Intellectual critique of a qualitative research study

Part one:  

Compare and contrast the qualitative and quantitative steps of the research process. Discuss the findings from your literature review, and whether it included quantitative studies, qualitative studies, or both.

400 words and one peer-reviewed APA source 

Summarize how you will use the critique process when reviewing literature related to your selected clinical problem. How will your findings inform how you will address your PICOT?

400 words and one peer-reviewed APA source 

My PICOT question based on my clinical problem is in long-term patients how does the nursing shortage compared with being fully staffed affect the chances of medical errors during their length of stay?

I personally believe that the nursing shortage negatively impacts the patients as well as the nurses. 

Part two: Due Sunday at 8pm United States California time

Using the õidelines for Identifying the Steps of the Qualitative Research Process(Chapter 18 of your textbook, pg. 445), select a qualitative research study from your literature review and provide an analysis of the study according to the guidelines in your text. Each step should be clearly labeled as headings and you need to support your claims with solid references. Include at least four (4) scholarly citations.

Assignment Expectations

Length: 1500-2000 words

Structure: Include a title page, introduction, conclusion, and reference page in APA style. These do not count towards the minimum word amount for this assignment.

References: Use the appropriate APA style in-text citations and references for all resources utilized to answer the questions. Include at least four (4) scholarly sources to support your claims.

Guidelines for Identifying the Steps of the Qualitative Research Process

The following questions are provided to help you identify the key elements of the study.

I. Introduction

A. Describe the researchers’ qualifications. Take note of their employers, professions, levels of educational preparation, clinical expertise, and research experience. Have the researchers conducted previous studies on this topic or with this population? Not all of this information will be available in the article, so you will need to search for additional information about the researchers online (Fothergill & Lipp, 2014).

B. Does the title give you a clear indication of the concepts studied and the population? Can you determine from the title which qualitative approach was used?

C. Is the abstract inclusive of the purpose of the study, qualitative approach, and sample (Fothergill & Lipp, 2014)? The abstract should also contain key findings.

II. Research problem

A. Is the significance of the study established? In other words, why should you care about the problem that inspired the researcher to conduct this study (Liamputtong, 2013)?

B. Identify the problem statement. Is the research problem explicitly stated?

C. Does the researcher identify a personal connection or motivation for selecting this topic to study? For example, the researcher may choose to study the lived experience of men undergoing radiation for prostate cancer after the researcher’s father underwent the same treatment. Acknowledging motives and potential biases is an expectation for qualitative researchers, but the researcher may not include this information in the article (Marshall & Rossman, 2016; Munhall, 2012).

III. Purpose and research questions

A. Identify the purpose of the study. Is the purpose a logical approach to addressing the research problem of the study (Fawcett & Garity, 2009; Munhall, 2012)? Does the purpose have an intuitive fit with the problem?

B. List research questions that the study was designed to answer.

C. Are the research questions related to the problem and purpose?

D. Are qualitative methods appropriate to answer the research questions?

IV. Literature review

A. Are quantitative and qualitative studies cited that are relevant to the focus of the study? What other types of literature are included?

B. Were the references current at the time the research was published? For qualitative studies, the author may have included studies older than the 5-year limit typically used for quantitative studies. Findings of older qualitative studies may be relevant to a qualitative study that involves human processes, such as grieving or coping, that transcend time.

C. Identify the disciplines of the authors of studies cited in the article. Does it appear that the researcher searched databases outside the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) for relevant studies? Research publications in other disciplines as well as literary works in the humanities may have relevance for some qualitative studies.

D. Were the cited studies evaluated and their limitations noted?

E. Did the literature review include adequate synthesized information to build a logical argument (Marshall & Rossman, 2016; Wakefield, 2014)? Another way to ask the question: Does the author provide enough evidence to support the assertion that the study was needed?

V. Philosophical foundation or theoretical perspective

The methods used by qualitative researchers are determined by the philosophical foundation of their work. The researcher may or may not state the philosophical stance on which the study is based. Despite this omission, you as a knowledgeable reader can recognize the philosophy through the description of the problem, formulation of the research questions, and selection of the methods to address the research questions.

A. Was a specific perspective (philosophy or theory) described from which the study was developed? If so, what was that perspective?

B. If a broad philosophy, such as phenomenology, was identified, was the specific philosopher, such as Husserl or Heidegger, also identified?

C. Did the researcher cite a primary source for the philosophical foundation or theory (see Chapter 4)?

VI. Qualitative approach

A. Identify the stated or implied research approach used for the study.

B. Provide a paraphrased description of the research approach used. In addition to reviewing Chapter 4, refer to Charmaz (2014), Corbin and Strauss (2015), Creswell (2013), and Munhall (2012) for descriptions of the different qualitative research perspectives or traditions.

VII. Sampling and sample

A. Identify how study participants were selected.

B. Identify the types of sites where participants were recruited for the study.

C. Describe the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the sample.

D. Discuss the sample size. How was the sample size determined (theoretical saturation, no new themes generated, researcher understanding of the essences of the phenomenon, et cetera)?

VIII. Data collection

A. Describe the data collection method.

B. Identify the period of time during which data collection occurred, and also the duration of any interviews.

C. Describe the sequence of data collection events for a participant. For example, were data collected from one interview or a series of interviews? Were focus group participants given an opportunity to provide additional data or review the preliminary conclusions of the researcher?

D. Describe any changes in the methods in response to the context and early data collection (Marshall & Rossman, 2016; Miles et?al., 2014; Roller & Lavrakas, 2015).

IX. Protection of human study participants

A. Identify the benefits and risks of participation. Are there benefits or risks the researchers do not identify?

B. Are recruitment and consent techniques adjusted to accommodate the sensitivity of the subject matter and psychological distress of potential participants?

C. Describe the data collection and management techniques that acknowledge participant sensitivity and vulnerability. These might include how potential participants are identified or what resources are available if the participant becomes upset (McCosker, Barnard, & Gerber, 2001; Munhall, 2012).

X. Data management and analysis

A. Describe the data management and analysis methods used in the study, by name if possible (Marshall & Rossman, 2016; Miles et?al. 2014; Munhall, 2012).

B. Is an audit trail mentioned? An audit trail is a record of critical decisions that were made during the development and implementation of the study (see Chapter 4).

C. Does the researcher describe other strategies used to minimize or allow for the effects of researcher bias (Miles et?al., 2014; Patton, 2015)? For example, did two researchers analyze the data independently and compare their analyses?

XI. Findings

A. What are the findings of the study?

B. Does the researcher include participants’ quotes to support themes or other processes identified as the findings (Corbin & Strauss, 2015; Patton, 2015)?

C. Do the findings ©ng true4o the reader? This resonation, this believing on the part of the reader, in relation to something already experienced in private or professional life, supports the study’s veracity.

XII. Discussion

A. Describe the limitations of the study.

B. Identify whether the findings are compared to the findings of other studies or other relevant literature (Fawcett & Garity, 2009; Munhall, 2012).

C. Did the results offer new information about the phenomenon?

D. What clinical, policy, theoretical, and other types of implications are identified?  

Gray, J. R., Burns, N., & Grove, S. (2017). Burns and Groveàthe practice of nursing research: Appraisal, synthesis, and generation of evidence (8th ed.). Elsevier.