Critical Analysis of Research Article

Qualitative Study Analysis
Before writing your article analysis review the King’s College article on reading a research article (#7 on reading list for discussion 5), the article will help you with your analysis, chapter 5 in the textbook will also provide assistance in answering the questions.
A qualitative research article provides insights into feelings, points of view, or opinions about a particular situation or event. Although descriptions are provided they are not quantifiably measured by an instrument containing numbers such as a Likert scale. Participants’ responses can be obtained from surveys, interviews, focus groups, or observations and are categorized into themes by the researcher. The article will describe and interpret the information obtained from the participants during the research. A minimum of 5 pages is required including a title page, short introduction ending with a thesis statement, using complete sentences is answering questions on the template, and including a reference page using correct APA format for the qualitative article used in the analysis and the the quantitative article used for the comparison of a qualitative article and quantitative article using the criteria on page 59 of the textbook. Answer all questions on the template with complete sentences, more than one-two sentences may be necessary, double-space your sentences.
Introduction and Thesis Statement
(In this section address the importance of understanding the difference of qualitative and quantitative data and research. Your thesis statement will address the contents of the paper which is an analysis of a qualitative article and a comparison of the qualitative article with a quantitative article.)
Article Title:______________________________________Journal___________________________________________
Author(s)_________________________________________Date and Page Numbers____________________________
Location of Study_________________________________Description of Sample and size__________________
Was the sample size large enough to make a general statement? Explain________________________________
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Explain why qualitative research may be considered an excellent source of data even with a small sample size.______________________________________________________________________
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How was the sample obtained?________________________________________________________________
1. What was the purpose of the study?__________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
2. What were the research questions?__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What were the hypotheses? If appropriate______________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
4. What were the dependent variables? If appropriate Explain why the variables are dependent.
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
What were the independent variables? If appropriate. Explain why the variables are independent.
_________________________________________________________________________________
5. What method(s) was/were used by the researcher to obtain the data?_________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
6. What is bias and how did the researcher control for bias? Explain why qualitative reasearch can be biased and quantitative research is not biased.____________________________________________
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5. How were the data analyzed? Explain.________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
7. What insights into the problem, concern, or question did the literature review provide? Explain____________
________________________________________________________________________________________
8. Did the discussion/conclusion of the study seem to be obvious or apparent from the data obtained? Explain_______________________________________________________________________________
9. Were all of your questions about the issue addressed? Explain___________________________________
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10. What questions do you have that have not been addressed? Explain____________________________
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11. What were the specific qualitative findings from the research? Explain_____________________________
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12. Does the research in the article conflict or support the current knowledge cited in the literature review?___
__________________________________________________________________________________
13. What is your overall rating of the study? Explain.________________________________________
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14. Using the characteristics of qualitative research listed in the table on page 59 of the textbook, Nieswiadomy and Bailey, compare the research in the qualitative article with the research in the quantitative article, use examples from the articles to demonstrate how the qualitative and quantitative research described in the articles was different.
Criteria Quantitative Qualitative
Data: objective versus subjective
Include an example from each article

Description of data explanation versus discovery
Include an example from each article

Parts are equal to whole versus whole is greater than the parts
Include an example from each article
One truth versus multiple truths
Include an example from each article
Large sample sizes versus small sample sizes
Include an example from each article
Random samples versus deliberately selected samples
Include an example from each article
Participants or subjects versus Participants or informants
Include an example from each article
Results presented in numbers or statistics versus results presented in narrative format
Researcher is separate from the study versus researcher is a part of the study
Include an example from each article
Summary or Conclusion
In a minimum of 200 words explain how the qualitative information obtained from the qualitative article contributes to or changes the feelings or emotions you have about the topic. Identify the population used to obtain the qualitative data, explain how the information in the research impacts your understanding or beliefs about this topic. What insights did you gain about the perceptions of the population studied in relation to this topic? How will this change or influence your practice, if so, how can the qualitative information be integrated into clinical practice on your unit and shared with your co-workers?