Quantitative Research Study Critique
Instructions
You will select one of the quantitative studies published within the past five years from your Literature Review Synthesis Table (from Module 5) that directly addresses your PIO/PICO question. Try to avoid choosing a systematic review, meta-analysis, or mixed methods study for this assignment. Using that study, perform a systematic critical appraisal of its quantitative research. Answer the following questions:
Does the researcher identify what is known and not known about the problem and how the study will address any gaps in knowledge?
Was the purpose of the study clearly presented?
What type of sampling design was used? Was the sampling plan one that could be expected to yield a representative sample?
Was the sample size sufficient based on study design and rationale?
If there is a control group (if not, you may skip this part):
Were the characteristics and/or demographics similar in both the control and intervention groups?
If multiple study settings were used, were the settings similar?
Are data collection methods described clearly, and are they appropriate considering the purpose of the study?
Were the instruments reliable?
Was instrument validity discussed?
If surveys or questionnaires were used, was the response rate > 25%?
Were the study results presented clearly?
Were study limitations identified and addressed?
Did the researcher make any attempts to control for confounding variables?
Were conclusions appropriate based on the results of the study?
What quality rating would you assign this study based on the table below? Provide a rationale for your choice and state whether you would feel comfortable using this particular study as part of an evidence-based policy change decision in your workplace.
Quality Rating for Quantitative Studies
High Quality Consistent, generalizable results; sufficient sample size for the study design; adequate control; definitive conclusions; consistent recommendations based on comprehensive literature review that includes thorough reference to scientific evidence.
Good Quality Reasonably consistent results; sufficient sample size for the study design; some control, and fairly definitive conclusions; reasonably consistent recommendations based on fairly comprehensive literature review that includes some reference to scientific evidence.
Low Quality or Major Flaws Little evidence with inconsistent results; insufficient sample size for the study design; conclusions cannot be drawn.
This critique will be written as a formal APA paper with appropriate headings to separate major concepts within the paper. The paper should address the questions listed above, but students should not write in a question/answer format. In other words, do not include the questions in your paper. Instead, use the paper to narratively answer the questions above and provide a comprehensive critique of your chosen study.
You must also submit a copy of the quantitative article you critiqued with the paper.
Assignment Guidelines and Rubric
This is a formal APA paper. Therefore, all content should be written in third person following correct APA formatting rules.
A title page and reference list are required for this assignment. However, you should not include an abstract.
The paper should be double-spaced and typed in size 12 Times New Roman font.
A reference page with corresponding in-text citations are required. At minimum, students must reference two peer-reviewed resources that were not included in this week’s readings. You may also include references from this week’s readings, but these will not count toward the two required, external peer-reviewed resources.
The paper will be at least 1000 words in length, not including the title and reference pages.
