Critical Thinking/Research Critique

Module 2 Assignment: Critical Thinking/Research Critique, Part 2.

Before getting started, please READ ALL of the information provided to you for this assignment (See information below and additional directions within Module 2 also). It is expected that students will use resources provided within our course, and additional resources as necessary, to complete your answers for each of your Critical Thinking/Research Critique assignments. For this Part 2 section, use your course textbooks to help you clarify the research concepts that are identified in this worksheet.

As an additional resource about research concepts, you may want to see the information at the following website:

http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/nursing/sonet/rlos/rlolist.php

NOTE: NOT ALL concepts will be defined at the website provided above.

Identification information: Indicate your identification information in the grey areas below. You MUST answer this information before proceeding for this assignment.

Name:		Date:

Student ID:		Email:

General assignment instructions:

You will need access to your APPROVED SELECTED ARTICLE, course textbooks, and your APA manual as minimum resources to complete this assignment. Use only your APPROVED research article as the basis for this assignment. NOTE: Use of an unapproved article will result in a zero (0) earned points being assigned as the grade for this assignment.

General instructions (continued):

Review ALL instructions before starting on this assignment (See instructions above also).

Record your responses to each question in the “grey” space provided for each question. The grey box will expand as you type.
Your responses should be your own words and written in complete sentences. “Yes” or “no” answers will not be accepted and will result in point(s) deduction. Except for section 1, your responses should include an explanation/rationale. N/A responses require justification of why that criteria/question does not pertain to your article.
Minimize your use of direct quotes except where specifically requested. However, any use of direct quotes must be cited according to APA guidelines.
When directions in this worksheet request tables, the answer must use an actual table, with columns and rows as needed. It is NOT appropriate only to use only spacing instead of an actual table. If you are unfamiliar with how to make a table in a Word document, please to the “Resources” tab in Blackboard and scroll to: “How to Make a Table in a Word Document”. Failure to include a table when asked will result in point deduction for that specific question.
Review the “Hints” placed throughout the worksheet prior to responding to the question.

Read through your responses when completed for accuracy of responses AND review for correct APA format, spelling, and grammar.

Critical Thinking/Research Critique, Part 2: WORKSHEET. Provide your answers in the grey areas for each of the following items/question.

1. Selected Article

Provide a full reference citation for your approved article in the correct APA format, as indicated in your textbook (Please review rubric (Criteria 11) regarding point deduction for APA errors. APA manual 6^th edition is used to evaluate your implementation of APA. NOTE: Purdue Owl is NOT the standard used by faculty to evaluate your use of APA format).

(Hint: Frequently, previous students experienced point deductions related to failing to properly indent, italicize, space, or use accurate lower and upper case letters in the title of the article, as required by APA guidelines.)

2. Credentials

What are the credentials of the first author? What do the credentials mean? For example, a BSN refers to a baccalaureate in nursing which indicates that the author has successfully completed a 4 year Bachelors of Science in nursing at a University setting. RN means that the author is a nurse who has graduated from a college’s nursing program or from a school of nursing and has passed a national licensing exam and is registered in a particular state(s).
Relate the meaning of the first author’s credentials to the research competencies that are identified by the American Association of the Colleges of Nursing (AACN). The link provided will assist you in responding to this question of what is expected in terms of research competencies as related to the first author’s level of education.

http://www.aacn.nche.edu/publications/position/nursing-research

Only respond to the credentials listed for the first author.
Do not assume other credentials if not provided by the first author
NOTE: use Google to search for the first author’s name if the credentials for the first author are not provided in the article.

This site may be helpful to you in identifying the acronym(s) related to the credentials
http://www.sandiegobizmart.com/tools/t3_acronym_glossary.htm#M

Answer in the table format provided below. Use the first Column for the credential (s), Use the second column to indicate the meaning for EACH of the respective credentials. Use the third column to relate the credential to the relevant AACN criteria for research competencies. In column 4, provide full reference citations, in APA format, for the sources that you used for information about the meaning of the credentials AND for the relevant research competencies. A table is provided for your answers for this section (See below).

2. Credentials (continued; See directions above. Provide answers within the grey areas of THIS TABLE).
First Author’s Credentials	Meaning of all of the first author’s credentials	AACN criteria for research competencies as related to the author’s credentials and level of education.	Full reference citations in correct APA format.

3. Title

3a:

State the phenomenon of interest (focus) for your selected study.
Describe how the phenomenon of interest (Focus) is or is not apparent in the title. (HINT: Would you know the focus of this study by just reading the title?)

3b: Can you specifically identify that this is a research study from the title? Explain your answer.

(Hint: If you just read the title and nothing else, would you be able to identify that this is a research report or that the article is giving you information on a study?)

4. Abstract

4a: List the essential abstract contents of the research process from the article’s abstract. (Hypothesis, research question, objectives, focus, methods, analysis, description of the research and the major findings).

(Hint: Read pages 17-18 in your text; APA manual- pages 25-56). Remember data from the abstract can only be used for question 4 and should not be used to answer other questions in this worksheet. Not all journals use the specific word “abstract” to identify this information. For example, Executive Summary has been used in select abstracts.)

4b: Copy the abstract provided and highlight OR underline those components essential to an abstract. If your article does not have an abstract, then you should just state “Not Applicable”.

(Hint: Refer to your APA 6^th edition text pages 25-26 in addition to you text for further information regarding abstracts.).

5. The Research Problem

5a: State the research problem in your own words, paraphrasing what the researchers presented regarding the problem. On what page of the article is the research problem found?

(Hint 1): you may not find the term exact working “research problem”. Frequently found in the introduction but not always.

(Hint 2): Answer what is the problem that the researchers are trying to solve? This is not the same as the research question. Additionally, the research problem is the “gap” in knowledge or what we do not know yet and are in need of an answer.

5b: Directly quote the study aim or purpose or objective(s) or question(s) as provided by the researcher(s).

State what page you found them?
If the researcher’s included both the research question and objectives of the study, be sure to include both.

(Hint: The answer to this question is usually found in the paragraph before the “Methods” section but not always).

5c: Discuss how the research(s) author identified how/why they selected the problem, and its impact on others, nursing, etc…

(Hint: This is usually found in the introduction/background. This usually tells the reader why the researcher(s) thought the study was needed).

5d: Identify the independent variable (IV) and the dependent variable (DV).

What information is provided regarding the IV and DV?
If the author(s) do not explicitly identify the IV and DV, what are the research variables from your understanding?
Explain how you came to this decision.

(Hint: be sure you understand the difference between the IV and DV. Look on pages 32-33 of your text for further explanation of these terms). Additionally, there are many websites that if you go to Google and type in “distinguish independent and dependent variable, several sites will be available. Here is one: https://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/help/user_guide/graph/variables.asp

Additionally, here is a pdf link of practice questions related to distinguishing IV’s and DV’s that may enhance your understanding. The site also identifies the level of measurement associated with the questions. You will need this for Critical Thinking/Research Critique 3. Try it and see how you do:

http://www.suu.edu/faculty/white_l/statistics/3010/assignments/3010%20assignment%202/practice_IV_DV_answers.pdf

5e: From the article, what are the:

operational definitions as the author provides, including the page number
conceptual definitions that the researcher(s) provides in the article, include the page number?
if not included, what operational & conceptual definitions would you suggest to be included in this study report?
what kind of understanding do they provide to you as the reader? Look on pages 78-79 of your text for an explanation of terms)?

(Hint: the conceptual definition is abstract in nature while your faculty likes to say that the operational definition is “you know it when you see it.” For example, a conceptual definition of ambulation might be “a feeling of satisfaction that one gets when they are able to get where they want to go”-can you see a “feeling of satisfaction?” and an operational definition of ambulation might be defined by the researcher as “walking 20 feet without using an assistive device or the help of others”. I can “see” or measure if someone walks 20 feet without using anything or anyone to assist them in doing so”. You can also Google “distinguish between conceptual and operational definitions and view other explanations.

NOTE: continued below:

Frequently, students identify the name of a survey/questionnaire/measurement/scale/exam or tool as an operational definition. It in itself is NOT considered an operational definition and should not be included as the answer for this question. For example, an RN may be operationally defined as someone who has completed a course of study in nursing from an accredited program, successfully passed the NCLEX exam and holds a current license as an RN. The NCLEX gives us data as to who was successful but the NCLEX itself is not the operational definition).

6. Review of Literature-previous students seemed to be challenged by this section, especially questions 6b and 6c. Be sure you review your text Chapter 3. You may want to Google primary and secondary sources prior to starting this section. Remember ROL is what is known and not known about a phenomenon of interest.

6a:

How is the review of the literature relevant to the study?
Describe the relationship of the problem/question/hypothesis to previous research identified in your article. Is the relationship clear to the reader?
Identify the specific page number(s) of the review of the literature-identify the first 3 words of the last paragraph of the review of the literature section. Identify the page number where the review of literature ends.

(Hint: Students frequently include the discussion as the review of the literature; while the discussion section may include other studies etc. except in selected designs (grounded theory being one). This is not really the review of the literature. Keep in mind the purpose of the review of the literature: To inform the reader of what is known and not known about a phenomenon of interest).

Continue to next item.

6b: Are primary sources used in the review of the literature? Refer to page 52 in your text and the library has provided information on the important concept of PRIMARY SOURCES in your Library Course materials. In addition, I have included one other site for your review. NOTE: the idea PRIMARY SOURCES is different than the concept of PRIMARY RESEARCH. For additional information, see links as below here:

http://guides.pnw.edu/Nurs390/nur390_primary_secondary

http://www.lib.usm.edu/legacy/tutorials/nursingtutorial/primary.html

(NOTE: the tutorial associated with the above link is recommended but is optional).

Discuss how you determined the sources in the review of the literature as primary sources.
Provide ONE (1) example of a PRIMARY SOURCE that is cited by the author (s) of your selected article WITHIN THE REVIEW OF LITERATURE SECTION OF THE ARTICE. NOTE: USE correct APA format when providing the full reference citation for the primary source from the literature section;
ALSO INCLUDE A PAGE NUMBER of your selected article where the author (s) cited the primary source that you have provided, as above. Remember: use a primary source from the literature review section, rather than any source from other sections of your selected article.

6c: Are secondary sources used in the review of the literature? Identify all secondary sources. Use proper APA format. (Note: There should be very few secondary sources. If you are not clear about secondary sources, please see links above in Section 6b to make sure you understand what a secondary source is).

Discuss how you identified if any secondary sources were cited in the review of literature section of your selected article, and if so, which references cited were secondary sources.

If your selected article includes any secondary source in the literature review, give ONE (1) example of a secondary source in an APA formatted citation. Provide a page number where the researcher(s) refers to this article in the review of the literature section only not throughout the article.

Continue to next item.

6d: What heading was used to identify the review of the literature?

How recent are the sources in the review of literature section only?
What is the range of years in the review of literature section only?
What page number(s) did you find the review of the literature section?

6e: After reading the review of the literature,

Identify what is known about the phenomenon of interest?
Identify what is unknown about the phenomenon of interest?

6f:

How does the researcher conclude the review of literature?
State the page number where the author(s) conclude the review of the literature.

7. Theoretical/Conceptual Framework (Chapter 4)

7a: Is there a theoretical/conceptual framework identified and if so, what is the theoretical/conceptual framework?

Is it a nursing framework/theory-meaning does the framework/theory originate from the nursing discipline?
If not a nursing framework/theory, what discipline is the origin of the framework/theory?
State the page number where the specific framework/theory is identified.

(Hint: you may need to Google the framework if not a nursing theory or conceptual model to identify what discipline the theory/conceptual model originated).

Continue to next item.

7b: Is the framework/theory, if identified, appropriate or a good fit for the research problem?

Discuss how/why this framework/theory is appropriate to the research problem?
If no framework/theory is identified, suggest a framework you would propose? Is this a “borrowed” theory/framework? (Does the theory/framework originate in a discipline other than nursing and you are suggesting that it be borrowed for this study because it is a better fit?) Identify the discipline that your suggested framework/theory originates. Is it nursing or does it come from another discipline. (For example, if it is a study on the environmental culture of a hospital-would a theory originating in business/management better serve in explaining the relationship of the variables been studied?)
Why did you select that particular framework/theory based on the variables present in your study?

8. Hypothesis

8a: Provide the direct quote of how the author states the hypothesis in the article. Provide the page number of the quote.

8b: What kind of hypothesis is presented? (Null? Direct? Associative? Etc.) Answer N/A if the author did not provide a hypothesis.

8c: If a hypothesis is presented, did the hypothesis contain the population, intervention, comparison and outcome?

8d: Write a hypothesis that you might suggest if none was provided. Why did you formulate that hypothesis? What type of hypothesis did you select?

Continue to next item.

9: Research Design/Method-It is important that you understand design. You may want to review the slide available in Blackboard under resources related to Quantitative Designs. The figure does not include all, but many are included.

9a:

What is the research design/method (blueprint) of the study? Write the design exactly as the researcher’s present it in the article.
Where did you find this information?
Include page number and quote from the article.

(Hint: This is a question that frequently perplexes students; is important for you to understand design in order to address the questions in this section. I might suggest that you start with clicking on Resources found on the course menu list and review the Quantitative Research Designs Figure. Try to understand the figure. It is not all inclusive but covers many of the more common designs).

9b: Explain how the research design is appropriate to how the researchers did a) data collection, b) analysis, and c) reporting of findings as reported in the article. Complete the table provided.

(Hint: you MUST understand the purpose of a research design in order to appropriately answer this question and the characteristics attributed to the specific design. For example, if the researchers used a descriptive-exploratory design-I would not expect where one group gets an intervention and the other does not in terms of data collection or higher level inferential statistics).

Design	Data Collection and how it fits with this type of design	Data Analysis and how it fits with this design	Reporting of findings and how it fits with this design

Continue to next item.

9c: Does the research design compensate for threats to internal and external validity of the study? If yes, which ones (box on page 172-use as a guide). Identify each threat as provided in your text and discuss in table format. Use the table headings provided below.

NOTE: Refer to the textbook – Pages 171-172.

List all threats identified in your textbook	Applicable to your study? Answer Yes or No	If yes, how did the researcher(s) compensate for the threat and what page did you find this information? If no, why is that specific threat not applicable to your study

9d:

How many groups were involved in the study?
How were participants assigned to groups?

9e: If comparison groups were used, where they equivalent?

(Hint: Look at the group demographics as well as the numbers in the groups).

Continue to next item.

9f: Identify any uncontrolled, extraneous variables reported by the researchers. Include page number(s) were you found this information.

· Describe how uncontrolled, extraneous variables were controlled for in the research?

10. Sample Selection

10a: Did the authors use a population or sample in the research study? (State the page number you found this information). (HINT: Population and sample are not used interchangeably in research language)

10b:

· Are the characteristics (demographics) of the sample/participant group described?

· State the page number where this information is found.

· Include a brief description of the sample. Do not just indicate that it can be found in a table.

(Hint: Be sure you understand the concept of demographic data. This is NOT the same as inclusion criteria but may have corresponding characteristics. This information is often presented in table format in the article).

10c:

· What was the inclusion criteria related to the population/sample, if specified? State the page number where this information is found.

· What was the exclusion criteria related to the population/sample, if specified? State the page number where this information is found.

(Hint: This information is typically provided under the Methods section-“Sample”).

Continue to next item.

10d:

· What sampling design (Chapter 12-pages 236-244) did the authors implement for this study?

· How was the sample obtained (recruited) for the study?

· Where did you locate this information in the article? State the section heading and page number.

(Hint: if the authors have not identified the sampling design, use your textbook to make a determination regarding the sampling design).

10e: Is the sampling design one that is likely to produce a representative sample?

· Is representativeness important to the methodology?

· How will this sampling design affect generalizability (Page 244-look at the figure provided)?

(Hint: For some types of research, representativeness is not important. It depends on the design of the study. You must know the correct sampling design to complete this question correctly).

10f: Is the sample size sufficient, given the design of the study and/or the number of variables in the study?

· Does the study discuss power analysis? State the page number if power analysis was discussed. (HINT: Power analysis and inferential statistics used to analyze the findings are NOT the same research concepts.)

· Is the power analysis even appropriate for the design of the study? Explain your answer.

· If you answered yes that a power analysis would have been appropriate and no power analysis is provided-discuss your rationale for your response.

10g: Does the report indicate the response rate (i.e. the percentage of contacted persons agreeing to participate in the study).

· State the page number found.

· With the information provided is it possible for you to calculate the response rate? If yes, show the math and provide the response rate.

(Hint: you may have to look in several places in your article to find this data)

References: For this Part 2 Critical Thinking/Research Critique Assignment, you will provide all reference citations for this section, in correct APA format, as a Reference List (see below).

(Hint: your textbook should be listed here as well as your approved research article, as you should have cited these within your worksheet as a source of information. Reference Lists are not the same as “bibliographies.” In your Reference List, include full citations ONLY for those references/sources that were actually CITIED within the document (e.g. “in text” citations, or “full referenced” citations for specific items – even though you may have read information from other sources.

NOTE: To submit your Part 2 assignment worksheet, use the drop box for the Module 2 Critical Thinking Assignment Part 2 Assignment (See grading rubric further below).

RE: SAFE ASSIGN for DRAFT and FINAL (Module 5) SAFE Assign submissions. In the LAST week of our course, your Module 5 FINAL Critical Thinking/Research Critique Assignment will be a Safe Assign submission. For THIS Part 2 Assignment worksheet, your submission will NOT be a Safe Assign assignment (Please see additional directions within Module 2 about obtaining DRAFT “similarity index/originality report” scores for your DRAFT submissions and see Module 5 for directions about submission of your FINAL Critical Thinking…document to Safe Assign. NOTE: in this course, ALL SAFE ASSIGN SUBMISSIONS must be submitted WTIHOUT a REFERENCE LIST.).

For this Part 2 assignment, include all of your references for this Part 2 section in a Reference List, as below, within this Part 2 worksheet (See APA manual for reference guidelines and format).

Reference List

Grading Rubric – Critical Thinking/Research Critique Paper – First Draft Sections 1-10: Module 2

Please note: Use this grading rubric to guide your responses to the Critical Thinking/Research Critique assignment in Module 2.

Note: Question 1 is evaluated under Task 11.

Tasks	Target:	Acceptable:	Unacceptable:	Not Addressed:
2. Credentials of author	Credentials and meaning of first author accurately identified and links credential with preparation for research in table format. Professional references provided. Uses table provided.	Credentials and meaning of first author accurately identified credentials but unable to accurately link credential with preparation for research or vice versa in table format. Professional references provided.	Inaccurately identified credentials and meaning of credentials for the first author. Accuracy of information noted but does not provide response in a table format. Does not provide professional references.	Does not identify author credentials; does not use table format or provide references
	1 Point	0.66 Points	0.32 Points	0 Points
3. Title · Focus of study apparent in title · Can identify phenomenon of interest by reading title.	Accurate responses to each Justified appropriately	Accurate responses but lacks justification; or justification lacks substance	Attempted to respond but responses are incomplete and justification is frequently inaccurate/incorrect or omitted	Not addressed
	1 Point	0.66 Points	0.32 Points	0 Points
4. Abstract · Essential content of abstract · Critical reading of abstract	Accurate responses to each Justified appropriately	Mostly accurate responses but lacks justification; or justification lacks substance	Attempted to respond but responses are incomplete and justification is inaccurate/incorrect or omitted	Not addressed
	1 Point	0.66 Points	0.32 Points	0 Points
5. The Research Problem · Research problem identified · Clarity of problem or phenomenon · Clarity of significance of problem · IV and DV identified · Operational and conceptual definitions with page citation	Accurate responses to each Justified appropriately Page number right	Mostly accurate responses but lacks justification; or justification lacks substance Page numbers are accurate	Inaccurate responses or infers a problem not explicitly stated; or attempted to respond but responses are inaccurate/incorrect and justification is inaccurate or lacks substance. Page number mission or wrong	Not addressed
	2 Points	1.5 Points	1 Points	0 Points

6. Review of Literature · Relevance of ROL and research problem · Primary sources in ROL · Differentiates secondary sources · Currency of ROL · ROL identifies what is known and unknown · ROL summarized and linked to problem.	Accurate responses to each Justified appropriately Page number right	Accurate responses but lacks justification; or responses lack substance in justification or inappropriately justifies Clearly understands primary and secondary sources.	Attempted to respond but responses and justification are frequently inaccurate/incorrect or omitted Does not demonstrate understanding of primary and secondary sources	Not addressed
	2 Points	1.5 Points	1 Points	0 Points
7. Theoretical or Conceptual Framework · Conceptual framework identified and described · If applicable, fit of conceptual framework with research problem · Discipline associated with theory · Suggested framework/theory	Accurate responses to each Justified appropriately Page number provided	Accurate responses but lacks justification; or responses lack substance or are inappropriately justified Page number is provided	Attempt to respond but responses and justification are frequently inaccurate/incorrect Does not provide page number	Not addressed but study does provide a theoretical framework
	1 Point	0.66 Points	0.32 Points	0 Points
8. Research Variables and Hypothesis · Author explicitly stated hypothesis · Hypothesis · Kind of hypothesis identified · Essential elements of hypothesis included · Suggested hypothesis	Accurate responses to each Justified appropriately Clearly posts a potential hypothesis and identifies type accurately	Accurate responses, but lacks justification; or responses lack substance or are inappropriately justified Potential hypothesis is satisfactory but does not accurately identify type	Attempted to respond but responses and justification are frequently inaccurate/incorrect Does not accurately identify a potential hypothesis or identification of type is inaccurate	Not addressed
	1 Point	0.66 Points	0.32 Points	0 Points

9. Research Design/Method · Research design identified · Relationship between study design and data collection methods · Identifies threats to internal validity and external validity · Number of groups participating in study identified · Equivalence of comparison groups, if applicable · Uncontrolled, extraneous variables identified	Accurate responses to each criteria Justified appropriately, page number and quote accurate	Mainly accurate responses but lacks justification; or responses lack substance or are inappropriately justified	Attempted to respond but responses and justification are frequently inaccurate/incorrect, including page number and quote Does not identify all threats to internal or external validity-responses lack substance	Not addressed-does not provide table
	3 Points	2 Points	1 Points	0 Points
10. Sample Selection · Study population or sample identified · Characteristics of sample/participant group · Inclusion/exclusion criteria · Sampling design and sample recruitment · Representative sample · Sample size and power analysis · Response rate	Accurate responses to each Justified appropriately	Accurate responses but lacks justification; or responses lack substance or are inappropriately justified	Attempted to respond but responses and justification are frequently inaccurate/incorrect	Not addressed
	3 Points	2 Points	1 Points	0 Points
Citation (Question 1) 11. Use of APA according to the Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6^th Ed.) Additionally, use of good grammar, spelling and proofreading work is required	Question 1 and remainder of paper No APA errors whatsoever, congratulations! No grammar or spelling errors. Question 1 displays perfect APA application; includes attention to indentation; use of upper and lower case in the title; how authors names are listed etc.	Only minor error in APA rules for format, citation in text and reference list; revisit some of the common errors in APA OR Minor grammar or spelling errors	Many errors in APA rules for format, citation in text and reference list; revisit some of the common errors in APA AND Many grammar or spelling errors	Little attention to APA rules for citation in text and reference list, errors in basic format; need to crack the APA manual More than four (4) grammar spelling errors.
	3 Points	2 Points	1 Points	0 Points

Critical Thinking/Research Critique

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