Critiquing Medical Research Papers TextOur writers can help get your essay back on track, take a look at our services to learn more about how we can help. Essay writing service essay marking service place an order this essay evaluates a quantitative research article which has relevance to nursing practice, because it deals with a chronic condition and one which is prevalent in worldwide populations. The author will review tangkawanich et al 2008 p 216 'causal model of health: health related quality of life in people living with hiv/aids in the northern region of thailand.' this article is published in a reputable journal, the journal of nursing and health sciences which addresses issues of interest and concern to nurses internationally, and as such, offers specific insight into hiv/aids and nursing within a global context. There are a number of appraisal tools available to healthcare practitioners to assist them in analysing and critiquing primary research articles. Such models are developed over time in relation to standardised conceptualisations of what constitutes quality and rigour in research and in its reporting. For the purposes of this essay, the primary tool used is that proposed by cormack 20 , but the author will make reference to other critiquing guides and information, including the popular casp tool phru, 2009, online the title is concise cormack, 20 and describes the focus of the research itself. While it clearly indicates what the purpose of the study was cormack, 20 , it could be clearer and more indicative of the nature of the study. How Can I Get Papers for My English BulldogThe use of the word 'causal' tangkawanich et al, 2008 p 216 also suggests that this is a quantitative research article. To the less research aware reader, it would be difficult to divine this information from the title alone, and it could be argued that it would be better to include in this title a clearer indication of the nature of the study. This would then help the reader to identify if this is the type of research study that would be applicable to their own practice or learning. The authors' qualifications are provided, and they all are registered nurses, all of which have postgraduate degrees, and two of which have doctorates. This would suggest that they have the research skills and expertise to carry out such a study. However, there is no indication in the author list whether or not any of them have the statistical expertise for the study. Tangkawanich et al, 2008 p 216 provide an abstract, which is identified by cormack 20 as an important introduction to the article. The study effectively summarises the research, by identifying the variables being tested. The abstract contains a summary of the study sample, and also identifies the research tools that have been used. As such, the abstract does represent the article itself phru, 2009, online , and for the reader, it does make it easy to identify whether or not the article is relevant to their interest. In particular, it does indicate clearly that it is a quantitative paper which uses recognisable data collection tools. Introduction and literature review although cormack 20 separates these two into distinct subheadings, within this article, the introduction and literature review are contiguous. The author has noted that this is often the case in the reporting of such studies, but this may simply be a convention of the publication itself, and not the preference of the authors of the study. The authors use the introduction to contextualise the problem in relation to published research, stating the importance of health related quality of life hrql for people living with hiv/aids plwha , because of the impact of the disease on these individuals' daily lives tangkawanich et al, 2008 p 216. They discuss changes and advances in treatment options for this condition, and relate this to hrql, and then discuss the disease itself, and how these impact upon hrql tangkawanich et al, 2008 p 216. They summarise some research about this topic, and also look at self care strategies, symptom management and treatment tangkawanich et al, 2008 p 216. There is some exploration of hrql and its relationship to nursing and to existing literature on this topic, which aids understanding of the concept prior to reading the rest of the article. They highlight some important topics in relation to the focus of the article, including treatment, social support, and other issues tangkawanich et al, 2008 p 216. Who wrote this essay request removal example essays although the introduction/literature review contextualises and introduces this study, this author believes that a more detailed critical analysis of the literature would be warranted here. It is not enough to cite previous research as a means of establishing the credentials of the study, as it were. A wider range of research could have been included gerrish and lacey, 2006, 38 fontana, 2004, p 93 , and this research could have been evaluated to identify its quality. It is left to the reader to pursue this matter and determine the quality of the research upon which they base the premise and justification for this study. The authors do not state a hypothesis cormack, 20 , as such, but instead present a research question. 'the purpose of this study was to examine the causal relationships between age, antiretroviral treatment, social support, symptom experience, self care strategies, and the hrql in thai plwha' tangkawanich et al, 2008 p 217. The nature of this statement would suggest that it is not an experimental study, but that it is within a quantitative research paradigm. Cormack 20 suggests that people appraising research question whether operational definitions are clearly presented. In this study, operational definitions are explained within the introduction but in language that would make it inaccessible to the less experienced or less knowledgeable reader. The methodology section does not clearly state or discuss the choice of a quantitative approach cormack, 20.
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