NUR 699 GC Week 3 Discussions 1 and 2

NUR 699 GC Week 3 Discussions 1 and 2

NUR699

Week 3 Discussion 1

What levels of evidence are present in relation to research and practice, and why it is important regardless of the method you use?

 

Week 3 Discussion 2

What factors must be assessed when critically appraising quantitative studies (e.g., validity, reliability, and applicability)? Which is the most important? Why?

NUR 699 GC Week 3 Assignment

Evidence-Based Practice Proposal – Section C: Literature Support

Details:

To begin, work through the reference list that was created in the “Section B: Problem Description” assignment in Topic 2. Appraise each resource using the “Rapid Critical Appraisal Checklists,” available in the textbook appendix. The specific checklist you use will be determined by the type of evidence within the resource.

Develop a research table to organize and summarize the research studies. Using a summary table allows you to be more concise in your narrative description. Only research studies used to support your intervention are summarized in this table. Refer to the “Evaluation Table Template,” available in the textbook appendix. Use the “Evaluation Table Template” as an adaptable template.

Write a narrative of 750-1,000 words (not including the title page and references) that presents the research support for the projects problem and proposed solution. Make sure to do the following:

1. Include a description of the search method (e.g., databases, keywords, criteria for inclusion and exclusion, and number of studies that fit your criteria).
2. Summarize all of the research studies used as evidence. The essential components of each study need to be described so that readers can evaluate its scientific merit, including study strengths and limitations.
3. Incorporate a description of the validity of the internal and external research.

It is essential to make sure that the research support for the proposed solution is sufficient, compelling, relevant, and from peer-reviewed professional journal articles.

Although you will not be submitting the checklist information or the evaluation table you design in Topic 3 with the narrative, the checklist information and evaluation table should be placed in the appendices for the final paper.

Prepare this assignment according to the APA guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.

Upon receiving feedback from the instructor, refine “Section C: Literature Support” for your final submission. This will be a continuous process throughout the course for each section.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION;

What factors must be assessed when critically appraising quantitative studies?

Introduction

This is a complex topic that requires careful consideration. In this article I will discuss 10 factors that should be considered when critically appraising quantitative studies.

1. What is the purpose of this study?

The first step in critically appraising quantitative studies is to determine what the purpose of this study is. Why did the design team choose a certain method or set of statistical analyses? Is it appropriate for their purpose?

For example, if you were conducting research on how much money people spend at restaurants and bars on average during the weekend, then your best choice would be to compare total spending across all days of the week (weekend versus weekday) rather than focusing only on one particular day. In this case, comparing overall average spending over several days would likely provide more accurate results than simply looking at single-day data points.

2. Why was this design used?

• The design of your study should be clearly defined. You want to make sure that you are using a reasonable and valid method for testing your hypothesis, so it’s important to know why this design was chosen.

• If a descriptive study is used, it can be useful in learning about current conditions or understanding how people feel about them (or even how they think their situation will change). However, if there are no specific goals other than simply describing what happened in the past then we would classify this type of research as an exploratory study rather than a hypothesis-testing one.

• When comparing two different groups (for example: male/female), then this would be classified as experimental research because one group is being compared with another at least once during the experiment; however if only one group is tested over time without changing anything else happening within either participant groups then this would still fall under descriptive studies but not experimental ones

3. Is the research design appropriate for the purpose of the study?

• Is the research design appropriate for the purpose of the study?

The most common types of research designs are randomized controlled trials (RCTs), quasi-experimental designs and case studies. In this section we will focus on RCTs, which are considered to be the best evidence-based method for evaluating health interventions.

A randomized controlled trial (RCT) is a method used by researchers to evaluate interventions that have already been tested in small numbers of people but need to be tested on larger populations before they can be recommended for widespread use. A relatively large number of participants must be recruited into each group before randomization occurs so that any differences between groups can be detected using statistical analyses such as ANOVA or t tests; otherwise it would be impossible to detect meaningful differences between groups because there could always be confounding variables involved such as socioeconomic status or other factors that affect both groups differently but do not affect them equally!

4. Are the sampling criteria clearly stated?

In any quantitative study, it is important to ensure that the sampling criteria are clearly stated. The criteria should be appropriate for the purpose of your study and clear enough so that they can be understood by others who may read or use your results. For example, if you’re conducting an experiment on how people react when they see a smiling face versus an angry face, then it would make sense if you wanted to include both happy and unhappy faces in your sample group (i.e., happy faces would probably make someone feel better). However, if you were studying happiness as a personality trait before taking other factors into consideration (e.g., age), then choosing only happy faces could lead to inaccurate results because not all people who look happy will necessarily be happier than those who look angry!

5. How were participants recruited?

• How were participants recruited?

This is one of the most important questions to ask when critically appraising quantitative studies. It’s also an important aspect of your own research, so you need to be able to answer it yourself if you want to be an effective reviewer! Here are some questions that can help guide your thinking:

• What methods were used for recruiting participants? How did they choose who would participate in this study, and how many people did they select from their original target population (the general population)? For example, if researchers wanted a random sample of 100 people living in rural areas with access only via public transportation or walking distance from a university campus building; did they do this by randomly selecting 40 households within each neighborhood based on address information provided by residents themselves or through another method like postal codes? If so then what about those who weren’t chosen for inclusion because there weren’t enough available homes within each neighborhood—were these sites included in any way later on down the line when it came time for data collection at home sites themselves?

6. Did the researchers describe and justify their methods for selecting a sample from the target population?

Did the researchers describe and justify their methods for selecting a sample from the target population?

This is one of the most important aspects of any quantitative research, as it directly affects how valid your conclusions will be. A good quality study will have clear and detailed information about how they chose their sample, including:

• How many people did they select?

• What criteria were used to select them (e.g., random or systematic)?

• What percentage of eligible participants participated in each stage of selection (e.g., first round only)?

7. Did the participants constitute an unbiased sample of a clearly identified population?

• Did the participants constitute an unbiased sample of a clearly identified population?

Purpose: To ensure that the sample is representative of the population being studied, and not biased in any way. This ensures that conclusions drawn from the study are valid and reliable, as well as being relevant to other studies or populations.

In order for this question to be answered positively, it must be ensured that:

• The participant group has been clearly defined (e.g., gender), so that no participant was included who does not match their intended characteristics;

• All participants have been randomly assigned into groups; and finally

• The sample size used throughout each investigation was sufficient enough for meaningful results (i) if only 10% of those surveyed do not agree with something then there’s no point doing further research because you’re wasting time on something irrelevant; but also b) If 100% agree everything will lead up nowhere because nobody can disagree with everything!

8. Was this a convenience sample or randomised controlled trial/randomised clinical trial?

• Was this a convenience sample or randomised controlled trial/randomised clinical trial?

There are several important differences between the two:

• In a convenience sample, participants are chosen because they have been referred to your clinic by another doctor and then invited to participate in your research study. The participants do not know that they have been selected until they arrive at the clinic; however, they may have heard about it from friends or relatives who also participate in the study. This type of sampling is often called ‘non-probability’, as it does not require random selection from all members of a population (e.g., all people living within 1 km radius).

• In contrast, randomisation occurs when each participant has an equal chance of being included in any given group (e.g., 2 groups). For example if you want to assess whether different types of exercise would improve mood after depression treatment: one group would receive regular exercise while another did not; both groups would be randomly assigned by lottery drawings held centrally somewhere such as at home address registration centre or online through email inboxes etcetera…

9. (AND) What were the inclusion and exclusion criteria for participation in this study?

Inclusion and exclusion criteria are important to understand the sample of participants. The inclusion and exclusion criteria should be clearly stated, defined, and based on sound scientific principles.

Conclusion

The key to understanding the findings of a quantitative study is to read the abstract, full text and methodological section carefully.