Chapter 4 Flashcards
<p>
| Journal Articles</p>
<p>
Descriptions of studies published in professional journals. They are often subjected to peer review. Peer reviews are often blind (reviewers are not told names of authors and vice versa.).</p>
<p>Research Journal Articles have an IMRAD Format which means...</p>
<p>The paper is preceded by a title and an abstract, and concludes with references. IMRAD = Introduction Method Results And Discussion :) </p>
<p>Abstract </p>
<p>A brief description of the study placed at the beginning of the article.
The abstract answers questions like the following: What were the research questions? What methods were used to address those questions? What were the findings? What are the implications for nursing practice?
Readers can review an abstract to judge whether to read the full report.
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<p>Old Style Abstract</p>
<p>Single paragraph, about 100 to 150 words
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<p>New Style Abstract </p>
<p>More detailed, with specific headings
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<p>An Introduction </p>
<p>Sets the stage for presenting what the researcher did and what was learned.
Description of:
Central phenomena, concepts, or variables
Study purpose, research questions, or hypotheses
Review of literature
Theoretical/conceptual framework
Study significance, need for study
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<p>The Method Section </p>
<p>sThe method section describes the methods used to answer the research questions. In a quantitative study, the method section usually describes the following, which may be presented in labeled subsections:
Research design
Sampling plan
Methods of measuring variables and collecting data
Study procedures, including procedures to protect participants
Analytic methods and procedure
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<p>In qualitative studies, the method section contains...</p>
<p>Research tradition Sampling approach and description of study participants Setting and context Data collection approaches Study procedures Analytic strategies </p>
<p>How do qualitative studies differ from quantitative in the method section? </p>
<p>Qualitative researchers discuss many of the same issues, but with different emphases.
For example, a qualitative researchers often provide more information about the study setting and context than quantitative researchers, and less information on sampling and data collection. Increasingly, reports of qualitative studies describe the researchers’ efforts to enhance the integrity of the study.
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<p>The Results Section </p>
<p>Presents the findings that were obtained by analyzing the study data.
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<p>What do Quantitative studies have in their "results" section? </p>
<p>Descriptive information (e.g., description of subjects)
Results of statistical analyses
Names of statistical tests
Value of calculated statistics-
=The value allows researchers to reach conclusions about their hypotheses. The actual value of the statistic, however, is not inherently meaningful and need not concern you.
Level of statistical significance
=If a researcher reports that the results are statistically significant, it means the findings are probably true and replicable with a new sample.
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<p>Statistical Tests </p>
<p>Researchers use statistical tests to test their hypotheses and assess the probability that the results are accurate.
A statistical test helps answer the question </p>
<p>What do statistical tests help answer? </p>
<p>(If the researcher finds that the average birth weight of drug-exposed infants in the sample is lower than the birth weight of infants not exposed to drugs, how probable is it that the same would be true for other infants not in the sample?)
*A statistical test helps answer the question, Is the relationship between prenatal drug exposure and infant birth weight real, and would it likely be observed with a new sample from the same population?*
Statistical tests are based on common principles; you do not have to know the names of all statistical tests to comprehend the findings.
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<p>Level of Statistical Significance </p>
<p>Index of how probable it is that the findings are reliable
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<p>Example of a level of statistical significance </p>
<p>For example, if a report indicates that a finding was significant at the .05 level, this means that only 5 times out of 100 (5/ 100 = .05) would the obtained result be spurious. In other words, 95 times out of 100, similar results would be obtained with a new sample. Readers can thus have a high degree of confidence— but not total assurance— that the results are accurate.
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<p>In qualitative studies, the "results" section has...</p>
<p>Findings often organized according to major themes, processes, or categories identified in the analysis
Almost always includes raw data—quotes directly from study participants
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<p>Raw Data- </p>
<p>The actual words of participants
| unanalyzed data; data not yet subjected to analysis</p>
<p>The "discussion" section contains...</p>
<p>Interpretation of the results
Implications for nursing practice and for further research
Study limitations
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<p>What is the purpose of a discussion section? </p>
<p>It demonstrates to readers that the authors were aware of the limitations and probably took them into account in interpreting the findings.
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<p>Where are study limitations typically described?</p>
<p>The "discussion" section of the report </p>
<p>The style of research journals are often difficult to glean the "story" being told because of?</p>
<p>1. Compactness.
Journal space is limited, so authors compress a lot of information into a short space. Interesting, personalized aspects of the investigation cannot be reported, and, in qualitative studies, only a handful of supporting quotes can be included.
2. Jargon.
The authors of research articles use research terms that may seem esoteric.
3. Objectivity.
Quantitative researchers tend to avoid any impression of subjectivity, and so they tell their research stories in a way that makes them sound impersonal. Most quantitative research articles are written in the passive voice, which tends to make the articles less inviting and lively. Qualitative reports, by contrast, are often written in a more conversational style.
4. Statistical information.
In quantitative reports, numbers and statistical symbols may intimidate readers who do not have statistical training.
Objectivity & statistical information are particularity prominent in quantitative research articles. </p>
<p>Tips on reading research articles:</p>
<p>Read regularly, get used to style.
Read copied articles—underline, highlight, write notes.
Read slowly.
Read actively.
Reading actively means that you constantly monitor yourself to verify that you understand what you are reading. If you have difficulty, you can ask someone for help. In most cases, that “someone” will be your instructor, but also consider contacting the researchers themselves.
Look up technical terms in glossary.
Don’t be intimidated by statistics—grasp gist of story.
“Translate” articles or abstracts.
You can do this by translating jargon into more familiar words, by recasting the report into an active voice, and by summarizing findings with words rather than numbers.
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<p>Things to remember about critiquing research articles?</p>
<p>They are Careful and objective appraisals of the strengths and limitations of a study
Critiques of individual studies can be done for a variety of reasons (e.g., for a student assignment, for making decisions about whether or not to publish a manuscript, for EBP purposes)
They Vary in scope, length, and form, depending on purpose
They Can be comprehensive, appraising the substantive, methodologic, theoretical, ethical, interpretive, and stylistic aspects of both the study and the report (e.g., students can critique a single study to demonstrate their research skills.)
Critiques to inform EBP focus on whether evidence is accurate, believable, and clinically relevant.
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<p>What are research critiques? </p>
<p>A research critique is an objective assessment of a study’s strengths and limitations.
Critiques usually conclude with the reviewer’s summary of the study’s merits, recommendations regarding the value of the evidence, and suggestions about improving the study or the report.
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<p>Why are research critiques done? </p>
<p>To evaluate the strengths and limitations of a study.
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Research Critiques can be facilitated by…
Using a formal protocol or critiquing guideline—although a one-size-fits-all guideline does not typically work perfectly (see guidelines for quantitative and qualitative studies in this chapter as models.)
Reviewing a model of a good critique
What is an “Inference” ?
An inference is a conclusion drawn from the study evidence using logical reasoning and taking into account the methods used to generate that evidence.
What are the Key Challenges in Research?
Designing studies to support inferences that are:
- Reliable and valid (quantitative studies)
- Trustworthy (qualitative studies)
Why are inferences necessary?
Because researchers use proxies that “stand in” for things that are fundamentally of interest. A sample of participants is a proxy for an entire population. A study site is a proxy for all relevant sites in which the phenomena of interest could unfold. A measuring scale yields proxy information about constructs that can only be captured through approximations. A control group that does not receive an intervention is a proxy for what would happen to the same people if they simultaneously received and did not receive an intervention.
Reliability
The accuracy and consistency of obtained information
Validity
The soundness of the evidence—whether findings are convincing, are well-grounded, and support the desired inferences
Trustworthiness
The overall integrity of the study’s evidence
. In general, qualitative researchers discuss this. Trustworthiness encompasses several different dimensions— credibility, transferability, confirmability, dependability, and authenticity.
What are the dimensions of trustworthiness?
Dimensions of trustworthiness: Credibility Confirmability Dependability Transferability Authenticity
Credibility
A key criterion, achieved to the extent that researchers can engender confidence in the truth of the data and their interpretations
Credibility is an especially important aspect of trustworthiness.
Credibility is achieved to the extent that the research methods inspire confidence that the results and interpretations are truthful and accurate.
Credibility in a qualitative study can be enhanced through various approaches, but one strategy merits early discussion because it has implications for the design of all studies, including quantitative ones.
Triangulation
-The use of multiple sources or referents to draw conclusions about what constitutes the truth.
- Triangulation can contribute to credibility.
- Triangulation is a useful strategy in both qualitative and quantitative research.
An Example of Triangulation…
Carlsson and colleagues (2012) conducted a study to describe the accuracy of discharge information for patients with eating difficulties after stroke. They triangulated information from hospital records, interviews with nurses, and observations of patients’ eating.
What is a key aspect of trustworthiness?
Credibility
Rationale : Credibility is a key criterion for trustworthiness. Reliability and validity are key for evaluating quantitative research. Triangulation is the use of multiple sources or referents to draw conclusions
What is Bias?
An influence producing a distortion in study results.
What factors create bias?
Lack of participants’ candor Faulty methods of data collection Researcher’s preconceptions Participants’ awareness of being in a special study Faulty study design
What does “Research Control” involve?
Research control usually involves holding constant influences on the outcome variable so that the true relationship between the independent and outcome variables can be understood.
(In other words, research control attempts to eliminate contaminating factors that might cloud the relationship between the variables that are of central interest.)
What is one method of addressing bias?
Research Control
Confounding variables
Contaminating factors, things that influence bias.
Randomness
Having certain features of the study established by chance rather than by design or researcher preference.
When people are selected at random to participate in a study, for example, each person in the initial pool has an equal chance of being selected.
This in turn means that there are no systematic biases in the make-up of the sample.
What is An important tool for achieving control over confounding variables and for avoiding bias?
Randomness
Blinding/Masking =
It is a bias reducing strategy, especially bias that stems from awareness.
Involves concealing information (usually about the study hypotheses or about participants’ status in different groups) from those playing a role in the study.
Single Blind Masking
Only one group is blinded (e.g., study participants)
Double Blind Masking
Two groups (e.g., study participants and people collecting the outcome data) are blinded
An Open Study
A Study without blinding
A closed study
A Study with blinding
Reflexitivity
The process of reflecting critically on the self, and of attending to personal values that could affect data collection and interpretations of the data.
A strategy used primarily by qualitative researchers (e.g., they may maintain an ongoing journal to record their reflections before and during the study.)
What kind of studies is blinding used in?
Quantitative
Generalizability
the extent to which study findings are valid for others not in the study
What kind of research uses generalizability?
Quantitative research
Transferability
The extent to which qualitative findings can be transferred to other settings
What kind of research uses transferability?
Qualitative research
Thick Description
supports transferability
