NURS 3416 MIDTERM MASTERY:
INQUIRY AND PRAXIS II A+
Critically reading means - o Systematic understanding of the research process
o Thinking that displays a mastery of the criteria for critiquing research and
evidence-informed practice
o The art of being able to make your thinking better by clarifying what you
understand and what you do not know
Levels of understanding - - Preliminary
- Comprehensive
- Analysis
- Synthesis
Preliminary level of understanding - Familiarizing yourself with the content (skimming
the article)
Comprehensive level of understanding - - Understanding the researcher's purpose or
intent
- Designed to increase your understanding both of the concepts and research terms
in relation to the context and of the parts of the study in relation to the whole study,
as presented in the article
Analysis level of understanding - - Understanding the parts of the study
- The critiquing process begins at this stage.
Synthesis level of understanding - - Understanding the whole article and each step of
the research process in a study
- The reader determines how each step of the research process relates to all the
other steps, how well the study meets the critiquing criteria, and the usefulness of
the study for practice.
Quality - The extent to which a study's design, implementation, and analysis
minimizes selection, measurement and confounding biases
Quantity - The number of studies in which the research question has been
evaluated, including overall sample size across studies, as well as the strength of the
findings from the data analyses
Consistency - The degree to which similar findings are reported from investigations
of the same research question in studies that have similar and different designs
Critical Reading Involves - Active interpretation and objective assessment of an
article and searching for key concepts, ideas, and justifications.
Process of Critiquing is - Objectively and critically evaluating the strengths and
weaknesses of a research article for scientific merit and application to practice,
,theory, and education. The need for more research on the topic or clinical problem is
also addressed at this stage.
Why review the level of evidence - As a means of judging the application of the
findings to practice.
Rapid Critical Appraisal - - Find flaws in a study
- Determine its worth in practice
- Usually conducted along with an RCA checklist that's specific to the research
design of the study being evaluated
- Important to begin the RCA with the studies at the highest level of evidence in order
to see the most reliable evidence first
Rapid Critical Appraisal Reviews - - Level of evidence
- How well it was conducted
- How useful it is to practice
Rapid Critical Appraisal Final Steps - - Evaluation
- Synthesis
Random Sampling - o When researchers select subjects from within a certain
population to participate in a study by using a random strategy, such as tossing a
coin
o Allows the entire population to be fairly represented but not always feasible
because it requires access to a particular population
Convenience Sample - o Participants recruited from a readily available population,
such as a researcher's affiliated hospital, which may or may not represent the
desired population
Random Assignment - o The se of a random strategy to assign study participants to
the intervention or control group
o Important feature of higher-level studies in the hierarchy of evidence
Odds Ratio - The odds of an outcome occurring in the intervention group compared
with the odds of it occurring in the comparison or control group
Relative Risk (RR) - The risk of an outcome occurring in the intervention group
compared with the risk of it occurring in the comparison or control group
Confidence Interval (CI) - The range in which clinicians can expect to get results if
they present the intervention as it was in the study
Correlational Research Question (Quant) - Is there a relationship between X (ind.
variable) and Y (dep. variable) in the specified population?
Comparative Research Question (Quant) - Is there a difference in Y (dep. variable)
between people who have characteristic X (ind. variable) and those who do not have
characteristic X?
, Quantitative Research Question (Quant) - Is there a difference in Y (dep. variable)
between people who have characteristic X (ind. variable) and those who do not have
characteristic X?
Phenomenological (Qual) Research Question - What is or was it like to have X?
Purpose of a literature review - Reveals related factors that appear to be critical for
the research topic of interest and helps further define the research questions
Significance of research question must be in terms of potential contribution to - o
Patients
o Nurses
o Medical community in general
o Society
Feasibility of research question in light of pragmatic considerations: - Time,
availability of participants, money, facilities, equipment, nurse's experience, ethical
issues
Hypothesis - An attempt to answer the research question
Literature review should reflect - o When the problem was studied
o The aspects of the problem that were studied
o Where the problem was investigated
o By whom the problem was investigated
o The gaps or inconsistencies in the literature
Accuracy - o All aspects of the study systematically and logically follow from the
research problem
Pilot study - Small, simple study conducted as a prelude to a larger study
Feasibility - The capability of the study to be successfully carried out
Considerations in determining feasibility - - Time
- Participant availability
- Facility and equipment availability
- Money
- Researcher experience
- Ethics
Extraneous Variable - Interferes with the operations of the phenomena being studied
(i.e. age, gender)
Means of controlling an extraneous variable - · Use of a homogenous sample
· Use of consistent data-collection procedures
· Manipulation of the independent variable
· Randomization
INQUIRY AND PRAXIS II A+
Critically reading means - o Systematic understanding of the research process
o Thinking that displays a mastery of the criteria for critiquing research and
evidence-informed practice
o The art of being able to make your thinking better by clarifying what you
understand and what you do not know
Levels of understanding - - Preliminary
- Comprehensive
- Analysis
- Synthesis
Preliminary level of understanding - Familiarizing yourself with the content (skimming
the article)
Comprehensive level of understanding - - Understanding the researcher's purpose or
intent
- Designed to increase your understanding both of the concepts and research terms
in relation to the context and of the parts of the study in relation to the whole study,
as presented in the article
Analysis level of understanding - - Understanding the parts of the study
- The critiquing process begins at this stage.
Synthesis level of understanding - - Understanding the whole article and each step of
the research process in a study
- The reader determines how each step of the research process relates to all the
other steps, how well the study meets the critiquing criteria, and the usefulness of
the study for practice.
Quality - The extent to which a study's design, implementation, and analysis
minimizes selection, measurement and confounding biases
Quantity - The number of studies in which the research question has been
evaluated, including overall sample size across studies, as well as the strength of the
findings from the data analyses
Consistency - The degree to which similar findings are reported from investigations
of the same research question in studies that have similar and different designs
Critical Reading Involves - Active interpretation and objective assessment of an
article and searching for key concepts, ideas, and justifications.
Process of Critiquing is - Objectively and critically evaluating the strengths and
weaknesses of a research article for scientific merit and application to practice,
,theory, and education. The need for more research on the topic or clinical problem is
also addressed at this stage.
Why review the level of evidence - As a means of judging the application of the
findings to practice.
Rapid Critical Appraisal - - Find flaws in a study
- Determine its worth in practice
- Usually conducted along with an RCA checklist that's specific to the research
design of the study being evaluated
- Important to begin the RCA with the studies at the highest level of evidence in order
to see the most reliable evidence first
Rapid Critical Appraisal Reviews - - Level of evidence
- How well it was conducted
- How useful it is to practice
Rapid Critical Appraisal Final Steps - - Evaluation
- Synthesis
Random Sampling - o When researchers select subjects from within a certain
population to participate in a study by using a random strategy, such as tossing a
coin
o Allows the entire population to be fairly represented but not always feasible
because it requires access to a particular population
Convenience Sample - o Participants recruited from a readily available population,
such as a researcher's affiliated hospital, which may or may not represent the
desired population
Random Assignment - o The se of a random strategy to assign study participants to
the intervention or control group
o Important feature of higher-level studies in the hierarchy of evidence
Odds Ratio - The odds of an outcome occurring in the intervention group compared
with the odds of it occurring in the comparison or control group
Relative Risk (RR) - The risk of an outcome occurring in the intervention group
compared with the risk of it occurring in the comparison or control group
Confidence Interval (CI) - The range in which clinicians can expect to get results if
they present the intervention as it was in the study
Correlational Research Question (Quant) - Is there a relationship between X (ind.
variable) and Y (dep. variable) in the specified population?
Comparative Research Question (Quant) - Is there a difference in Y (dep. variable)
between people who have characteristic X (ind. variable) and those who do not have
characteristic X?
, Quantitative Research Question (Quant) - Is there a difference in Y (dep. variable)
between people who have characteristic X (ind. variable) and those who do not have
characteristic X?
Phenomenological (Qual) Research Question - What is or was it like to have X?
Purpose of a literature review - Reveals related factors that appear to be critical for
the research topic of interest and helps further define the research questions
Significance of research question must be in terms of potential contribution to - o
Patients
o Nurses
o Medical community in general
o Society
Feasibility of research question in light of pragmatic considerations: - Time,
availability of participants, money, facilities, equipment, nurse's experience, ethical
issues
Hypothesis - An attempt to answer the research question
Literature review should reflect - o When the problem was studied
o The aspects of the problem that were studied
o Where the problem was investigated
o By whom the problem was investigated
o The gaps or inconsistencies in the literature
Accuracy - o All aspects of the study systematically and logically follow from the
research problem
Pilot study - Small, simple study conducted as a prelude to a larger study
Feasibility - The capability of the study to be successfully carried out
Considerations in determining feasibility - - Time
- Participant availability
- Facility and equipment availability
- Money
- Researcher experience
- Ethics
Extraneous Variable - Interferes with the operations of the phenomena being studied
(i.e. age, gender)
Means of controlling an extraneous variable - · Use of a homogenous sample
· Use of consistent data-collection procedures
· Manipulation of the independent variable
· Randomization
