NS521A: Critical Appraisal of a Nursing Research Article on Practice

This report presents a critical appraisal of the research article "An ethnographic study of nurses’ experience with nursing research and its integration in practice" by Dupin et al. (2014), utilizing the Caldwell framework. The appraisal evaluates various aspects, including the title, author credibility, abstract, rationale, literature review, ethical considerations, methodology, and data analysis. The study employed a qualitative ethnographic approach to explore French registered nurses' experiences in nursing research within clinical practice. Key findings revealed nurses' beliefs about their roles in bridging the gap between research and practice, the importance of specialist nurses in implementing research evidence, and the need for leadership support to foster evidence-based practice. The report discusses the generalizability of the research and concludes with a critical analysis of the findings and their implications for clinical practice, emphasizing the need to support nurses' involvement in research to improve patient care.

Running head: CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF THE ARTICLE
CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF THE ARTICLE
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note

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Introduction:
Nursing research has emerged as a contributing factor for the development as well as the
renewal of patient care. Nursing research is also contributed to the development of nursing
education and leadership in clinical practice (Christmals and Gross 2017). Nursing research is
the most suitable source of beneficial evidence for patients and communities for involving
resolving complex diseases that are intrinsic in nursing and health care (Brooke, Hvalič-Touzery
and Skela 2015). In this context, in order to understand the experience of nurses regarding the
involvement in nursing research, the article “An ethnographic study of nurses’ experience with
nursing research and its integration in practice” by Dupin et al. (2014), has been chosen for
critical analysis. After a critical analysis, research findings and the implications for clinical
practice will be elaborated in the research. Caldwell framework would be used to critically
appraise the article. The rationale behind choosing this tool as a critical appraisal tool is that it
enables individuals to develop skills for research evidence and apply them in professional
practice (Caldwell, Henshaw and Taylor 2011). Hence, individuals will develop skills of
critically appraise diverse evidence.
Discussion:
Title of the content:
Yes.
The title of the article reflect the content of the article. The article title, “An ethnographic study
of nurses’ experience with nursing research and its integration in practice” suggested that this
research will explore the experience of nurses in research and its integration in practice.

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Author credibility:
Yes.
The researchers are credible because majority of the authors Research Fellow & PhD Student or
professor of Human and Social Science Department, Department of Epidemiology, Information
Systems, and Modellin , indicating authors were credible.
Abstract:
Yes.
Abstract summarize key points since the article summarize each segment such as Aim,
background, design, method, results , implication for practice (Downes et al. 2016). The abstract
also provide key words for the study.
Clarity of the rationale:
Yes.
It is valuable in the research practice. The majority of nurses are unable to apply critical
thinking and innovative intervention for treating the patients due to the lack of evidence-based
knowledge and lack of involvement in the research. In this context, this research will provide
nursing professionals to involve in the research work in between the nursing practice and alter
their professional values so that they can serve the professionals better.
Aim:
The clear statement regarding the aim of the study was clearly mentioned in the article
along with the abstract of the article. The aim of the study conducted by Dupin et al. (2014) was
to report the experience of French registered nurses regarding the involved nursing research in
their clinical practice.

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Literature review:
Yes.
The literature review is up to date since researchers consider approximately 10 years of
peer reviewed journal to conduct literature review (1995-2013).
Ethical consideration:
The researchers mentioned the ethical consideration in the article for conducting the
research. The study was performed according to the ethical guideline of the Declaration Helsinki.
The research work was approved by the oncology hospital’s head of nursing care (Dupin et al.
2014). The verbal, as well as written informed consent, was obtained from all the participants
who were participating in the research.
Methodology and research design:
The qualitative research design was considered in this case for underpinning the
experience of French nurses regarding the involvement in nursing research in clinical practice.
Gelling (2015), suggested that for exploring personal values, beliefs, and events of the
population, the qualitative research design is appropriate that enable researchers to look deeper
into the attitude and feelings. It also encourages participants to expand on their responses that
can address the area which was not previously considered (Melendez‐Torres, Grant and Bonell
2015). Hence, qualitative methodology is appropriate for conducting this research.
Hypothesis:
No.

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No Hypothesis was proposed in the research. The researchers explored how French Registered
Nurses experience and engage in nursing research in clinical practice, indicating that the
researchers explored nursing experience rather than hypothesized system.
Variables:
Yes.
Since no hypothesized were proposed research, no key variable is present in the research.
Population:
Yes.
The researcher’s undertaken ethnographic approach for underpinning the experience of
the French registered nurse in involving in the nursing research. Christmals and Gross (2017),
highlighted that in order to gain an understanding of the real-life experience of the study
participants in their real-life setting, the ethnographic approach is the most suitable approach.
Hence, at this juncture, the ethnographic approach is the most suitable approach for
understanding the experience of the French nurse (Knauft 2019). In this study, Hammersley and
Atkinson’s (1994) description of ethnography was used which was grounded in the field of social
research and intended to explore the social events through interpretation and description (Lee et
al. 2015).
Sample and inclusion criteria for selection:
Yes.
The setting of having registered nurses working in the teaching hospital situated in
France was considered for the study participants (Voldbjerg et al. 2016). The requirement for
recruiting the nurses was registered nurses associated with anesthesia, pain control, intensive
care unit, the surgery, radiotherapy and medical imaging. The researchers also considered their

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clinical activities for recruiting the participants such as working hours 9 am to 6 pm from
Monday to Friday and the schedule of the involved in the research during their clinical practice
and consent to participate in the study (Dupin et al. 2014). Lastly, four registered nurses were
also recruited from the recommendation of the gatekeeper. The researchers suggested that one
registered nurse played the role of the gatekeeper in order to recruit the nurses and she became
essential in enhancing the RNs engagement in research activities outside the wound care team
(Dupin et al. 2014).
Data collection:
Yes.
The interview, field notes and participatory, the observation was done for
collecting the experience of the nurses. The data was collected from the registered nurses of the
wound care treatment and daily participatory observation of the wound care team was done for
three weeks in between July to August 2012. The researchers used a selective intermittent time
model by Jeffrey and Troman to observation the activities. Conroy (2017), suggested that it is
the most suitable method since it enabled a flexible approach for the number of field visits along
with the time during clinical activities. All activities were considered in this case for
participatory observation. The systematic field notes were recorded on a daily basis by
underpinning certain factors such as time, space and verbal exchanges of the registered nurse
(Dupin et al. 2014). The theoretical notes, methodological notes along with personal notes were
also considered where perception and thoughts throughout the filed (Dupin et al. 2014). The
additional data were collected through interviews for gaining a deeper understanding of the
experience of the registered nurses.

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Method of analysis:
Yes.
The one registered nurse played the role of the gatekeeper who facilitate direct
communication with the registered nurse. While researchers did not mention any additional
information regarding the relationship between researchers and participants, the potential bias is
present since the gatekeeper recommended the registered nurse and take part in the research
activities for participatory observation (Dupin et al. 2014). In this case, it might be the case that
the values and beliefs of the nurse influence the observation of the participants (Dupin et al.
2014). Moreover, the collected data were assessed after every observation and discussed with
researchers, indicating that the researchers may influence the result of the study (Dupin et al.
2014).
The presentation of findings:
Yes.
The researchers mentioned in depth rigour of the research in the article. Reflection was
used to handle preconceptions (Cahill et al. 2018). The reflection also allowed the researches to
distance her from the first impression such as a consideration of probable observer effect along
with a break from preconceptions. In order to obtain results that are free from biases and
erroneous interpretation, the personal notes were taken in this case as a self-correction of the
fieldwork (Dupin et al. 2014). The researchers also mentioned that restriction from the constant
writing of the field notes allowed the first author to distance from the collection of the
information along with diverse feelings and emotions of the participants which can be evoked
(Dupin et al. 2014).
Findings:

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In the result section and the discussion section, the thematic analysis of the collected data
reflected the findings. The result of the study suggested that the experiences of the participants
reflected three beliefs such as belong to the unified team along with being an integrated part of
crosswise activities supported their role as intermediaries while occupied on connecting the gap
between clinical activities and research. On the other hand, other participants suggested that
specialist nurses can play an essential role in implementing the research evidence into clinical
practice (Dupin et al. 2014). They also suggested that the role of nurses as a practitioner and role
of nurses as researchers are interchangeable part of their practitioners and it has a strong impact
on the patients as well as patent care since it will improve the patient care. In this context, the
priority of the health care sector is to support the research work of the registered nurses along
with their clinical practice. The researchers also suggested that teams captivating on the role of
leaders in the nursing practice are effectively facilitate knowledge transfer along with promoting
Evidence-Based Practice directly at the bedside (Dupin et al. 2014). The research knowledge and
fieldwork, facilitate the connection of the registered nurse with their practice. In this context, in
order to nurture the connection between research practice and clinical practice, leaderships from
the senior nurses and intensive support are required which can engage the population in an
evidence-based practice since nurses consider leadership roles as a positive contribution to the
clinical practice. Indeed, the nursing professionals with the higher degree such as doctorate or
Ph.D. degree can serve the society better and can involve in the clinical practice as a research
educator for empowering other nurses to involve in practice and research (Dupin et al. 2014).
Connecting the academic programmers with research can be an effective initiative to strengthen
the development of the nursing profession (Dupin et al. 2014).

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Generalizable of the research:
Yes.
Since research was conducted on French nurses, it is difficult to apply on other population.
Other population have diverse experience which is required to explore for implementation of the
research findings.
Conclusion:
The conclusion is comprehensive since researchers summarize the findings such as the
beliefs and culture of these registered nurses hindered them from the shared experience of both
activities such as involve in the research experiment and relate it to the situation of the patient. It
further enhances its commitment to the research. The providing scholarship to the professionals
during their curriculum and to the nurses who are interested in the research work will alter their
values, beliefs profession and support nurses to more readily implement EBP. However, the
limitation of the research is that the registered nurse who was the researchers and health
professionals along with the first author influence the result of the study and they were aware of
it. In this context, personal values and beliefs of the professionals influence the result obtained
from the themes or collected data.
Critical analysis of the findings and implication:
The main purpose of nurses, as the frontline professionals, is to serve the need of the
society irrespective of gender, race, and ethnicity. The nurses in the clinical setting usually do
not have an interest as well as time for involving in the research. Feo et al. (2017), suggested that

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30–40% of patients in the clinical setting do not receive scientific evidence-based practice and
approximately 20–25% of the patients receive unnecessary care. Consequently, the rate of
medication errors, neglect, and wrong interventions are very common in the clinical practice
which was conducted by the nursing practice and it subject patients in great harm. Hence, this
research findings such as involving in the nursing research will empower nurses to involve in the
research activities in between their clinical practice (McCaffrey and McConnell 2015). The use
of evidence of the research from the research findings can facilitate the efficient as well as
effective patient care. The implementation of the research into the practice can reduce deliberate
errors such as wrong intervention, negligence and also can make nurses responsible for
individual performance (Mackey and Bassendowski 2017). Using the research findings in the
practice not only will improve the excellence and ethics of nursing care, but also can lead to the
professional’s development. Similar kind of research result was obtained from the research
conducted by Bahadori et al. (2016), where researchers suggested that involve in the research
findings facilitate their critical thinking and bring innovation for addressing the unique need of
the professionals. However, time is considered as one of the most frequent barriers to involve in
the research and implement in the clinical practice. Curtis et al. (2017), also suggested that while
heavy workload and shortage of nurses hinders involvement in the research, the involvement in
the research develop leadership and the ability to work autonomously. Hence, the research
findings are useful in improving the quality of care.
The research implies that after gaining an in-depth understanding of the benefit of the
research, the professionals will be interested to involve in research (Barker and Linsley 2016).
This research will provide a road map to the management and leaders of the health care sector to
develop academic programs and educational curriculum that facilitate involvement (Uny, France

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and Noblit 2017). It will also enable the recruitment of nurses for the distribution of workload so
that they can involve in the research for a long time.

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References:
Bahadori, M., Raadabadi, M., Ravangard, R., and Mahaki, B. 2016. The barriers to the
application of the research findings from the nurses' perspective: A case study in a teaching
hospital. Journal of education and health promotion, 5, 14.
Barker, J. and Linsley, P., 2016. Critical Appraisal and Qualitative Research. Evidence‐based
practice for nurses and healthcare professionals, pp.110-125.
Brooke, J., Hvalič-Touzery, S. and Skela-Savič, B., 2015. Student nurse perceptions on
evidence-based practice and research: An exploratory research study involving students from the
University of Greenwich, England and the Faculty of Health Care Jesenice, Slovenia. Nurse
education today, 35(7), pp.e6-e11.
Cahill, M., Robinson, K., Pettigrew, J., Galvin, R. and Stanley, M., 2018. Qualitative synthesis:
a guide to conducting a meta-ethnography. British journal of occupational therapy, 81(3),
pp.129-137.
Caldwell, K., Henshaw, L. and Taylor, G., 2011. Developing a framework for critiquing health
research: an early evaluation. Nurse education today, 31(8), pp.e1-e7.
Christmals, C.D. and Gross, J.J., 2017. An integrative literature review framework for
postgraduate nursing research reviews. European Journal of Research in Medical Sciences
Vol, 5(1).
Christmals, C.D. and Gross, J.J., 2017. An integrative literature review framework for
postgraduate nursing research reviews. European Journal of Research in Medical Sciences
Vol, 5(1).