Nursing Research On Critical Analysis

UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF NURSING
NUR 39000: Nursing Research
Template for Critical Analysis and Appraisal: Quantitative Nursing Research Part I
This is your own critique. Your responses should be your own words and written in complete
sentences. “Yes” or “no” answers will not be accepted and will result in point(s) deduction.
Except for question 1, your responses should include an explanation/rationale. N/A responses
require justification of why that criteria/question does not pertain to your article. Provide
supporting data from your specific article for your answers. Please include page numbers when
referring to your selected article. Make sure to use correct in-text citations. If you use sources
other than your specific article to support your answers (e.g., text or class lectures), please
include a reference page. Submit template with answers as your final product; please do not write
an APA-formatted paper using paragraph format.
*Names and Summary of Contributions of Group Members completing assignment:
*All group members can view final, submitted assignment in Blackboard. As such, it will be
assumed by faculty that all group members are in agreement with 1) those who participated in
assignment completion as indicated by name inclusion and 2) level of participation as indicated
in each group member’s summary of contributions. If a group member did not participate, please
explicitly indicate in above table.
1. Citation according to APA 6th ed.
2. What are the credentials of the first author and what do they mean? List the all of
the credentials of the first author and explain how the educational background prepares
them for the role of the researcher.
3. Title What was the focus (i.e., phenomenon of interest) of the study and is it apparent in
the tile of the article? Justify your answer.
4. Abstract List essential abstract contents of the research process included in the abstract
of your selected article. Are the essential contents of the research in the abstract (i.e.,
hypothesis, research question, objectives, focus, methods, analysis, description of the
research and the major findings)?
5. The Research Problem
A. State the research problem (Note: this is not the same as the “research question”)
B. How is the problem significant for the practice of nursing?
6. Research Question
A. What is the research question(s), purpose, aim and/or objective? List all that apply.
B. Do the research questions, purpose, aim and/or objective logically flow from
problem? Why or why not?
MMK 2019
1

C. Did the author explicitly state a hypothesis? If so, what is the hypothesis and what
type (Directional or Non-directional)? If no hypothesis was provided, would it have
been appropriate to state one? If so, what hypothesis might you suggest? Is your
suggested hypothesis written as directional or non-directional?
D. Identify the IV and provide a detailed description of it.
E. Identify the DV(s) and describe each one.
7. Review of Literature (Note: recall that “review of literature” = what is known and not
known about a phenomenon of interest)
A. What concepts (ideas/topics) are included in the literature review? Are they clearly
linked to the purpose of the study?
B. Are primary sources used in the review of the literature? Cite an example.
C. Are secondary sources used in the review of the literature? Cite an example.
D. Is the literature review presented in an organized format that flows logically?
E. Does the review of literature include recent literature? What is the range of years for
the review of the literature?
F. Does the review conclude with a brief summary of the literature and its implications
for the problem?
8. Theoretical or Conceptual Framework (Note: numerous studies do not explicitly
indicate a theoretical or conceptual framework; you may need to look)
A. Is there a theoretical/conceptual framework identified? If one is used, please describe
it. If not, do you think one would be helpful, why or why not?
B. Is the framework appropriate to guide research on the subject of interest?
C. Are you able to identify concepts (main ideas) from the theory in the study’s purpose,
research questions, or hypothesis? If so, what concepts?
D. Are concepts of the theory/framework clearly defined and the relationship between
concepts indicated and explained? Provide an example.
E. Was a figure of the framework provided? If so, how was it helpful? If not, do you
think one would be helpful, why or why not?
9. Research Design
A. What type of quantitative design is used for the study?
B. Is the design of the study adequately described (i.e., could you follow how the study
was conducted)?
C. What threats to internal validity do you identify in the study? Does the researcher
control for the threats to internal validity?
D. What threats to external validity do you identify in the study? Does the researcher
control for the threats to external validity?
E. Is the design guided by the research question, hypothesis, and theoretical framework?
10. Ethical Considerations
A. Were the human rights of the subjects protected? (e.g., IRB, Informed Consent, etc.)
B. Are the subjects/participants from a vulnerable population?
MMK 2019
2

C. Does the study discuss how the data will be handled with regard to privacy? Are there
any statements that discuss who will have access to the data?
D. Which provision(s) of the ANA code of ethics are supported by this study?
E. Is there outside funding that was used to conduct the study? Are there any disclaimers
that discuss the author’s affiliation with outside funding?
MMK 2019
3