Reading a Research Study

Reading a research article provides the audience with in depth information concerning the topic understanding. Therefore, the authors of research articles are required to present their information in a concise format, as well as information should flow from one idea to the other. The research title is the first instance the audience meets with the research concept, and therefore, the title should articulate the research topic in a manner that draws the readers’ interest to the topic. This implies that the topic should reflect on the objectives and final goals of the research study.

A quantitative research review paper should therefore, consist of the reviewers’ objective criticisms of the research title, abstract, knowledge and expertise of the researchers, the research method and design, as well as other aspects of the research such as the reliability of the research questions in relation to the research methodology.   The research article in question is about “Reading a Research Study: An Instructional Guide” by Arlene J. Lowenstein. Therefore, the systematic review of the research article require appraisal, summarization, and integrating the information into a single idea or notion that will help the targeted audience the variable quality and scope of the important aspects of the research. Starting with the abstract, it is apparent that the research study has touched on the pertinent issues concerning the entire research. The author has provided a brief summary of research problem or questions with the corresponding hypotheses, and it is apparent that the abstract includes the problem statement, as well as the method used and the findings, a brief discussion of the results is also provided and the overall conclusions and recommendations of the research study.

Hundreds of research studies on nursing interventions are published frequently, and most people involved in providing nursing care to identify and consider these studies in their decision making. To this end, the research study in question provides sufficient literature review.  The researcher has adequately provided background information concerning the requirements and the needs of a comprehensive literature review. The literature review elaborates more on the topic under study, and therefore, the researcher provides more information and insights of how to select publications in terms of period and scope, as well as how to critically compare among research articles. The researcher is also keen on the in-text citations, and how they are used in providing evidence based review of literature in terms of theory, principles, and new research designs specific to the literature review. In-text citations are important for authenticating the sources of literature publications used in the research study, and therefore the selected research articles should help in answering the research questions.

The research methodology is a critical stage in research development, and therefore nurses should be keen on the research designs that are appropriate to then objectives of the study.  The distinction between qualitative and quantitative research designs is paramount before embarking on a research study. Therefore, factors such as the sample size, target population, data collection tools, data analysis technique, and Program Evaluation and Quality Improvement designs. Nurses’ should use appropriate methods in identifying and appraising both published and unpublished literature using systematic reviews of peer journals, so as to be able to describe the quality of evidence based research study reviews.

Nursing practice requires professional ethics to be adhered to in conducting research studies, and therefore, the author emphasis the need for ethical considerations.  The author espouses the ethical issues in an astounding manner by elaborating the ethical issues in both qualitative and quantitative research designs. The researcher notes that the study design should be approved by a review board in order to ascertain that all ethical dilemmas are dealt with in an appropriate manner.  The researcher further notes that experimental research designs tend to have more risks, as compared to other kinds of research methods, and therefore considering ethical issues helps in addressing matters that may arise in the participants’ decision to cooperate with the researcher.

The research findings come as a very significant component of the research design. Here, the researcher consolidates the collected data into meaningful formats. The researcher may choose to present the data inform of graphs and charts in order to enhance the presentability of the findings to the audience in a more appealing manner. The author of the research study has methodologically presented the challenges, as well as the possible solutions within the context of addressing the research questions.

This section depends on the study design, and describes the data in relation to the demographic factors, such as age, education, gender, for qualitative studies. In the case of quantitative research studies, the results and findings section provides the data analysis methods, which can also apply both descriptive and inferential statistics. The author has clearly described the nature of data analysis, and vividly articulates the sources, study selection, quality assessment, and the extent to which the search for the reviews was undertaken. The results further, illustrate description of the inclusion criteria, assessment of bias in the publications, as well as the implications of the research study for practice and research.

The critique of the quantitative research study should focus on the benefits and limitations the researcher displayed in the publications. Such critique should include the overall presentability, and a clear linkage should be seen in the various stages of the research. However, discussion from the results and findings should be highly correlated to the research questions. Thus, the quantitative research study should discuss the hypotheses in details, as well as the author being able to provide new information regarding the topic under study. Thus, the author argues that the discussion section should emphasize overall statement about the results in relation to the information found in the published literature.

The conclusion wraps and consolidates everything into one or more points of view about the topic under research. The researcher reviewer should focus on the in the results in drawing valid conclusions about the position or positions taken concerning the thesis statement.  The author should be able to provide a clear answer to the research questions, and comment whether the research objectives have been achieved. It is also prudent to provide a brief discussion about the implications of the research on nursing practice, and as well as the future direction of research in the field of study. Finally, the author insists that the conclusion or summary should pull all the information together, as well as the lessons leant.

 

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