week 2- critical appraisal Flashcards
What is critical thinking?
Examination of ideas, assumptions, beliefs, and values. It involves disciplined, self-directed thinking and includes display of mastered intellectual skills and abilities, such as applying research critique criteria.
What is critical reading?
An active, intellectually engaging process in which the reader participates in an inner dialogue with the writer. Critical readers can enter into the POV of the writer and look for assumptions, key concepts, and justifications.
What are the stages of the critical reading process?
Preliminary, comprehensive, analytical, synthesis.
What is the preliminary stage of critical reading?
Familiarizing yourself with the content to ensure it is relevant for your purposes and identifying the type of article.
What is the comprehensive stage of critical reading?
Looking up unknown concepts, understanding the researcher’s purpose or intent, and identifying the main theme and main steps of the research process.
What is the analytical stage of critical reading?
Understanding the parts of the study and developing a critique. Evaluating each step of the research process and determining whether the author’s description meets the criteria.
What is the synthesized stage of critical reading?
Understanding the whole article and how it fits with the cumulative body of knowledge. Pointing out strengths and weaknesses and determining whether several studies are interrelated.
What is the level of evidence?
Relates to the strength of research, with level 1 being the highest. It answers different types of questions and gives an idea about possible strengths and weaknesses.
What is the highest level of evidence?
Systematic reviews or meta-analysis of RCT.
What is the lowest level of evidence?
Opinion of authorities or reports of expert committees.
What are the components of a research article?
Abstract, introduction, literature review, purpose, question or hypothesis, methods, results, discussion/conclusion, references.
What is an abstract?
A short, comprehensive synopsis of a study that should be accurate, self-contained, concise, specific, non-evaluative, coherent, and readable. Typically 50-250 words.
What is included in the introduction of a research article?
Background info on the research and its significance to practice, including the research problem, hypothesis, and theoretical framework.
What is the purpose of a literature review?
Identifies gaps in knowledge that provide rationale for study purpose and identifies related scholarly works already completed.
Where is the purpose defined in a research article?
Defined either at the end of the introduction or at the end of the literature review/conceptual framework section.
What is included in the methods section of a research article?
The research design, including sample, procedures, instruments, and ethics.
What is discussed in the results section?
Descriptive and inferential statistics.
What is the discussion section of a research article?
Explains how all the parts of the study are related and analyzes the study as a whole, referring to the literature reviewed.
What is included in the conclusion of a research article?
Limitations and clinical implications.
What factors affect the published article?
Journal preferences (max number of words, focus on science/results/clinical application, author guidelines) and author preferences (perspective on what’s most important to include).
What are the steps in critical appraisal?
- Find purpose statement and research question. 2. What hypothesis or research are stated in the study? 3. Are research questions used in addition to hypotheses? 4. What are the IV in each hypothesis? 5. Is the form statistical or research? 6. What is the direction of the relationship? 7. Are they testable?
What is a scholarly source?
A source that includes an abstract, research or literature review conducted by the author, tables, graphs, statistics, many references, found in a professional journal, with a credible author.
Where can scholarly sources be found?
Library database, literature databases (CINAHL, MEDLINE, PUBMED, COCHRANE), Google Scholar.
What are other good sources of information?
Government websites (public health), national organizations (Canadian Institute for Information), professional organizations (RNAO), governing body (CNO).
