Social media usage and online professionalism

Running head: NURSING
Nursing
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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The aim of this essay is to employ contemporary research in order to analyse and
appraise one selected research elements from the two chosen research articles. The analysis
and appraisal of one of the selected research elements will be done based on the Critical
Appraisal Framework (Moule, 2018). This essay will also discuss the validity, reliability and
credibility of the two research articles. The position of the two selected papers based on the
hierarchy of evidences will also be highlighted in the following essay.
The two articles that will be critically analysed in the following essay are: Social
media usage and online professionalism among registered nurses, A cross-sectional survey
conducted by Wang et al. (2019) and Midwives’ perceptions of women’s mobile phone use
and impact on care in birth suite by Lewis et al. (2019). Both these studies are conducted in
order to elucidate the level of perception and the rate of usage of social media among the
nursing professionals. Wang et al. (2019) conducted the study in order to explore the online
professionalism and social media usage among the nursing professionals, as there are
significant amount of gap in this domain. The results will help in development of the online
training policies for the nurses and thereby helping to increase the nursing skill further. The
study conducted by Lewis aimed towards exploring midwives’ perception in women’s mobile
phones use and how it affects the labor and childbirth. The conduction of this study helped in
understanding how digital revolution is affecting labor and child birth. The evidence gathered
from the research will help in understanding the implications of the social media in the
nursing practice and the overall outcome of the healthcare service delivery.
Understanding of the research methods and types of evidence in the nursing research
are important and thus conduction of this essay is extremely significant in the nursing and in
the healthcare profession. Holloway and Peart (2018) stated that in order to understand the
overall strength of the research findings, it is important to analyze the methodological quality
of the research. Schneider et al. (2016) stated that in order to generate evidence-based

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practice guidelines in nursing, the information are required to be extracted for research
articles whose methodological approaches and valid, reliable and is free from bias. The use of
evidence-based practice in nursing research helps in improving the overall quality of care and
at the same time helps to reduce the cost of care (Spiby and Munro 2009). According to the
code of professional conduct by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of the UK (2015), it is
the duty of the midwives and the nurses to practice with the best available evidence (Standard
6). In order to execute the same, the critical appraisal of the reliability and validity of the
research is imperative.
The main elements of the method that will be studied in both the studies include
sample selection. The sample selection has been selected as the element because, appropriate
sampling strategy plays an important role in reducing the degree of bias in the research. Apart
from the sampling strategy, the total sample size also plays a pivotal role in determining the
level of bias. Springate (2012) stated that the sample size less than 25 to 3 increase the chance
of getting unreliable data and thus overestimating the true error and this is irrespective of the
formula used for calculations. The selection of the sample that is greater than 100 decreases
the chances of getting biased results and thus helping in the implementation of the research
findings over mass (Rees 2011). Elfil and Negida (2017) stated that clinical research are
extremely important in order to refine the overall nursing practice. The generalizability of the
clinical research findings is based on numerous factors that are related to the external and
internal validity of the research methods. The prime methodological issue that influences the
overall generalizability of the clinical research findings in nursing is sampling method. Thus,
critical analysis of the sampling procedure of these two research article will help to get a
detailed overview of the reliability, credibility and validity of the research.
The reliability of the research article mainly refers to the accuracy and consistency of
the sampling procedure and the characteristics that are chosen for the selection of the target

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population. Reliability of the sampling method mainly signifies how use of the sampling
parameters will help to replicate the same research results. The validity of the research
mainly signifies how true are the parameters that are been used for the selection of the target
population (Barker, Linsley and Kane 2016). The credibility of the research signifies the
extent to which the research findings are believable and is appropriate (Barker, Linsley and
Kane 2016).
The cross-sectional descriptive survey conducted by Wang et al. (2019) employed
convenience sampling in order to recruit registered Chinese nursing professionals in the
study. Convenience sapling is a common form of non-probability sampling. Under this
sampling technique, the sample population is selected based on convenience of the
researcher. The author used convenience sampling for the recruitment of the sampling
population. Ellis (2019) is of the opinion that selection of the sample population based on the
convenience of the research increase the chances of the selection bias and thus decreasing the
credibility and reliability of the research results. Etikan, Musa and Alkassim (2016) further
highlighted that the convenience sample is associated with high level of sampling error thus,
reducing the overall credibility of the research. Random sampling was not selected as
convenience sampling is a kindly of non-probability or non-random sampling. However,
convenience sampling is different from other forms of non-probability sampling like
purposive sampling. This non-random sampling is popularly known as judgment sampling
that involves deliberate approach for the selection of the candidates for research and does not
follow any underlying theories. Under convenience or accidental sampling, the sample is
selected based on easy accessibility, suitable geographical proximity and availability within
the given time. Etikan, Musa and Alkassim (2016) stated that convenience sampling is
associated with lower level of bias in comparison to other non-random sampling like
purposive sampling.