Assignment Critique of Research Studies
Qualitative
Parenting Practices of African Immigrants in Destination Countries: A Qualitative Research Synthesis
Abstract
While most of the articles have discussed the parenting practices and the challenges faced by African immigrant, this article summarized the results of different researchers’ findings. A qualitative synthesis of literature was conducted which provided information that was analyzed for conclusive results, the study used a meta-summary and meta-synthesis of the literature regarding the topic. Ten databases were used in the research. The selected articles were 1794, and the criteria for selection were articles that were reported a qualitative research study, the ones that were in English as well as those that had an African immigrant parents perspectives on their practices. 24 articles met the selection criteria hence were used. While this is a good number of articles, the results cannot be generalized to another culture because the selected articles majorly discussed on African immigrants. Thus, the challenges faced by African immigrants are not well supported for effective intervention and policies.
Introduction
Parenting practices for different cultures are different. Understanding such practices for a particular culture require critical research to understand the differences from other cultures. African immigrants are faced with challenges that can have an impact on the parenting practices employed by their adults. This article aimed to give a summary of the findings of other researchers on the knowledge of African immigrants on parenting practices as well as the challenges they face in the new countries. The researchers wanted to establish the knowledge the African Immigrants have on parenting practices as well as the challenges they face when exercising parenting practices in the foreign lands. The overall reason for the article was to indicate the need for culturally appropriate policies and practices that could be accommodative to African immigrants in their destination countries.
Statement of Problem
Parenting practices for African immigrants differ from those of other cultures. African immigrants have high value for respect across a generational line, and they integrate physical discipline, cultural values as well as religious practices when parenting. Although different studies have established the parenting practices employed by the African Immigrants, the summary of the findings has not been indicated. Due to this, it is hard to quantify the practices as well as the challenges faced by these Immigrants which impact on their parenting practices. Parenting practices for the Americans is critical as it covers all the challenges they face when parenting and the intervention that should be implemented regarding the same. Also, understanding the challenges faced by African immigrants is important in devising the relevant education strategies and policies that can be generalized to other immigrants. The challenges faced by African immigrants can be similar to what other immigrants face in their new countries; thus, a summary of other researchers findings is necessary as it offers a conclusive answer to the challenges faced by all immigrants in their foreign lands. Lack of support in the foreign land, cultural conflict during parenting and language barrier are some of the challenges discussed faced by African immigrants who can be common to other immigrants. Although such are some of the challenges faced by African immigrants during parenting, the article could have covered more areas of challenge related to parenting practices.
Research Questions
The article wanted to establish the knowledge of African immigrants on parenting practices and the challenges faced by the immigrants in their destination countries. Parenting practices is a broad area that has been discussed widely by previous studies. Thus, additional to such hypothesis could have made the article more credible for use in future studies.
Literature Review
The review of the literature used in this article indicates that the author has supported the findings of other researchers. The areas covered by the literature were strictly on African immigrant parents perspectives on their parenting practices. The selected studies were qualitative research on parenting practices and challenges faced by these immigrants while in foreign countries. The literature included some of the aspects that mark the African culture and the parenting practices that distinguish them from other cultures. Although the authors wanted to summarize the findings of other studies, the articles used were not an adequate representative of the topic. More articles could have been used for comparison to make the research more credible in future studies. Besides, the article did not include suggestions for further studies which are important for any research. Therefore, the research did not indicate further efforts.
Conceptual/Theoretical Framework
The article did not use any conceptual framework although the ideas of the article were well organized. Due to a well-synthesized hypothesis, it was easy to understand the major concepts of the article; thus it can be used as a support to future studies on African immigrants parenting practices.
Quantitative Research
Resilience and Associated Factors among Mainland Chinese Women Newly Diagnosed with Breast Cancer.
Abstract
This study aimed to find out the probability of resilience and any other associated factors among Mainland Chinese Women who were diagnosed with breast cancer. Although many studies have tried to find out the resilience among women with trauma, few studies have established resilience among women with breast cancer more so in China. The study employed a cross-sectional descriptive design that involved 213 mainland Chinese women who were newly diagnosed with breast cancer between the year 2014 and 2015 June. An assessment was done using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Medical Coping Modes Questionnaires (MCMQ), and Social Support Rating Scale(SSRS). The subscales used in the assessment were the confrontation, acceptance-resignation, and avoidance. Other tools used included Herth Hope Index and demographic information of breast cancer and related disease. To establish the predictors of resilience, the study used descriptive statistics bivariate analyses and stepwise regression.
Introduction
Breast cancer is among the most deadly diseases for women globally. Although some women die due to complications of the disease, trauma that comes with the disease is also severe which should bed a greater concern. The American Cancer Society revealed that 1 out of 8 women globally would develop cancer at one time of their life and among them, 2.9 million cancer patient resides in the United States. China is the other country with a high prevalence of cancer patients. Identification of the disease at an early stage is assumed to increase long-term survival of patients with breast cancer. More to this, survivors of breast cancer undergo catastrophic events, but most of them manage to rebound back from trauma. Resilience has been an important aspect for cancer patients as well as other patients with chronic conditions. Despite being an important topic of research, it is new to some countries especially mainland China, the reason why this study focused on resilience among newly diagnosed breast cancer women in mainland China.
Problem Statement
Breast cancer among women is increasingly becoming an important topic globally. This is because of the trauma and psychological distress caused by deaths associated with the disease. Early diagnosis can be used to increase the lifespan of cancer patients, but the trauma that they live with should be well managed. Out of the reported cancer cases, the higher population of cancer patients is in the United States followed by China and close countries. Understanding resilience among breast cancer patients is important as it guides the relevant interventions for managing cancer patients. The ability of a breast cancer patient to rebound back from trauma is a major concern in this study. The intervention factors that lead to increased resilience are strong social support, having hope and a positive coping strategy. Identification of such and other factors associated with resilience among Chinese women with breast cancer is necessary for adequate intervention. The problem statement was well illustrated thus the findings of the research can easily be generalized.
Research question
The study wanted to establish the level of resilience among the mainland Chinese women with breast cancer. It also covered factors that are associated with resilience among the selected sample.
Literature Review
The literature review was coverage of the level of resilience among women with breast cancer globally. It identified the cultural differences that can affect resilience among different people. The review confirmed that the ethnocultural experiences vary from one woman to another and understanding such factors that determine resilience is important. The literature used in this article was complete, and the findings revealed a high level of resilience among women despite the traumatizing events they undergo. Although the literature was well organized and complete, the paper left a room for further study on the same topic of resilience. More information on predictors of resilience could be included as part of the topic.
Theoretical framework/Conceptual framework
The article lacks either a conceptual or theoretical framework. The frameworks are important as they allow the author to organize ideas in a way that a reader can comprehend. This is one of the weakness if the article.