Deck 18: Critical Appraisal of Nursing Studies

Question 1

What must the person critically appraising a qualitative research report possess as pre-requisites, in order to begin the process?

A)Experience in performing qualitative data collection or analysis
B)A respectful point of view toward the participants' perspectives and reported experiences
C)A basic knowledge of different philosophical perspectives
D)The willingness to learn about the philosophical perspective supporting the study, in order to apply the standards of rigor that are consistent with that perspective
E)Previous experience in critically appraising qualitative research

Answer 1

A respectful point of view toward the participants' perspectives and reported experiences
A basic knowledge of different philosophical perspectives
The willingness to learn about the philosophical perspective supporting the study, in order to apply the standards of rigor that are consistent with that perspective

Question 2

What happens during the second step of the quantitative critical appraisal process, in the case in which the reader determines study strengths and weaknesses of a particularly weak research report?

A)The reader discovers what elements of the study are in what locations of the report.
B)The reader constructs a global appraisal of the research's lack of rigor.
C)The reader's task is to analyze the quality of the individual parts of a research report. This inevitably produces an impression not only of what the research did not do, but also what should have been done.
D)The reader is required to examine each part minutely; this leads to an appreciation of what the researcher did well.
E)The reader evaluates the goodness of the study.

Answer 2

The reader's task is to analyze the quality of the individual parts of a research report. This inevitably produces an impression not only of what the research did not do, but also what should have been done.
The reader is required to examine each part minutely; this leads to an appreciation of what the researcher did well.

Question 3

A reader of qualitative research notes that a study is identified as Heideggerian phenomenology. The purpose of the study was to explore the lived experience of the process of separating from a long-time partner and subsequently marrying another person, and to elicit descriptions of the experience's meaning. This topic is unexplored in the literature. The sample of 21 was randomly selected from 68 volunteers. Participant interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed, and then coded by two raters, whose interrater reliability was reported as 95%. The findings revealed that there was a lengthy period of adjustment following separation, and that participants filled this time by denying permanency, creating possibilities, appreciating silence, developing personal strengths, trusting, developing skepticism, "starting a new page," and maintaining mental boundaries. What is the most immediate evaluative critique point about this article?

A)It is not clear what the findings contribute to the current body of knowledge.
B)The development and implementation of the study methodology is not congruent with its philosophical foundation.
C)Tape-recording, transcription, and coding by two raters are not likely to capture the essence of this experience, without video-recording and participant observation.
D)The findings do not seem to be a credible reflection of reality.

Answer 3

The development and implementation of the study methodology is not congruent with its philosophical foundation.

Question 4

Why is the first pre-requisite for appraising qualitative studies an appreciation for the philosophical foundation of qualitative research?

A)Understanding the research requires a detailed understanding of each qualitative methodology.
B)Qualitative research is not based on truth; it takes work for the reader to get past this stumbling block.
C)There is no common ground among the qualitative methods. Each requires individual study before reading a research report can be attempted.
D)All qualitative research has slightly different "ground rules." Without an understanding of the philosophy of the method, appraisal is unfair.

Question 5

In which ways are critical appraisal of quantitative research and critical appraisal of qualitative research the same?

A)Both are concerned with how well the author has established the objective truth of the data.
B)Both must begin with an appreciation for the philosophical foundation of the research.
C)Both define rigor in the same way.
D)Both are designed to provide some evaluations about the intrinsic worth of the research
E)In both, the elements of the research report are identified.
F)Both examine how well measurements in the data collection phase have maintained their precision.

Question 6

Which of the following represent the specific attributes that qualitative research must possess in order to be evaluated as acceptable?

A)Power analysis
B)Transparency
C)Instrument reliability
D)Truth
E)Transferability
F)Transformation

Question 7

A nurse reader of qualitative research notes that a study is identified as grounded theory research. The topic of study is how women leave a violent relationship. The nurse has never been in a physically abusive relationship but has, however, cared for several patients who have shared their personal stories, and the nurse has a cousin who was in a physically abusive relationship for several months. Because of this, the nurse has an immediate understanding and finds the results credible. Which is the best description of what the nurse reader has identified in the study?

A)Transparency
B)Resonance
C)Respect
D)Transferability

Question 8

Why is identifying the steps of the research process the first step in the critical appraisal process for quantitative research?

A)The ability to identify the elements in the process indicates that the reader knows what these are.
B)Identifying the steps is more important than understanding.c.Identifying the steps implies that the reader understands everything in the research report.
D)Identifying the steps indicates that the reader comprehends the concepts in the research report.
E)Identifying the steps of the research process implies understanding the terms the researcher uses in the research report.

Question 9

What is the most accurate statement, related to study strengths?

A)Study strengths always involve a level of complexity-multiple research questions, many variables, and many references.
B)Study strengths are essentially the elements of the study that the researcher completed in accordance with the design of the study.
C)The study's strength is determined by whether the research results are statistically significant or not.
D)Strengths are determined by the number of times the article is cited by other authors.

Question 10

In deciding whether a framework is suited to a study, what is the principal question the reader must answer?

A)Is a conceptual map provided?
B)Is this the best framework for this study?
C)Does the framework specify the study variables?
D)Is this a theory or merely a framework?

Question 11

What are the true statements related to evaluation for quantitative research appraisal?

A)Evaluation cannot be performed without having completed the previous two steps of the appraisal process.
B)Evaluation draws no conclusions about the merit of a particular research study.
C)Evaluation critically analyzes the parts of a study and points out their deficits in comparison to an ideal.
D)True evaluation implies an examination of related studies, so as to assess significance, credibility, and believability.
E)Evaluation includes an assessment of the research's contribution to nursing knowledge.
F)Evaluation plus focused literature review essentially equals concept clustering.

Question 12

Which of the following would be referred to as strengths in a critique of a qualitative research report?

A)There were numerous cross-checks to ensure that what participants reported was objectively true.
B)The elements of the research were present in the research report and located so that the reader could easily find them.
C)The reader's understanding of the phenomenon was better after reading the study than it had been beforehand.
D)The findings were presented in a way that made sense, taken as a whole.
E)The way the report was presented was congruent with its purpose, methods, and findings.
F)There was a clear sense that the themes and essences emanated from the statements and perceptions of real people.

Question 13

What would be exemplified by poor "overall flow of logic in the study," in terms of the second step of critical appraisal?

A)The title of the study mentions "the effect of" but the study design is simple descriptive.
B)There was a 60% dropout; nonetheless, the researchers claimed that the sample was representative.
C)Statistical analyses used are all coherent with the variables' levels of measurement.
D)The study framework is gratuitous. It does not, in the slightest, help to explain the relationship between the principal study variables.
E)The problem statement and the purpose of the study aren't closely related. It seems like a big leap to get from the problem to the gap, and to the purpose.