Assignment: Critiquing Quantitative, Qualitative, or Mixed Methods Studies

Assignment: Critiquing Quantitative, Qualitative, or Mixed Methods Studies
Critiquing the validity and robustness of research featured in journal articles provides a critical foundation for engaging in evidence-based practice. In Weeks 5 and 6, you explored quantitative research designs. In Week 7, you will examine qualitative and mixed methods research designs. For this Assignment, which is due by Day 7 of Week 7, you critique a quantitative and either a qualitative or a mixed methods research study and compare the types of information obtained in each.

To prepare:

Select a health topic of interest to you that is relevant to your current area of practice. The topic may be your Course Portfolio Project or a different topic of your choice.
Using the Walden Library, locate two articles in scholarly journals that deal with your portfolio topic: 1) Select one article that utilizes a quantitative research design and 2) select a second article that utilizes either a qualitative OR a mixed methods design. These need to be single studies not systematic or integrative reviews (including meta-analysis and metasynthesis). You may use research articles from your reference list. If you cannot find these two types of research on your portfolio topic, you may choose another topic.
Locate the following documents in this week’s Learning Resources to access the appropriate templates, which will guide your critique of each article:
Critique Template for a Qualitative Study
Critique Template for a Quantitative Study
Critique Template for a Mixed-Methods Study
Consider the fields in the templates as you review the information in each article. Begin to draft a paper in which you analyze the two research approaches as indicated below. Reflect on the overall value of both quantitative and qualitative research. If someone were to say to you, “Qualitative research is not real science,” how would you respond?
To complete this Assignment:

Complete the two critiques using the appropriate templates.
Write a 2- to 3-page paper that addresses the following:
Contrast the types of information that you gained from examining the two different research approaches in the articles that you selected.
Describe the general advantages and disadvantages of the two research approaches featured in the articles. Use examples from the articles for support.
Formulate a response to the claim that qualitative research is not real science. Highlight the general insights that both quantitative and qualitative studies can provide to researchers. Support your response with references to the Learning Resources and other credible sources.
As you complete this Assignment, remember to:
Submit your paper to Grammarly and SafeAssign through the Walden Writing Center. Based on the Grammarly and SafeAssign reports, revise your paper as necessary.
Reminder: The School of Nursing requires that all papers submitted include a title page, introduction, summary, and references. The School of Nursing Sample Paper provided at the Walden Writing Center provides an example of those required elements (available from the Walden University website found in this week’s Learning Resources). All papers submitted must use this formatting.
Combine all three parts of this assignment into one Word document including both critique templates and the narrative with your references. Submit this combined document.

ANSWER

Topic: Patient Safety

Critique Template for a Quantitative Study

NURS 5052/NURS 6052

Week 6 Assignment: Application: Critiquing Quantitative, Qualitative, or Mixed Methods Studies (due by Day 7 of Week 7)

Date:           

Your name:           

Article reference (in APA style): Amanda, H., Linda, F., Jeannie, P.C, Suzanne, B., and Robyn, G. (2015). Impact of Health Information Technology on the Quality of Patient Care     

URL:  http://www.himss.org/impact-heath-information-technology-quality-patient-care      

What is a critique? Simply stated, a critique is a critical analysis undertaken for some purpose. Nurses critique research for three main reasons: to improve their practice, to broaden their understanding, and to provide a base for the conduct of a study.

When the purpose is to improve practice, nurses must give special consideration to questions such as these:

• Are the research findings appropriate to my practice setting and situation? 
• What further research or pilot studies need to be done, if any, before incorporating findings into practice to assure both safety and effectiveness?
• How might a proposed change in practice trigger changes in other aspects of practice?

To help you synthesize your learning throughout this course and prepare you to utilize research in your practice, you will be critiquing a qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods research study of your choice.

If the article is unavailable in a full-text version through the Walden University Library, you must e-mail the article as a PDF or Word attachment to your Instructor.

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH CRITIQUE

1. Research Problem and Purpose

What are the problem and purpose of the referenced study? (Sometimes ONLY the purpose is stated clearly and the problem must be inferred from the introductory discussion of the purpose.)

The research problem arises from the fact Schoen et al, (2011) noted that there was a high rate of error in health care which led to poor health care services and low patient satisfaction. This necessitated adoption of strategies that would seek to improve patient satisfaction as well as reducing health care errors through health care improvement. The objective of this research is to evaluate the impact of adopting Electronic Health Records (EHR) on patient’s satisfaction and patient adverse outcome characterized by an extended length of stay and readmission (Amanda, Linda, Jeannie, Suzanne & Robyn, 2015).

• Hypotheses and Research Questions

What are the hypotheses (or research questions/objectives) of the study? (Sometimes the hypotheses or study questions are listed in the Results section, rather than preceding the report of the methodology used. Occasionally, there will be no mention of hypotheses, but anytime there are inferential statistics used, the reader can recognize what the hypotheses are from looking at the results of statistical analysis.)

The research questions in this research are not recorded in the research methodology section. They are however included in the results section. The two research questions in this study were:

• Does EHR adoption stage influence patient satisfaction?
• Does EHR adoption stage influence the degree of adverse patient outcomes?
• Literature Review

What is the quality of the literature review? Is the literature review current? Relevant? Is there evidence that the author critiqued the literature or merely reported it without critique? Is there an integrated summary of the current knowledge base regarding the research problem, or does the literature review contain opinion or anecdotal articles without any synthesis or summary of the whole? (Sometimes the literature review is incorporated into the introductory section without being explicitly identified.)

The quality of the literature review is excellent. The work is supported by reports from reputable bodies that oversee the health sector such as Institute of Medicine (IOM), the U.S Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) as well as articles from scholars in the field of nursing and health such as Landrigan. Most of the work cited is current. The oldest article used was published in 2006. Additionally, the articles reviewed are relevant because they concentrate on patient safety and improved patient outcomes. For example, the authors have critiqued the Affordable Care Act of 2010 to expound on the provisions of the act towards quality health care (Amanda et al., 2015).