L2 Critical Appraisal and PICO

Question 1

what is critical appraisal

Answer 1

the process of systematically examining research evidence to assess its validity, results and relevance before using it to inform a decision’.

(Hill & Spittlehouse, 2001, p1)

Question 2

key components of a research article

Answer 2

• Title
• Abstract
• Keywords
• Main Text (IMRAD)
  
  • Introduction
  • Methods
  • Results
  • And Discussions
• Conclusion
• Acknowledgement
• References
• Supplementary data

Question 3

what should the title of the study include

Answer 3

the research design - as recommended by the equator reporting guidelines for studies

Question 4

what is the abstract

Answer 4

a succinct description of the article

Question 5

what should be included in the abstract

Answer 5

• introduction
• methods
• results
• discussion

Question 6

what should be included in the introduction

Answer 6

• Why is this study needed?
• What research has been done before
• Build up to the research questions/aims – they should be at the end of this section.
• If study is about an intervention PICO questions should be here

Question 7

what should be included in the methods section of the study

Answer 7

• Design of the study
• Materials used
• Participants: Who were they?
• Data collection: How was data collected?
• Data analysis: How was data analysed?
• This section of the paper must tell you how the research question was answered.

Question 8

what should be included in the results section of a study

Answer 8

• Main findings of the study
• Statistical analysis if appropriate
• All data must be accounted for in this section - 12 children in the methods section – there must be data from 12 children in the results
• Research questions answered in this section.

Question 9

what should be included in the discussion section of the study

Answer 9

• Were the research questions addressed?
• Were the findings expected or unexpected?
• Do the findings agree with other research in the area?
• What are the implications for clinical practice?
• What should the next phase of research consider?
• What are the limitations of the study?

Question 10

what should be included in the references section of the study

Answer 10

• All references included in the list at the back
• References should be free of typos
• It must be easy to locate from the information given

Question 11

what makes an article difficult to read - introduction

Answer 11

• Poor English
• Justification of research not clear
• Poorly written research question

Question 12

what makes an article difficult to read - methods

Answer 12

• Doesn’t match the research question or questions
• Difficult to find who the participants are
• Difficult to find out how the project was
  conducted
• Unclear how data was collected and analysed - It is at this point that you can typically abandon the article – not worth pursuing because the methods are incorrect.

Question 13

what makes an article difficult to read - results

Answer 13

• Do not answer the questions asked
• Data not supported by tables or figures
• Some data left out

Question 14

what makes an article difficult to read - discussion

Answer 14

• Long winded and can go ‘Off topic’
• Does not discuss the results or the research question
• Does not put the findings in context with other literature
• Does not provide directions for further research or clinical practice
• Does not consider limitations

Question 15

4 study methodologies

Answer 15

• Quantitative (experimental)
• Qualitative
• Descriptive
• Mixed Methods

Question 16

what are qualitative methods of research design

Answer 16

• research questions or aims about perceptions, beliefs, opinions
• an in-depth exploration of the lived experience of a condition cannot be obtained from questionnaires alone

Question 17

example of a research question for which a qualitative method would be appropriate

Answer 17

what is the psychosocial impact of dysarthria on the speaker

Question 18

what are quantitiative methods of research design

Answer 18

• research questions or aims are about numbers
• differences in scores between intervetnion x and and intervention y - need to apply statistics to test the difference

Question 19

example of a research question for which quantitative methods would be most appropriate

Answer 19

what is the efficacy of the Palin PCI compared to the Lidcombe programme in school-aged children who stutter

Question 20

what is an RCT

Answer 20

• Participants randomly allocated to one intervention or another.
• Both groups followed up for specific period.
• Outcomes analysed in terms of outcomes defined at the beginning.
• The difference in outcome (in theory) attributed to the intervention.

Question 21

issues which occur with research design

Answer 21

when the wrong design or methodlolgy is used for the question being asked

Question 22

phase 1 of Robey and Schultz model (1998)

Answer 22

exploring therapy procedure and proving that it is safe and worth exploring further

Question 23

phase 2 of Robery and Schultz model (1998)

Answer 23

attempt to define how the therapy works, select appropriate assessments and outcome measures

Question 24

phase 3 of robey and schultz model (1998)

Answer 24

design a large-scale efficacy study (RCT)

Question 25

phase 4 of robey and schultz model (1998)

Answer 25

effectiveness study to see if therapy works clinically

Question 26

phase 5 of the robey and schultz model (1998)

Answer 26

effectiveness studies which look at cost effectivenss, consumer satisfaction and effects on quality of life