L2 Critical Appraisal and PICO Flashcards
what is critical appraisal
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)
key components of a research article
- Title
- Abstract
- Keywords
- Main Text (IMRAD)
- Introduction
- Methods
- Results
- And Discussions
- Conclusion
- Acknowledgement
- References
- Supplementary data
what should the title of the study include
the research design - as recommended by the equator reporting guidelines for studies
what is the abstract
a succinct description of the article
what should be included in the abstract
- introduction
- methods
- results
- discussion
what should be included in the introduction
- 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
what should be included in the methods section of the study
- 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.
what should be included in the results section of a study
- 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.
what should be included in the discussion section of the study
- 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?
what should be included in the references section of the study
- 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
what makes an article difficult to read - introduction
- Poor English
- Justification of research not clear
- Poorly written research question
what makes an article difficult to read - methods
- 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.
what makes an article difficult to read - results
- Do not answer the questions asked
- Data not supported by tables or figures
- Some data left out
what makes an article difficult to read - discussion
- 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
4 study methodologies
- Quantitative (experimental)
- Qualitative
- Descriptive
- Mixed Methods
what are qualitative methods of research design
- 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
example of a research question for which a qualitative method would be appropriate
what is the psychosocial impact of dysarthria on the speaker
what are quantitiative methods of research design
- 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
example of a research question for which quantitative methods would be most appropriate
what is the efficacy of the Palin PCI compared to the Lidcombe programme in school-aged children who stutter
what is an RCT
- 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.
issues which occur with research design
when the wrong design or methodlolgy is used for the question being asked
phase 1 of Robey and Schultz model (1998)
exploring therapy procedure and proving that it is safe and worth exploring further
phase 2 of Robery and Schultz model (1998)
attempt to define how the therapy works, select appropriate assessments and outcome measures
phase 3 of robey and schultz model (1998)
design a large-scale efficacy study (RCT)
phase 4 of robey and schultz model (1998)
effectiveness study to see if therapy works clinically
phase 5 of the robey and schultz model (1998)
effectiveness studies which look at cost effectivenss, consumer satisfaction and effects on quality of life
