Qualitative Article Critique

Assignment 4: For Qualitative Critique (20 Points)
For this assignment students will critique a qualitative research article. Select one article from the list in Canvas Week 9, or may select a different study approved by the instructor for the critique assignment. Use the guidelines in the Polit and Beck text to set a benchmark to critique the quantitative research study. Cite the benchmark source for each area of the critique and describe how the study authors met or did not meet the benchmark criteria listed below.
Assignment Criteria:
Develop a scholarly paper that addresses the following criteria:
1. Identify an area of clinical interest.
2. Locate a minimum of one peer-reviewed journal article (no older than 5 years) related to your clinical topic of interest.
3. Critique the journal article, fully answering the questions in the table below. Cite benchmark reference sources to explain where the authors meet the criteria or miss the mark
4. The scholarly paper should be in narrative format, 4 to 5 pages excluding the title and reference page.
5. Include an introductory paragraph, purpose statement, and a conclusion.
6. Include level 1 and 2 headings to organize the paper.
7. Write the paper in third person, not first person (meaning do not use ‘we’ or ‘I’) and in a scholarly manner. To clarify: I, we, you, me, our may not be used. In addition, describing yourself as the researcher or the author should not be used.
8. Include a minimum of one professional peer-reviewed scholarly journal references to support the paper and a second benchmark peer reviewed source (may be textbook or other journal article) and be less than five (5) years old.
9. APA format is required (attention to spelling/grammar, a title page, a reference page, and in-text citations).
10. Submit the assignment to Turnitin prior to the final submission, review the originality report, and make any needed changes
11. Submit by the posted due date.
12. Format the critique paper using the IMRaD format with level 1 and level 2 headings as designated in the grid below:
Introduction to the paper with purpose statement
Level 1 Heading Level 2 Headings Content questions to address with quality benchmark citations
Introduction Research Problems and population of interest
What is the research problem? Is the problem statement easy to locate?
How does the author use the problem to build a persuasive argument for the new study?
What is the population of interest?
Research Questions What are the research questions?
Methods Research Tradition Was the research tradition for the study identified?
If none was identified, can one be inferred? Are the data sources, research methods and analytic approach congruent with the research tradition?
Was there evidence of reflexivity in the design?
Ethical Aspects of a Study Were adequate steps taken to safeguard participant’s privacy?
How was confidentiality maintained?
Were vulnerable groups involved in research? If so, what special attention did the researcher apply to protect their rights?
Data Collection Given the research question and characteristics of study participants, did the researcher use the best method of capturing study phenomena (self-reports, interviews, groups or observation)?
If self-report methods, did the researcher make good decisions about the specific method used to solicit information (focus group interviews, individual interviews).
How did the author describe managing the data collected i.e. did they discuss interviews tape recorded, annotated, and transcribed?
Data Analysis Approach Identify the type of analyses undertaken to answer a research question. Were appropriate methods used and/or qualitative software for data assessment?
Results Results/ Discuss if the findings were effectively summarized, with good use of experts.
Discuss if the themes adequately capture the meaning of the data. Does it appear that the researcher satisfactorily conceptualized the themes or patterns in the data?
Discussion Findings Discuss if the analysis yielded an insightful, provocative, and meaningful picture of the phenomenon under investigation.
Clinical Practice Discuss if the researchers presented the study’s implications for clinical practice or future research and if so, were the implications grounded in the study evidence, and in evidence from earlier research?
Summarize the overall quality of the critiqued paper according to the benchmark quality sources cited

Article for assignment: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2393/12/100