A paper providing an overall critical evaluation of the Research Article, using the Guidelines below. Use subject headings to delineate parts of the study, use evaluative statements, and first person. Please avoid description of the study. NO DIRECT quotes. NO PLAGIARISM!! Conclude your paper with your overall appraisal of the study and its relevance to nursing practice. Please use APA format for this research critique. GUIDELINES & Subheadings for Research Critique: **Stared Items are most important!!! I strongly suggest you review class notes/videos prior to writing. Problem Statement/ Purpose or Aim of the Research : Is the problem statement clear? What are the dependent and independent variables? Is the study trying to describe, explain or predict and control? Are there hypotheses? Review of the Literature: Are the studies cited in the literature review pertinent to the problem/purpose of the study? Are the studies cited up to date and sufficient? Is the relationship of this study to previous research clear? Conceptual Underpinnings/Conceptual Framework: Is there a conceptual/theoretical framework guiding this study? If so, what is it? Are the studys concepts defined well? **Research Design: What is the research design used in this study? Give your opinion on the quality of this research design. Was it the most rigorous possible design for this purpose? What are the possible biases or threats to validity? **Sample What is the sampling method used in this study? Please explain any research terms you use, and clarify if this is a probability or non-probability sample. Are the subjects/participants and sampling methods described in enough detail? Were there any sampling biases? Was the sample size adequate? **Data Collection: What are the procedures and methods used to collect data? Are they explained well? Was data collected in a manner than minimized bias? What are the operational definitions for each variable? Do the instruments fit the study purposes and framework? Are reliability and validity of the measurement instruments and procedures discussed? Results/Findings: What are the key findings of the study? Are the conclusions/answers for the hypothesis(ses) and/or research questions clearly stated? How powerful are the relationships? Please explain. Discussion: Is there a discussion section? Does the researcher present logical conclusions about the study? Does the researcher effectively describe what the results mean and how they fit into existing literature? **Limitations: Are the limitations of this study identified? What are the limitations of this study in terms of design, sample etc.? Can you see limitations besides those identified by the author? **What is the implication(s) of this study for nursing? Are the implications of the findings discussed? Are the recommendations for future research stated? Based on knowledge and experience do the clinical implications discussed seem to make sense? Would it work in the clinical settings with which you are familiar? How would you employ this research for evidence-based practice? Is more research needed to implement the findings of this research in evidence-based practice? **Overall Evaluation: Summarize the major strengths and weaknesses of this study. Is it a well-done study? In your opinion, what are the threats to validity? Do you have confidence in the findings? Would you change practice based on this study?Show more
