provide patient education.
Constructive Suggestions to Researchers
The research offers empirical evidence. This is important as evidence-based practice decisions are typically founded on empirical evidence. However, only 40 participants were included in the study and this is a small number of participants that cannot be the basis for evidence-based practice changes. A larger number of participants should be recruited. In addition, the research report should place greater emphasis on the study findings by giving examples to demonstrate how the education improved self-care.
A question yet to be answered is: Do all patients who are subjected to the education use the acquired knowledge to improve their health?
Reflections and Creative Idea About Research Critique Experience
The research critique experience shows that applying a structured approach helps in evaluating the important aspects of the research. In addition, a research critique determines the value of a research in terms of application and practice.
The mnemonic created from the research critique is: Introducing Variables in Literature creates Purpose for Framework Design with Samples, Ethics and Instruments collecting Data whose Findings inform Implications and Recommendations. This helps with remembering that the order of the research critique is: Introduction, Variables, Literature, Purpose, Framework, Design, Sample, Ethics, Instruments, Data, Findings, Implications, and Recommendations.
Conclusion
A research critique involves an examination of all aspects of the research study to determine its value for readers. Throughout this paper, all aspects of the study by Shaw et al. (2014) were critiqued. There were both strengths and weaknesses in the article. There is a clear introduction and problem statement, making this section strong. Also, the review of literature is strong since it emphasizes the need for the research. Besides that, there is a clear theoretical framework that relates the concepts of the study. Also, the research design is strong with information on the sample and sampling method. Information on the data collection method and instruments are presented. The final sections of the paper have comprehensive information with implications and recommendations provided. The presence of empirical evidence is a strength for the study. Still, the small number of participants (40) is a weakness as it limits the research application and implications for evidence-based practice (Nieswiadomy, 2012). Overall, Shaw et al. (2014) has more strengths than weakness although additional research with a focus on recruiting more participants is necessary to strengthen its findings.
References
Nieswiadomy, R. M. (2012). Foundations of Nursing Research (6th ed). New York, NY: Pearson.
Shaw, J.D., O’Neal, D.J., Siddarthan, K., & Neugaard, B.J. (2014). Pilot program to improve self-management of patients with heart failure by redesigning care coordination. Nursing Research and Practice, Volume 2014, Article ID 836921, 10 pages, http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/836921.
