ResearchCritique

The purpose of the critique assignment is to give the students an opportunity to critically appraise (critique) a nursing research article. This assignment will examine how you identify and appraise components of a research study. This assignment is NOT a critique of the topic- it is a critique of the research process used. Your job is to critique or evaluate the quality of the research study itself- like you have been doing all semester!

For example, is there enough evidence or what evidence do the researchers give to allow you to determine if sound research was conducted? For example, if a question asks “were the instruments reliable and valid for this population?” It is not sufficient to state only “yes” or “no”. You must support your opinion with information you learned in class (such as citing Cronbach alpha levels and/or construct validity or other measure / techniques that allowed you to determine if the instruments were reliable and/or valid). Think about everything we have talked about in class when you are formulating your answers to this assignment. By the end of this assignment, I need to see evidence that you understand the components of research and how they fit, or do not fit, together in your article. Dazzle me with your knowledge! You will be graded on how well you describe the components of research and how well you critique how the authors have conducted their study and presented it to the reader. Remember, not all research is good research. YOUR ARTICLE MUST BE QUANTITATIVE

Students should select an article from their area of interest that is QUANTITATIVE and discusses one single study.  Articles that look at multiple studies (meta-analysis, metasynthesis, etc.) are wonderful resources, but are not appropriate for this assignment, as we are learning to critique single studies.  Articles that are qualitative are also wonderful resources, but they do not align with the critique guidelines for this assignment and are not appropriate here.  What is the research design and method of my study?

Appropriate:  Randomized-controlled trial; descriptive survey; contains statistical analysis

Not appropriate:  Qualitative, Interview, mixed-method, case report/study; expert opinion; multiple article review (meta-synthesis or meta-analysis

1 Read all instructions on this page, including rubric.  

2.  Select a quantitative article.

3.  Make sure it is QUANTITATIVE!