Deck 4: Examining Ethics in Nursing Research

Question 1

Describe when intellectual critical appraisals of studies are conducted in nursing.

Answer 1

Prior studies form the basis of much of currently existing medical knowledge. This knowledge serves as the foundation of most modern medical practices. Hence, it is important that these prior medical studies be critically appraised whenever they become relevant to a nursing career.
There are a wide variety of reasons for critically appraising data from prior studies. A common thread among the reasons is that the information in the study is to be utilized in some kind of manner. How the data is to be used varies considerably, depending on context.
Some major reasons for critical appraisal of studies include: using the study as a basis for further research, presenting the information of the study in a conference, or scrutinizing the availability and validity of medical treatment options for a patient.

Question 2

Implement key principles in critically appraising quantitative and qualitative studies.

Answer 2

5.
Assessing the strengths and weaknesses of a study, while remaining as objective as possible. Care must be taken not to exaggerate the strengths or the weaknesses of the study.
6.
Supporting the assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of a study with examples. This will help get a better understanding of the study, and make it easier to present such an assessment of the study to others.
7.
Evaluating the quality of the study based on its reliability and validity. This can be assessed by comparing the findings of the study with those of other studies and ensuring that the methodology of the study is clear and reproducible.

Question 3

Describe the three steps for critically appraising a study: (1) identifying the steps of the research process in the study; (2) determining study strengths and weaknesses; and (3) evaluating the credibility and meaning of the study findings.

Answer 3

Fundamentally speaking, there are three key steps in doing a critical appraisal of a published study. The first step is identifying the steps in the research process, the second step is determining the strengths and weaknesses of the study, and the third is evaluating the significance and credibility of the findings.
When it comes to identifying the steps in the research process, it is important to examine how the research publication is structured. Special attention must be paid to the credentials and backgrounds of the authors, as well as the literature review that is shown for their study. Next up, the methodology needs to be examined in order to ensure its clarity, consistency and reproducibility.
Lastly, the conclusions drawn from the data should be examined, and the underlying or explicit rationale for these conclusions should be scrutinized. By adopting a step by step approach, the various steps in the research process can be identified and analyzed.
When it comes to determining the strengths and weaknesses of a study, it is important to compare the methodology and rigor of the study to a gold standard. Such a gold standard could be based on a prior study that has been widely cited for its high reliability, validity and reproducibility. Further information on what constitutes good and poor quality research could be obtained from expert sources such as textbooks.
When it comes to evaluating the significance and credibility of the findings, the aspects of reliability and validity come into play. Reliability can be seen as a way to refer to the reproducibility and consistency of the study being performed which therefore ties into its credibility. The significance of the study ties into its validity, since it takes into account the importance of the variables measured in the context of the larger problem.

Question 4

Conduct a critical appraisal of a quantitative research report.

Question 5

Conduct a critical appraisal of a qualitative research report.