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sample critique papers of quantitative research

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sample critique papers of quantitative research

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Quantitative professional paper template: Adapted from “Fake News, Fast and Slow: Deliberation Reduces Belief in False (but Not True) News Headlines,” by B. Bago, D. G. Rand, and G. Pennycook, 2020, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General , 149 (8), pp. 1608–1613 ( https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000729 ). Copyright 2020 by the American Psychological Association.

Qualitative professional paper template: Adapted from “‘My Smartphone Is an Extension of Myself’: A Holistic Qualitative Exploration of the Impact of Using a Smartphone,” by L. J. Harkin and D. Kuss, 2020, Psychology of Popular Media , 10 (1), pp. 28–38 ( https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000278 ). Copyright 2020 by the American Psychological Association.

Mixed methods professional paper template: Adapted from “‘I Am a Change Agent’: A Mixed Methods Analysis of Students’ Social Justice Value Orientation in an Undergraduate Community Psychology Course,” by D. X. Henderson, A. T. Majors, and M. Wright, 2019,  Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology , 7 (1), 68–80. ( https://doi.org/10.1037/stl0000171 ). Copyright 2019 by the American Psychological Association.

Literature review professional paper template: Adapted from “Rethinking Emotions in the Context of Infants’ Prosocial Behavior: The Role of Interest and Positive Emotions,” by S. I. Hammond and J. K. Drummond, 2019, Developmental Psychology , 55 (9), pp. 1882–1888 ( https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000685 ). Copyright 2019 by the American Psychological Association.

Review professional paper template: Adapted from “Joining the Conversation: Teaching Students to Think and Communicate Like Scholars,” by E. L. Parks, 2022, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology , 8 (1), pp. 70–78 ( https://doi.org/10.1037/stl0000193 ). Copyright 2020 by the American Psychological Association.

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A Critique of Quantitative Research

People especially researchers erroneously assume that quantitative research is the most applicable in most situations. This assumption has been in existence for a long time. Such scholars are convinced that quantitative research is the most appropriate for policy making and enactment of laws especially those that are related to business operations. Other challenges that are facing the society are also assumed to be solvable through quantitative analysis.

To this end, the research by Kartiwi and MacGregor is perceived to be the solution for the problems faced by SMEs in attempts to adopt e-commerce marketing strategies. The study was conducted to identify the actual barriers facing SMEs. In this paper, the researcher critiqued the article reporting the findings of the study. It was found that the quantitative analysis had several shortcomings that impacted on the operations of SMEs as a whole.

A Critique of Quantitative Research Article

Introduction.

This research was conducted to identify barriers to the adoption of electronic commerce in small and medium-sized enterprises (herein referred to as SMEs) in developed and developing countries. This is a cross-country comparison which was carried out by Mira Kartiwi and Robert MacGregor from the Australian University of Wollongong in the year 2007.

Research Summary

The research was carried out to identify barriers hindering the adoption of e-commerce among SMEs. The study assumed a quantitative analysis methodology where data and report were compiled quantitatively. Empirical data was collected from two countries representing developed as well as developing countries.

This was from Sweden and Indonesia respectively. Characteristics of these countries were compared and conclusions were made from the responses of participants from the two countries. Barriers were also identified from literature in the field and a comparison was carried out between the two countries. The research was focused on small business enterprises and their unique features which were compared to those of other big companies.

This paper is a critique of the article reporting the findings of this comparative study. In this paper, the author is going to analyze several aspects of the article. These include the appropriateness and inappropriateness (where applicable) of employing quantitative research methodology as opposed to qualitative research design or using a combination of the two.

Barriers that face e-commerce in general have been adequately analyzed by the quantitative research carried on both developed as well as developing countries. The two countries used different approaches as far as e-commerce is concerned. Therefore making use of one form of analysis (in this case quantitative analysis) can be considered as inappropriate.

This is considering that the information gleaned from numbers varies from one region to the other and more importantly some significant aspects in the two countries cannot be tested or verified using numbers (Hall, 2012). For instance the developed country would describe its barriers as technical while in the real sense there were organizational barriers also.

Therefore if research is carried out to gather some information on these two countries there is need to make use of different types of data collection methods. In many cases, quantitative analysis has been used to find solutions for the two issues specified. These are the organizational and technical issues. These two categories are different and therefore continued research based on quantitative methodology comprises the accuracy of the data that is collected (Hall, 2012).

Reports indicate that SMEs are being affected significantly since their role in the economies is reducing at a high rate than it is expected. This is seen when gross domestic product (herein referred to as GDP) stagnates or slows down drastically (Blili & Raymond, 2009). To respond to this effect, the SMEs are embracing global markets to trade their products and services, a phenomenon referred to as e-commerce.

This move has radically changed the operation of most SME business operators. Many people find e-commerce to be a more appropriate and more convenient mean of trading using computer networks. This being the case, e-commerce can be regarded as a potential business trend across the globe. Many business operators are opting for it as opposed to the traditional physical market. This is despite the fact that in e-commerce, the entrepreneurs are not in a position to meet their clients on a face to face basis or physically.

The increasing popularity of e-commerce among SMEs is evident because reports indicate those business using internet services and other forms of technology in conducting their trade perform better than their counterparts who are not using these services (Bajaj & Nag, 2009). It seems that Kartiwi & MacGregor (2007) are very much aware of this fact. This is the reason why they found it important to conduct a study in this field.

SMEs across the globe are adopting this technology to address the barriers that are hindering them from fully contributing to the growth of GDP around the world. The barriers have been widely documented after extensive studies were conducted. Kartiwi & MacGregor (2007) make their contribution to the knowledge in this field by conducting the research and documenting their findings in this article. They note SMEs and other businesses from the developing countries have not fully embraced e-commerce for various reasons.

This is despite the fact that the entrepreneurs are fully aware (most of the times at least) of the potential benefits of using e-commerce. One such reason why they have not embraced the initiative is simply because e-commerce as a form of trade is not static spatially or chronologically. Rather, it is a dynamic and fluid phenomenon that varies from one geographical location to the other and from one time to the other. SMEs and other businesses seem to have difficulties keeping track of this dynamism. This is especially so because the organizational level and structure that is supposed to incorporate e-commerce are not efficient in most of these nations (Bajaj & Nag, 2009).

Characteristics of Small and Medium Enterprises from the Perspective of the Article

Small and medium enterprises around the world have various characteristics that set them apart from other forms of businesses. It is important to analyze how Kartiwi & MacGregor (2007) address this issue in their research. This is considering that a study in this field has to acknowledge these characteristics if its contribution to the field is to be taken seriously.

In addition to this, the paper needs to examine the problems that are associated with the barriers associated with SME operations in both developed and developing nations (as far as e-commerce is concerned). It is noted that various studies have made efforts to differentiate SMEs from other forms of enterprises using the characteristics of those SMEs as the yardstick. Based on the findings of other studies conducted in the past, a critical analysis was carried out by Kartiwi & MacGregor (2007) to identify the specific features that are perceived to be unique to SMEs in both developing and developed nations.

This was aimed at justifying the quantitative approach that the scholars were planning to adopt for the study. To this end, this author notes that the study by Kartiwi & MacGregor (2007) can be considered as a significant contribution to the field of SME and e-commerce in developed and developing nations in the world. This is given the fact that the two scholars explicitly acknowledge the variation between the experiences of SMEs and other forms of business enterprises as far as e-commerce is concerned based on the characteristics (Abdullah & Bakar, 2007).

From the findings of studies in this field, it is noted that features that are unique to SMEs can be classified into two broad categories. This is the approach scholars such as Abdullah & Bakar (2007) have adopted in examining SMEs in developed and developing nations in the world. The first category touches on the external features of the business enterprises while the other category looks at the internal features or traits. The latter revolves around management and operational issues including decision making and organizational structure.

This is for example those traits touching on who is managing the SMEs, the major stakeholders in SMEs, the profile of employees in the business as well as the strategies adopted to market the products of the company. The external features of SMEs include market components and the environment within which the business operates (Abdullah & Bakar, 2007).

Given the two categories of characteristics of SMEs from the perspective of various scholars in the field, this author is of the view that the use of quantitative research methodology by Kartiwi & MacGregor (2007) is not appropriate. At least, the scholars should have combined this methodology with a qualitative approach. It is not appropriate to subject both internal and external attributes of SMEs to one type of research methodology (in this case the quantitative research methodology). The importance contribution of a qualitative methodology is lost to the study as a result.

Research Questions

Research questions are the basis on which scholars and researchers address the research problem. In other words, it is noted that by formulating and answering the research questions, researchers would have inevitably addressed the objectives of the study (or the problem identified). When questions structured to address the research problem are not sufficient enough, the purpose of the research becomes ambiguous.

This happens when the conclusions are drawn fail to address the problems identified. The same case applies to a research hypothesis. The hypothesis needs to be based on sufficient evidence to address the identified variables put in place by the researcher (Glesne & Peshkin, 2008). To this end, it is noted that the research questions and the research hypothesis are related in more than one way. Both of them need to be stated clearly by the researcher at the beginning of the study.

With regard to the study conducted by Kartiwi & MacGregor (2007), this author will try to find out how well the research question and the research hypothesis were formulated. The author will also try to identify how well the research questions and the research hypothesis were addressed in the study.

The justification for a given hypothesis is to solve the research problem identified (Glesne & Peshkin 2008). In the hypothesis, the researcher tries to come up with a tentative statement that shows the likely relationship between two or more variables. The hypothesis may be based on a question which scrutinizes the research problem. The hypothesis statement tends to melt-down the problem into something that can be tested statistically. It can also be used to falsify the information handed in after the research.

This case applies to the study conducted by Kartiwi & MacGregor (2007) touching on the adoption of e-commerce among SMEs in developed and developing nations. In such a case, the researcher may contend that the performance of SMEs in most developing countries and some developed countries are declining due to their inability to incorporate e-commerce in their operations.

After the hypothesis is formulated, scientific methods are then used to make sure that the testable hypothesis revolving around the research problem formulated can either support or falsify the assumptions made (Glesne & Peshkin, 2008).

As already indicated, the study by Kartiwi & MacGregor (2007) focused on SMEs and was a comparison of SMEs in developed and developing countries. The comparison was meant to highlight the barriers that are supposed to be tackled. However it is noted that more than four years after the completion of the study, the barriers have not yet been tackled successfully. From this angle, this author can analyze the appropriateness (or lack of it thereof) of the study that was undertaken.

As a result of the methodology that was adopted to address the research questions, the authors were unable to make predictions on the barriers facing SMEs and adoption of e-commerce at the time. This is significant given that prediction is an important aspect of quantitative research. Given that it failed to predict, it can be concluded that the methodology adopted for study (quantitative) was therefore not reliable (Patton, 2009).

A researcher who becomes fixated on one particular methodology (in this case quantitative analysis) loses focus as a result of impartialities and other personal biases dominating the results. To avert such a scenario, researchers need to adopt an array of methodologies to find out whether they can arrive at the same results using different tactics.

In other words, the researcher can duplicate the study using a different methodology and compare the results. In this case, Kartiwi & MacGregor (2007) should have duplicated the study using a qualitative methodology and see whether the results obtained using the two methodologies are the same or not.

Given that the researchers failed to do this, it is little wonder then that SMEs are still stuck as far as adoption of e-commerce is concerned. No theory was formulated from the results that were made. It is noted that in an efficient quantitative research, a hypothesis needs to be drawn, tested and then theory drawn from it (Patton, 2009). But the quantitative analysis by the two researchers failed to achieve this. It just came up with half truths and half facts that did not lead to a solid solution.

A Critique of the Research Methodology Adopted

As already alluded to in this paper, the research methodology that was employed in the case study was insufficient simply because the researchers focused on one strategy which is quantitative research. A competent research that achieves the objectives set should ideally combine both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies (Creswell, 2007).

This is what most scholars call exploratory research where the researcher starts by exploring the environment within which the research is going to take place using qualitative research methods. The results acquired are then tested using quantitative data to identify the relationship between the various variables.

The first method is meant to gather qualitative data using various strategies such as interviewing retailers and other stakeholders involved in the SMEs business operations. Such questions are best structured from a qualitative point of view (Creswell, 2007). This is for example questions touching on the factors that discourage SMEs from adopting e-commerce in their business operations. Such questions are effectively tackled from a qualitative perspective. This is for example through the use of an interview schedule as opposed to a questionnaire.

A Critique of Data Collection Methods

In this section, this author is going to examine the various data collection methods vis-à-vis the method that was used by Kartiwi & MacGregor (2007). The effectiveness of these alternatives will be addressed in the context of the method used by the two scholars.

Quantitative research has been referred by many scholars as an anguish analysis which was used to solve barriers facing SMEs sectors. The data that was collected could have been enough to solve several major problems but the data analysis method that it was subjected to made it hard to address several issues adequately as a result of an “……….inadequate point of view” (Hadjimonolis, 2010: p. 22).

Before the study the features that were seen to hinder the incorporation of technology in the SME operations were analyzed. The data was then collected based on the assumption that the SMEs have common traits. Data collection can be conceptualized the process of gathering information in an attempt to have an in-depth knowledge of the variables identified. This is by using the standard and applicable methods to answer the research questions put in place to solve the research problem (Denzin & Lincoln, 2006).

Data collection is a process that is carried out in many fields ranging from social sciences to business studies. Methods used to collect the data vary from one field to the other but the results and ethics applied are meant to remain the same (Morse, 2008). As the author of this paper had stated earlier, the focus of this section is to critique the research methodology adopted in the study by Kartiwi & MacGregor (2007). The data collection method in this research will be critically analyzed.

Adoption of e-commerce by SMEs was the major concern of this quantitative research. It is noted that the study and the results were supposed to inform recommendations on the best strategies that SMEs can use to adopt e-commerce in the developing and developed countries. However, it is noted that the data collection method adopted in this study fails to bear fruits. The researchers made use of questionnaires to collect information from the respondents. The questionnaires were structured and addressed specific sections of the research problem.

This author argues for the adoption of both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods for a study of this magnitude. For instance both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods should be employed to come up with conclusions drawn from the research.

Integrity is paramount in any research as the results obtained are supposed to address both the research problem and the challenges faced on the ground. It does not matter whether the correct instrument was used to collect quantitative data or not but results from the method can be misleading.

Cases of misleading data are evident given that the other methods (apart from quantitative research methods) were not put into consideration. The collected data has various impacts on the research variables depending on the methods used. In this case, the quantitative data collection method adds a twist to the questions meant to solve the research problem (Templeton, 2011).

In most case studies, quantitative data collection methods tend to deviate from the questions that are supposed to address the research problem. For example the quantitative analysis in this article is not sufficient to address the questions touching on the barriers facing SMEs in both developed and developing nations. Inability to address the questions adequately has hindered SMEs from expanding rapidly enough due to misleading recommendations from studies conducted in the field.

Most of the questions were formulated based on information gathered from the literature in the field highlighting on the barriers facing SME ventures (Hall, 2012). This automatically misleads other researchers who embark on extensive investigations based on the literature and findings of other studies conducted in the past. The results tend to compromise the economic situation necessary for the efficient operation of the SMEs. Another method needs to be employed to investigate the real cause of the stagnant in the growth of SMEs especially in developing nations.

Inaccurate and unreliable data collection methods employed in quantitative research analysis has negative impacts on the economy and those who are taking part in the study itself. This is given the fact that if future researchers are compelled to replicate the same study, the results will vary significantly from those made in the initial study. This means that the quantitative data collection methods adopted by Kartiwi & MacGregor (2007) has possible errors ranging from inaccurate data collection to possible misleading conclusions drawn from the analysis of the results obtained (Hall, 2012).

This author is forced to go back and critically analyze the measures put in place to maintain integrity in data collection in this study. Accurate data collection methods ensure that the results will be accurate too. However this does not mean that during the study the measures put in place to ensure integrity was upheld were not given priority.

The fact is the data collected might have been analyzed in the wrong way. For example maybe other strategies should have been employed to collect the required data. Human thinking and psychological orientation are not well catered for when quantitative research is employed in isolation.

This is given that the quality of data collected may be compromised in one way or the other and that is why it is important to apply multiple data collection methods. This is to make sure that collection of data is perfected before proceeding to the next stage. Whether Kartiwi & MacGregor (2007) did this or not is debatable.

Most quantitative studies require large samples to improve the accuracy of the data collected. In this particular research, the two scholars are faced with logistical challenges inherent in the study design as far as gathering the large sample from the universe or study population is concerned. It is noted that historically such research methodologies have been known to bear fruits but with this particular study this author feels differently. The author notes that the continued use of such research designs in most academic fields today is degrading the quality of data obtained (Hadjimonolis, 2010).

With reference to the study by Kartiwi & MacGregor (2007), the SMEs can be regarded as illustrations of a situation where quantitative data collection and analysis was applied to make conclusions. But since then, no concrete solutions have been found for all businesses across the globe. This is as far as embracing e-commerce as a mode of transacting business is concerned.

The question is why is this so? What is the problem? The author of this paper argues that with the increased rate of innovations (driven by rapid increase in use of technology), the SMEs are supposed to embrace technology and take off as far as economic development is concerned. But this is not the case especially in the developing nations.

At this juncture, the reader will agree with this author that despite all the measures and mechanisms put in place to articulate the growth of SMEs, the research by Kartiwi and MacGregor failed to meet the criteria needed to address all the problems. The approach that was adopted to analyze the barriers faced was not adequate. This is because if the approach was adequate, the barriers would have faded away. This is as opposed to improving the growth of GDP in the respective nations.

It is to be noted that each country has a preferred set of research methods and data collection instruments. Instruments vary with research methods adopted. As a result of this, quantitative methods are not preferred in data collection in the developing countries (Hadjimonolis, 2010). This however may not be the case in the developed nations.

Appropriateness of Data Used in this Research

The author will now focus on the appropriateness of the data collected using the quantitative data collection methods. The main concern here is to critically analyze the intended consumer of the data and how it was made available to them. Another concern at this juncture is the criteria that were used to evaluate the data collected from the field. For instance, how many crises were resolved or addressed in attempts to tackle barriers facing the SMEs?

The approach was to find out the number of crises resolved and duration of time required to solve them at any given point. The compilation of data was to be based on the way the problem was tackled and not the measures needed to be put in place to catapult the business enterprise to success. The researcher also sought to analyze why a significant number of businesses are still stuck (Hadjimonolis, 2010).

The analysis of the barriers faced by SMEs needs to be carried out by assessing where the barriers originate from, methods that have been used to solve the problems at one point during the crisis and any challenges that were identified at the time. This gives an insight on why the data collected may not have been sufficient enough to come up with strategies to address the problems that are experienced by SMEs. The problems faced by the SMEs were dragging the GDP of most countries down.

Another inappropriate strategy that has undermined the quantitative analysis used is the amount of the data used or in other words the size of the sample used. The author of this paper concurs that this method requires large amounts of data and the larger the size of the sample the more accurate the results.

With reference to the research done by the two scholars, generalization of the findings will automatically lead to a generalization of the problem facing SMEs. With this in mind, it is noted that the specific problems will still dominate the SME sector and as a result drag the economy behind.

In the developed countries, the findings of the study may be generalized because SMEs in these countries are easily studied or analyzed and the problems identified are solved right away. But on the other hand, the barriers facing SMEs as far as embracing e-commerce is concerned are triggered by something else which needs to be analyzed using other research methods (Templeton, 2011). This will help solve the problems accordingly without necessarily making a comparison between the two economies.

It is noted that the SMEs in developed countries can greatly benefit if the research design incorporates other data collection and data analysis methods as opposed to quantitative analysis alone. This calls for variations in data collection methods which is paramount to make conclusions which may in turn solve the problem at hand with immediate effect.

Finally, it is to be noted that the data obtained in this research is entirely quantitative. It should be noted that qualitative data gives rise to refined results that are rich in information which is necessary to embark on actual implementation of strategies as opposed to the data obtained through quantitative means.

Description and Critical Analysis of Statistical Methods Used in the Study

Quantitative research methods assume that statistical analysis can only be carried out on quantitative data. This is wrong given that several statistical analyses can be carried out using qualitative data. For instance, the use of rating of scales acquired from qualitative data collection methods will lead to more accurate results as opposed to employing quantitative research methods throughout the study.

There is a difference between qualitative and quantitative data but both are used to address problems identified in the research. If both sets of data are compared in a given research, the comparison may help researchers who adopt scientific research designs come up with a solution to a particular problem (Creswell, 2009).

Another confusing aspect of quantitative researchers is the misconception that data acquired from quantitative data collection methods is to be solely used in quantitative research. This may be true but not in all cases. Some important information can be gleaned from qualitative research design which may require qualitative data. This is for example when trying to capture attitudes and opinions of stakeholders in the SME sector. Without this, the researchers may have wasted the opportunity to obtain significant information that would have adequately addressed the SME barriers.

Exploratory strategy is another approach that many successful studies have adopted and the results are recommendable. The process involves combination of both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies. The study begins by adopting the qualitative research design which tends to explore the potential problems in a given area. The researcher then embarks on quantitative research. Findings from quantitative research alone are not sufficient to make conclusions.

The author of this paper wonders how the information touching on the retailers was obtained. For example, the open ended questions (which were sufficiently structured in a qualitative format) for retailers and also for customers were aimed at getting an insight on most of the barriers facing SME operations. The findings from these questions have not been used anywhere given that the study is entirely based on the quantitative data collected.

Discussion of the Statistical Results

The results of this study need to be discussed and analyzed extensively so that the stakeholders can implement the necessary strategies. First, the problem with quantitative research is that it has no room for criticizing the findings made once the research is completed. This is the initial stage of criticizing research findings before any other researcher does so. The research design does not allow the scholars to make recommendations for further study.

It is expected that since this is a wide area, the quantitative research would make recommendations for the benefit of future studies in the field (Weaver, 2010). This has not been addressed at all in by Kartiwi and MacGregor in their study.

The analysis did not address the relevance of the topic to identify the barriers. This is given that the research was unable to come up with relevant data to tackle all the potential barriers making SMEs not to adopt e-commerce in their operations. The researcher briefly identified the purpose of the study well in advance. However, the research did not take into account the importance of reminding the reader about the questions that were supposed to be dealt with in the study.

The purpose of the study was to identify the barriers hindering SMEs from adopting e-commerce and making it part of their business operations. But the quantitative analysis that followed failed to revisit the problem. Instead the researchers seem to have shifted their focus and the reader is led to believe that the whole process is a move to break barriers in SMEs in general. This is as opposed to breaking barriers to help SMEs adopt the e-commerce strategy (Weaver, 2010).

The research further confuses the reader by failing to state whether the aim of the study was met as it was expected or whether the findings were surprising and not as per the initial expectations. The quantitative analysis adopts a complex format in presenting the findings to the targeted consumer. The reader or the target consumer of the study needs to understand the findings and graphical representations should be recorded to make it easier for the reader.

Many researchers contend that quantitative research is accurate but at to some extent it is misleading. This is especially so when it comes to the reporting and representation of statistical data. This is considering the way the researchers present the data in a confusing order. Normally, the reader would find it easy to comprehend the data if it is presented from the most important to the least important. In other words the quantitative analysis failed to present the findings based on the level of significance criteria.

This aspect enables the reader to understand statistical significance of the findings as well as the significance of the SMEs to the economy. This quantitative analysis seems to throw words here and there just because it is approaching the problems from a scientific point of view. The researchers seem to agree that they should not logically present information for the sake of the reader (Stouthamer & Bok, 2007).

The research by Kartiwi and MacGregor is not the first one in this field. Other studies have addressed similar problems in this field and that is the reason why a literature review needs to be carried out. After the review the researchers were required to formulate the hypothesis plausibly so that the results would automatically follow the format. This research has denied the reader the opportunity to see this. The idea is to allow the reader to have access to theoretical frameworks that have been used before digging for more information.

In most quantitative case studies, the researchers do not give the reader the chance to define and predict the identified questions. The study makes use of people on the ground and this limits the findings. This is given the fact that people tend to change and it is hard to predict their behavior. This compromises the data as well as the findings that are made. Quantitative methodologies used alone can never address this problem adequately. This is without the use of other methods to address the contradictions exhibited in negative and positive findings (Creswell, 2009).

Conclusions from the Quantitative Study

The conclusions made in this study are less descriptive . This being the case, they fail to provide the implications of the research itself. The author of this paper has stated earlier that the research by the two scholars does not proceed from the general to the specific. It does not add value to the knowledge that already exists in the field. For this reason, the SMEs are not aware of the next step to take to address the problems facing them.

The conclusions did speculate on the barriers that need to be addressed in an attempt to adapt e-commerce as an alternative strategy. But the end product is not clear enough to give the reader an idea on what the researchers are talking about. A take home message is supposed to be a lucid weighty phrase to convince the reader on the need for SMEs to adopt the e-commerce strategy (Hadjimonolis, 2010). However the researchers state that there are other studies which are in progress to address other limitations associated with SMEs and adoption of e-commerce.

A clear generalization of important findings has not been made. This was meant to go beyond the sample of used in the study and into the population. Research questions are related to the references made at the end of the study. This denied the researcher the opportunity to conclude and make substantial recommendations for current and future operations of SMEs.

Again the recommendations that were made applied to any SME striving to excel at any level with or without e-commerce. But there is need for further recommendations from a qualitative point of view to provide a deeper meaning to the research question.

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Acute care nurses face critical challenges in their understanding and acceptance of spirituality and its role in care and treatment. It is important to identify the issues that are most critical in the development of effective spiritual care in the nursing environment. Recognizing the spiritual needs of individual patients is critical to their recovery and wellbeing, and nurses play a significant role in this process. The holistic nature of nursing practice and the ability to provide effective spiritual care to patients are key factors in achieving optimal patient care and treatment across disciplines. Therefore, it is imperative to address these concerns and their impact on nursing practice and future objectives.

Introduction

An article by Gallison et.al (2013) addresses the significance of spiritual care and the role of nurses in this practice. A quantitative study conducted by the authors indicates that there are significant factors associated with spiritual care and treatment of patients in a variety of nursing settings that impact patient outcomes (Gallison et.al, 2013). However, many concerns emphasize the role of spiritual differences in shaping how nurses provide care and treatment to their patients, particularly when spiritual support is necessary (Gallison et.al, 2013). In this capacity, the study aims to demonstrate that there are a number of weaknesses in spiritual care that must be improved upon in order to accommodate the needs of patients in an effective manner (Gallison et.al, 2013). It is expected that the framework for spiritual care will be supported by the ability of nurses to recognize the significance of spiritual care and its influence on patient wellbeing and related outcomes (Gallison et.al, 2013).

The article emphasizes the importance of developing new perspectives that support spiritual care and treatment for patients (Gallison et.al, 2013). In this context, there are a number of inherent weaknesses within the modern healthcare system that limit the ability to provide effective spiritual care, such as limited time to spend with patients and lack of support at the institutional level (Gallison et.al, 2013). It is imperative for nurses to recognize that patients often face significant challenges for which their faith is their saving grace; therefore, this faith must be addressed as a key component of the care and treatment plan (Gallison et.al, 2013). In many instances, it has been determined that patients do not receive the desired level of spiritual care during hospitalization that has a negative impact on their perceptions of the healthcare experience in this manner (Gallison et.al, 2013).

The article provides further evidence of the importance of spirituality in the care and treatment process by addressing the AACN Synergy Model for Patient Care, which includes factors that consider patient spirituality, characteristics, wellness, and the nurse-patient relationship (Gallison et.al, 2013). It is important to identify these factors and to determine how to best move forward to provide effective care and treatment to these patients using spiritual means (Gallison et.al, 2013). The literature review within the article provides important insights into spiritual care in nursing practice to improve patient outcomes, including the discussion of several studies designed to identify the problems associated with the lack of spiritual care in many patient care settings (Gallison et.al, 2013). This section also provides examples of spiritual reinforcements and support systems in the lives of patients who have been beneficial in this manner (Gallison et.al, 2013).

The chosen research method for the study was designed to describe the ability of nurses to understand and exercise full awareness of the spiritual needs of their patients (Gallison et.al, 2013). The study explored several clinical units at a large academic medical center in New York City, where nurses were asked to participate and to complete a Spiritual Care Practice Questionnaire to determine the level of spiritual care provided across units, along with the perceived barriers to providing spiritual care in these settings (Gallison et.al, 2013). Upon completion of these questionnaires, the data collection process was developed using descriptive statistics in various forms in order to formulate the study results and to draw conclusions (Gallison et.al, 2013).

The study results indicated that the population sample was relatively young and female, and that many participants found it difficult to spend sufficient time with patients to address their spiritual needs in the desired manner (Gallison et.al, 2013). In this context, it was observed that nurses possess very different perspectives regarding the application of spiritual care to their patients (Gallison et.al, 2013). Some nurses shared their experiences and found it very helpful to communicate with their patients in this manner (Gallison et.al, 2013). It was determined that nurses possess different levels of awareness of spiritual care in the practice setting; however, perhaps most important was that patient care needs of a spiritual nature are largely unrecognized or perhaps ignored (Gallison et.al, 2013). It is necessary to develop a stronger and more effective communication strategy as a means of exploring different approaches to spiritual care that will be effective in treating patients in this manner (Gallison et.al, 2013). Although there are a variety of different types of spiritual beliefs, nurses must be accepting of all beliefs so that the provision of spiritual care is not compromised in any way (Gallison et.al, 2013). This practice will support the ongoing development and growth of patient care and treatment so that it is optimized for all patients who seek spiritual guidance and care in the healthcare setting and beyond (Gallison et.al, 2013).

Unfortunately, many nurses do not possess the knowledge and skills that are necessary to provide adequate spiritual care and support (Chan, 2010). In this context, there are other factors that must be considered because this need remains largely unmet in many organizations (Chan, 2010). However, nurses’ perceptions of spiritual care are generally positive, even if they do not exercise this type of care in their daily routines (McSherry and Jamieson, 2011). Therefore, it is necessary to develop additional training methods that will enable nurses to improve their spiritual knowledge and understanding and the need to provide this type of support to nurses (McSherry and Jamieson, 2011). It is important to identify the specific nature and extent of spiritual care as a means of improving outcomes and reflecting upon spirituality as a form of care in nursing practice (Carson, 2011).

The article by Gallison et.al (2013) addresses some of the relevant issues associated with spiritual care and treatment of patients in nursing practice settings. It is imperative to develop new ideas and approaches which demonstrate that nurses understand and recognize the importance of spiritual care as part of their daily practice routine. The research study demonstrated that it is necessary to determine different approaches to improve patient care for those who seek spiritual guidance and support. Even if nurses are uncomfortable with the idea of providing spiritual care, they must demonstrate their willingness to cooperate with this requirement and to develop methods of working with patients that will satisfy this need. Under these conditions, it is likely that nurses will experience more satisfying outcomes when their patients achieve greater health and wellbeing upon discharge from the hospital or while under continuous treatment.

Carson, V.B. (2011). What is the essence of spiritual care? Journal of Christian Nursing, 28(3), 173.

Chan, M.F. (2010). Factors affecting nursing staff in practicing spiritual care. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 19(15-16), 2128-2136.

Gallison, B.S., Xu, Y., Jurgens, C.Y., and Boyle, S.M. (2013). Acute care nurses’ spiritual care practices. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 31(2), 95-103.

McSherry, W., and Jamieson, S. (2011). An online survey of nurses’ perceptions of spirituality and spiritual care. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 20(11-12), 1757-1767.

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Quantitative Research Critique essay

Introduction

The theme of the reviews on the need for nurses to regard the right data collection plan and its implementation. The context clearly describes various methods of recording, collecting and sampling observational data. Nevertheless identifying phenomena that lend researchers to bio physiologic measurements, observation, and self-reports. The dimensions along which data collection approaches vary.

Methodology

Data collection was through direct interviews with doctoral doctors, nurses were issued with questionnaires to fill. The overall finding was that nurse’s evaluation in research helps to maintain EBP guidelines and proper patients’ attendance.

Literature review

The provision of each postdoctoral and pre-doctoral research fellowships facilitated the development of advanced studies capabilities. With the present-day emphasis on EBP, it has emerged holding every nurse liable to a greater interaction amongst people during research participation. The increased technology advancements boost intensive health researchers, this reduces the mortality rate.

Theoretical framework

Inside the United States of America, research competencies amongst nurses endured enhancing in the 1970s. The cadre of nurses with earned doctorates step by step multiplied, especially at some stage in the later 1970s. The provision of each postdoctoral and pre-doctoral research fellowships facilitated the development of advanced studies capabilities. Computer availability and personnel availability in 1980 persisted to increase nursing until today. Some of the most used keywords are explained bellows. Sampling is the system of factors selected from a populace, that’s the combination center of case observe.

The detail is the primary population unit- typically used in humans study. The population characteristics are defined using exclusion and inclusion criteria, eligibility of criteria (Polit, 2006). Researchers usually draw their conclusions from a handy population” the use of a broader target populace is the group they would really like to generalize their consequences. Representativeness is the important thing criterion in assessing a quantitative observe pattern.

Referring to the level at which the sample stays relevant to the populace and avoids being biased. Sampling bias refers to the systematic underrepresentation or overrepresentation of segment of the populace. The non-random ways of element selection include purposive, consecutive, quota and convenience sampling ” nonprobability sampling. Nonprobability sampling is economical and practical” the largest disadvantage is its potential for bias. The use of the most convenient or readily available group of people is called convenience sampling (Polit, 2008).

However, quota sampling oversees the division of the population into subpopulations (homogenous strata) to ensure subgroups representation in the sample concerning each stratum, the population is conveniently sampled. Taking of all and sundry who attain eligibility standards over a selected time, or for a selected sample size is called consecutive sampling. The individuals are hand-picked in purposive sampling to be a part of the pattern primarily based on the researchers information about the population.

Probability sampling technique entails the elements selection randomly from the populace, yielding greater consultant samples than non-probability techniques and lets in estimates of the sampling blunders. Quantitative studies fantastic power is imparting statistics this is descriptive for instance, permitting us to capture an image of a user population but we stumble upon difficulties in terms of their interpretation. In a product-development environment, this facts deficiency can cause crucial errors within the layout of a product (Polit, 2004).

Moreover, best someone with a firm grasp of ways they need to use and interpret quantitative records needs to conduct such a look at. For maximum tests, there’s an overreliance at the p-value and sample sizeImplications for practice Nursing is expected to gain evidence-based practice real actualization of clinical evidence in reaching patient care decisions. There may be a well-known settlement that research findings from rigorous research constitute the fine form of evidence for informing nurse’s selections, interactions with customers and moves.

Nurses totally have the will to bases unique decisions and nursing moves on proof showing that the shifts are clinically acceptable, bringing about high-quality results for customers and price-powerful. Nurses who conduct research proof into their scientific selections and recommendation that they remain held responsible to their customers. This reinforces the identification of the career, nursing. The adequate purpose for nurses to involve in research using include the costly health costs.

Nurses now wish to show social effectiveness and relevance in their actions, not only to be the profession but offer nursing care to clients..

Quantitative researchers pattern their information from the accessible population within the hope of generalizing to a target population. According to PICO interest populace is critical in all scientific studies. The target populace refers to the entire populace wherein researchers are interested. Accessible populace refers exactly to the population target that is available to the researcher.

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Introduction

Some nurses feel that they lack the necessary skills to read a research paper and to then decide if they should implement the findings into their practice. This is particularly the case when considering the results of quantitative research, which often contains the results of statistical testing. However, nurses have a professional responsibility to critique research to improve their practice, care and patient safety. 1  This article provides a step by step guide on how to critically appraise a quantitative paper.

Title, keywords and the authors

The authors’ names may not mean much, but knowing the following will be helpful:

Their position, for example, academic, researcher or healthcare practitioner.

Their qualification, both professional, for example, a nurse or physiotherapist and academic (eg, degree, masters, doctorate).

This can indicate how the research has been conducted and the authors’ competence on the subject. Basically, do you want to read a paper on quantum physics written by a plumber?

The abstract is a resume of the article and should contain:

Introduction.

Research question/hypothesis.

Methods including sample design, tests used and the statistical analysis (of course! Remember we love numbers).

Main findings.

Conclusion.

The subheadings in the abstract will vary depending on the journal. An abstract should not usually be more than 300 words but this varies depending on specific journal requirements. If the above information is contained in the abstract, it can give you an idea about whether the study is relevant to your area of practice. However, before deciding if the results of a research paper are relevant to your practice, it is important to review the overall quality of the article. This can only be done by reading and critically appraising the entire article.

The introduction

Example: the effect of paracetamol on levels of pain.

My hypothesis is that A has an effect on B, for example, paracetamol has an effect on levels of pain.

My null hypothesis is that A has no effect on B, for example, paracetamol has no effect on pain.

My study will test the null hypothesis and if the null hypothesis is validated then the hypothesis is false (A has no effect on B). This means paracetamol has no effect on the level of pain. If the null hypothesis is rejected then the hypothesis is true (A has an effect on B). This means that paracetamol has an effect on the level of pain.

Background/literature review

The literature review should include reference to recent and relevant research in the area. It should summarise what is already known about the topic and why the research study is needed and state what the study will contribute to new knowledge. 5 The literature review should be up to date, usually 5–8 years, but it will depend on the topic and sometimes it is acceptable to include older (seminal) studies.

Methodology

In quantitative studies, the data analysis varies between studies depending on the type of design used. For example, descriptive, correlative or experimental studies all vary. A descriptive study will describe the pattern of a topic related to one or more variable. 6 A correlational study examines the link (correlation) between two variables 7  and focuses on how a variable will react to a change of another variable. In experimental studies, the researchers manipulate variables looking at outcomes 8  and the sample is commonly assigned into different groups (known as randomisation) to determine the effect (causal) of a condition (independent variable) on a certain outcome. This is a common method used in clinical trials.

There should be sufficient detail provided in the methods section for you to replicate the study (should you want to). To enable you to do this, the following sections are normally included:

Overview and rationale for the methodology.

Participants or sample.

Data collection tools.

Methods of data analysis.

Ethical issues.

Data collection should be clearly explained and the article should discuss how this process was undertaken. Data collection should be systematic, objective, precise, repeatable, valid and reliable. Any tool (eg, a questionnaire) used for data collection should have been piloted (or pretested and/or adjusted) to ensure the quality, validity and reliability of the tool. 9 The participants (the sample) and any randomisation technique used should be identified. The sample size is central in quantitative research, as the findings should be able to be generalised for the wider population. 10 The data analysis can be done manually or more complex analyses performed using computer software sometimes with advice of a statistician. From this analysis, results like mode, mean, median, p value, CI and so on are always presented in a numerical format.

The author(s) should present the results clearly. These may be presented in graphs, charts or tables alongside some text. You should perform your own critique of the data analysis process; just because a paper has been published, it does not mean it is perfect. Your findings may be different from the author’s. Through critical analysis the reader may find an error in the study process that authors have not seen or highlighted. These errors can change the study result or change a study you thought was strong to weak. To help you critique a quantitative research paper, some guidance on understanding statistical terminology is provided in  table 1 .

Some basic guidance for understanding statistics

Quantitative studies examine the relationship between variables, and the p value illustrates this objectively.  11  If the p value is less than 0.05, the null hypothesis is rejected and the hypothesis is accepted and the study will say there is a significant difference. If the p value is more than 0.05, the null hypothesis is accepted then the hypothesis is rejected. The study will say there is no significant difference. As a general rule, a p value of less than 0.05 means, the hypothesis is accepted and if it is more than 0.05 the hypothesis is rejected.

The CI is a number between 0 and 1 or is written as a per cent, demonstrating the level of confidence the reader can have in the result. 12  The CI is calculated by subtracting the p value to 1 (1–p). If there is a p value of 0.05, the CI will be 1–0.05=0.95=95%. A CI over 95% means, we can be confident the result is statistically significant. A CI below 95% means, the result is not statistically significant. The p values and CI highlight the confidence and robustness of a result.

Discussion, recommendations and conclusion

The final section of the paper is where the authors discuss their results and link them to other literature in the area (some of which may have been included in the literature review at the start of the paper). This reminds the reader of what is already known, what the study has found and what new information it adds. The discussion should demonstrate how the authors interpreted their results and how they contribute to new knowledge in the area. Implications for practice and future research should also be highlighted in this section of the paper.

A few other areas you may find helpful are:

Limitations of the study.

Conflicts of interest.

Table 2 provides a useful tool to help you apply the learning in this paper to the critiquing of quantitative research papers.

Quantitative paper appraisal checklist

Competing interests None declared.

Patient consent Not required.

Provenance and peer review Commissioned; internally peer reviewed.

Correction notice This article has been updated since its original publication to update p values from 0.5 to 0.05 throughout.

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Free Quantitative Research Critique Research Paper Example

Type of paper: Research Paper

Topic: Study , Palliative Care , Nursing , Knowledge , Aliens , Information , Pain , Correlation

Published: 02/20/2023

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Prem, V., Krvannan, H., Kumar, S. P., Karthikbabu, S., Syeed, N., Sisodia, V., & Jaykumar, S. (2012). Study of Nurses’ Knowledge about Palliative Care: A Quantitative Cross-sectional Survey. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3477365/ Past studies have always been showing that nurses working in palliative care have got limited knowledge about they are supposed to be do in such settings. As such, this study was done to establish the knowledge levels that nurses working in this unit of healthcare have (Prem et al., 2012). To achieve this objective, the Palliative Care Knowledge Kit (PCKT) was used in the assessment process. Data collection was mainly focused on staff nurses working in palliative care units. The sample size was 363 participants drawn from the palliative care unit. Questionnaires were used to collect the data. The questions on the questionnaire had about 20 items which required the participants to provide answers to whether they were correct, incorrect or unsure. The questionnaires were subdivided into subsections that required the participants to give their responses concerning the philosophy of care, pain, dyspnea, psychiatric problems and gastrointestinal problems (Prem et al., 2012). This method of data collection was the appropriate one for this kind of study since the questions contained in the questionnaire served to collect the pertinent information concerning what the scope of the palliative nursing care is supposed to entail. Therefore, this method was suitable for this study. The usage of questionnaires as the sources of data collection for this study is both valid and reliable. The validity of the measure comes from the fact that the degree to which the results of the study were done was as a result of the experiment carried out. Additionally, the usage of the PCKT tool reduces the aspect of generalisability (Prem et al., 2012). The measures are also reliable since the tests done can be repeated over time without losing the intended objective of the study. Therefore, the aspect of consistency and homogeneity of the expected results is upheld in this situation. The statistical tests done for this study included making comparisons and carrying out correlation analyses. Comparisons were done for individual and professional variables for the study using ANOVA specifically focusing on the Bonferonni test. Correlation analysis was done by the application of the Karl-Pearson’s coefficient by using SPSS software version 11.5(Prem et al., 2012). These two methods were appropriate for the study in the sense that by comparing the responses of the participants in the study concerning palliative care, it would be easy to establish their competence in the care department they work. In the same line, correlation analyses are meant to ascertain the connection between the dependent and independent variables which in this case are the palliative care (dependent variable) and the core principles that define palliative care which are the independent variables. The overall PCKT tool result showed that the participants had a score of 7.16 representing 35.8% of the expected result. As such, the implication that this study has on the field of palliative care is that indeed care providers in this healthcare section are not adequately prepared to serve this purpose. Therefore, this study agrees with past researches done that palliative care nurses are not well versed with the services they are supposed to provide (Prem et al., 2012). This study has established the inadequacies that affect the palliative care unit. The nurses taking care of patients in this unit are not well acquainted with what their job is supposed to entail. As such, there is the need to review the nursing education, provide enough curriculum materials for pain management and generally, nurses to expand their knowledge on pain management and palliative care. These efforts are directed at improving service delivery and caregiving in the palliative care unit.

Prem, V., Krvannan, H., Kumar, S. P., Karthikbabu, S., Syeed, N., Sisodia, V., & Jaykumar, S. (2012). Study of Nurses’ Knowledge about Palliative Care: A Quantitative Cross-sectional Survey. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3477365/

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Quantitative research: critique process.

The first four steps in the critique of quantitative research are comprehension, comparison, analysis, and evaluation (Boswell & Cannon, 2014; Cutcliffe & Ward, 2014). The awareness of and the ability to apply the critique process in nursing research serves as a means of building the knowledge and awareness of the nursing student or nurse, allowing him or her to better understand the concepts involved in order to make critical decisions regarding the applicability of the knowledge contained within the article itself as it pertains to the work and workplace of the individual (Ingham-Broomfield, 2014). In order to better explore this topic, a critique of an article written by Feola, Boffano, Procopio, Reynaud, Allemano, and Rizzi (1998) entitled “Ambulatory 24-hour blood pressure monitoring: Correlation between blood pressure variability and left ventricular hypertrophy in untreated hypertensive patients” will be conducted using the four previously identified steps.

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In the critique process, comprehension refers to the ability of the reader to understand the terms or concepts that are described within the article, and the presence of the steps taken throughout the research process (Boswell & Cannon, 2014; Cutcliffe & Ward, 2014). All time frames are clearly defined within the article, all abbreviations used have a correlating term provided, indicating what the researchers were abbreviating specifically and the article flows in a logical format. Furthermore, the researchers documented the steps taken in the collection of data and in the completion of the study.

The next stage of the critique process is comparison. In this stage, the individual evaluating the article compares what is present within the study to the criteria or guidelines set forth for the completion of the study, much in the way a teacher compares a written assignment to a rubric (Boswell & Cannon, 2014; Cutcliffe & Ward, 2014). In this case, the guidelines for publication in Giornale Italiano di Cardiologia are not provided, nor are they available on the journal’s website (2017). In order to obtain the criteria for publication in the journal, an individual must contact the journal in writing (Giornale Italiano di Cardiologia, 2017). As such, this article cannot be assessed at the comparison stage, but, given the fact that the article was published by the journal, it is reasonable to assume that the article meets all of the criteria set forth for publication.

The third stage of the critique process is analysis. In this stage, the individual analyzing the article must determine whether the links between the different study elements are logical, looking at whether each of the different elements presented can be logically connected to the others in a rational fashion (Boswell & Cannon, 2014; Cutcliffe & Ward, 2014). Feola et al. (1998) provide the background, methods, results, and conclusions of their study. Each of these four sections of the study is clearly connected to the next, with the background clearly indicating the reason for the study, the methods being in line with the background information, the results in line with the methods used, and the conclusions sound, as based on the results section and the background information provided by the researchers.

In the final stage of the critique process, evaluation, the reader must determine the meaning and the significance of the study as they pertain to nursing, identifying whether or not the study is relevant to the nursing field (Boswell & Cannon, 2014; Cutcliffe & Ward, 2014). As it is typically the responsibility of nurses to document and record blood pressure variations, and in cases where electronic automatic blood pressure readers are not used, to take the patient’s blood pressure as well, the identification of a correlation between blood pressure variability and left ventricular hypertrophy in patients who are not being treated for a hypertensive condition but who are hypertensive, is pertinent to the profession.

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Example of a Quantitative Research Paper

Posted by Rene Tetzner | Sep 4, 2021 | How To Get Published | 0 |

Example of a Quantitative Research Paper

Example of a Quantitative Research Paper for Students & Researchers This example of a quantitative research paper is designed to help students and other researchers who are learning how to write about their work. The reported research observes the behaviour of restaurant customers, and example paragraphs are combined with instructions for logical argumentation. Authors are encouraged to observe a traditional structure for organising quantitative research papers, to formulate research questions, working hypotheses and investigative tools, to report results accurately and thoroughly, and to present thoughtful interpretation and logical discussion of evidence.

The structure of the example and the nature of its contents follow the recommendations of the   Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association . This APA style calls for parenthetical author–date citations in the paper’s main text (with page numbers when material is quoted) and a final list of complete references for all sources cited, so I have given a few sample references here. Content has been kept as simple as possible to focus attention on the way in which the paper presents the research process and its results. As is the case in many research projects, the more the author learns and thinks about the topic, the more complex the issues become, and here the researcher discusses a hypothesis that proved incorrect. An APA research paper would normally include additional elements such as an abstract, keywords and perhaps tables, figures and appendices similar to those referred to in the example. These elements have been eliminated for brevity here, so do be sure to check the APA   Manual   (or any other guidelines you are following) for the necessary instructions.

sample critique papers of quantitative research

Surprises at a Local “Family” Restaurant: Example Quantitative Research Paper

A quantitative research paper with that title might start with a paragraph like this:

Quaintville, located just off the main highway only five miles from the university campus, may normally be a sleepy community, but recent plans to close the only fast-food restaurant ever to grace its main street have been met with something of a public outcry. Regular clients argue that Pudgy’s Burgers fills a vital function and will be sorely missed. As the editor of the  Quaintville Times  would have it, “good old Pudgy’s is the only restaurant in Quaintville where a working family can still get a decent meal for a fair buck, and a comfortable place to eat it too, out of the winter wind where the kids can run about and play a bit” (Chapton, 2017, p. A3). On the other hand, the most outspoken of Quaintville residents in favour of the planned closure look forward to the eradication of a local eyesore and tend to consider the restaurant more of “a hazard than a benefit to the health of some of our poorest families” (“Local dive,” 2017, p. 1).

Following this opening a brief introduction to published scholarship and other issues associated with the problem would be appropriate, so here the researcher might add a paragraph or two discussing:

• A selection of recently published studies that investigate the effect of inexpensive fast-food restaurants on the health of low-income families, especially their children (Shunts, 2013; Whinner, 2015). • Fast-food restaurants that have responded to criticism about the quality of their food by offering healthy menu items. This could be enhanced with evidence that when such choices are available, they are rare purchases for many families (Parkson, 2016), particularly in small towns and rural areas (Shemble, 2017). • The interesting trend in several independent studies suggesting that families form a much smaller portion of the clientele of fast-food restaurants than anticipated.

sample critique papers of quantitative research

Explaining how the current research is related to the published scholarship as well as the specific problem is vital. Here, for instance, the author might be thinking that Pudgy’s, which has healthy menu items as well as the support of so many long-term residents, will prove an exception to the trends revealed by other studies. Research questions and hypotheses should be constructed to articulate and explore that idea. Research questions, for instance, could be developed from that claim in the   Quaintville Times   as well as from the published scholarship:

• Do families constitute the majority of Pudgy’s regular clientele? • Does the restaurant offer a decent family meal for a fair price? • Do families linger in the restaurant’s comfort and warmth?> • Do children use the indoor play area provided by the restaurant?

Working hypotheses can be constructed by anticipating answers to these questions. The example paper assumes a simple hypothesis something along the lines of “Families do indeed constitute the majority of Pudgy’s clientele.” The exact opposite supposition would work as well – “Families do not constitute the majority of Pudgy’s clientele” – and so would hypotheses exploring and combining other aspects of the situation, such as “Pudgy’s healthy menu options and indoor play area are positive and appealing considerations for families” or “The comfortable atmosphere of Pudgy’s with its play area makes it much more than a restaurant for local families.”

sample critique papers of quantitative research

The exact wording of your questions and hypotheses will ultimately depend on your focus and aims, but certain terms, concepts and categories may require definition to ensure precision in communicating your ideas to readers. Here, for instance, exactly what is meant by ‘a family,’ ‘a decent meal,’ ‘a fair price’ and even ‘comfortable’ could be briefly but carefully defined. A general statement about your understanding of how the current research will explore the problem, answer your questions and test your hypotheses is usually required as well, setting the stage for the more detailed Method section that follows. This statement might be something as simple as “I intend to observe the restaurant’s customers over a two-month period with the objective of learning about Pudgy’s clientele and measuring the use and value of the establishment for local families.” On the other hand, outlining your research might require a paragraph or two of introductory discussion.

Method Whether a brief general statement or a longer explanation of how the research will proceed appears among your introductory material, it is in the Method section that you should report exactly what you did to conduct your investigation, explain the conditions and controls you applied to increase the reliability and value of your research, and reveal any difficulties you encountered. For example:

My observations took place at Pudgy’s Burgers in January and February of 2018. Each session was approximately four hours long, and I aimed to obtain an equivalent number of observations for all opening hours of the week (the restaurant’s hours are listed in Table 1), but course requirements made this difficult. Tuesday and Thursday afternoons are therefore underrepresented, and observations from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm on two consecutive Tuesdays (6 and 13 February) are the work of my classmate, Jake Jenkins. Without his assistance, I could not have met my objective of gathering observations for every opening hour of the week at least twice (Table 2 outlines the overall pattern of observation sessions). Serving staff at the restaurant assure me that I have now “seen ‘em all,” so I believe my observations have resulted in a representative sampling of local customers over two months when that “winter wind” has been especially busy about its work.

To avoid detection by the customers I was observing and the possibility of altering their behaviour, I obtained permission from Pudgy’s manager, Mr Jobson, to sit at the staff table in a dark and quiet corner of the restaurant where clients never go. This table is labelled in the plan of Pudgy’s Burgers and its grounds that I have included as Figure 1. From there I could see the customers both at the service counter and at their tables, but they could not see me, at least not clearly, and if they did, they paid me no more attention than they did the restaurant employees. From the staff table I could also see the row of indoor park-style children’s toys running down the north wall of windows, as well as the take out lane and the people waiting in their cars.

A Method section often features subheadings to separate and present particularly important aspects of the research methodology, such as the Customer Fact Sheet developed and used by the author of this study.

The Customer Fact Sheet Recording thorough and equivalent information about every Pudgy’s customer I observed was crucial for quantifying and analysing the results of my study. I therefore prepared a Customer Fact Sheet (included as Appendix I at the end of this paper) for gathering key pieces of information and recording observations about each individual, couple or group who purchased food or beverages. This sheet ensured that vital details such as date, weather conditions, time of arrival, eat in or take out order, number in party, approximate age of individuals, food purchased, food consumed, healthy choices, amount spent, who paid, dessert or extra beverage, children playing, interaction with other children and families, time of departure and other important details were recorded in every case. The Customer Fact Sheet proved particularly helpful when my classmate performed observations for me and was invaluable for evaluating the data I collected. I initially hoped to complete at least 500 of these Customer Fact Sheets and was pleased to increase that number by 100 for a total of 600 or an average of just over 10 per day over the 59 days of the study.

Notice in the three example paragraphs for the Method section that clear references to Tables 1 & 2, Figure 1 and Appendix I are provided to let readers know when and why these extra elements are relevant and helpful. Be sure also to include in your description of methods any additional approaches or sources of information that should be considered part of your research procedures, such as:

• Receipt information about customer purchases provided by the restaurant manager. • Conversations with restaurant servers who might confirm family relationships and estimated ages or tell you what was eaten and what was not by particular customer groups. • The analysis you performed to make sense of your results, such as counting customers, meals and behaviours and working out percentages and averages overall as well as for certain categories in order to answer the research questions.

Results The Results section is where you report what you discovered during your research, including the findings that do not support your hypothesis (or hypotheses) as well as those that do. Returning to your research questions to indicate exactly how the data you gathered answers them is an excellent way to stay focused and enable the selectivity that may be necessary to meet length requirements or maintain a clear line of argumentation. A Results section for the Pudgy’s research project might start like this:

The results of my investigation were both surprising and more complex than I had anticipated. I asked whether families constituted the majority of Pudgy’s clientele and assumed they did, but my research shows that they do not (see Figure 2 for information on customer categories). Even when the loosest definition of family as explained in my introduction is applied, only slightly over 25% (152) of the 600 Customer Fact Sheets record family visits to the restaurant. Among them fathers alone with their children are the most frequent patrons (68 Customer Fact Sheets or nearly 45% of the family category). The only day of the week on which families approach 50% of the restaurant’s customers is Sunday, particularly in the afternoon, when family groups account for 48% of the total customers averaged over the eight Sundays of observation. On all other days of the week, individual customers are the most frequent patrons, with their numbers hovering around 50% on most days. Single men visit the restaurant more often than any other customers and constitute as much as 61% of the clientele on a few weekday evenings.

The report of results might then continue by providing information about other categories of customer, what different types of customers ate and did, and any additional results that help answer the other research questions posed in the introductory paragraphs. Major trends revealed by the data should be reported, and both content and writing style should be clear and factual. Interpretation and discussion are best saved for the Discussion section except in those rare instances when guidelines indicate that research results and discussion should be combined in a single section.  Although you will need to inform readers about any mathematical or statistical analysis of your raw data if you have not already done so in the Method section, the raw data itself is usually not appropriate for a short research paper. Selecting the most convincing and relevant evidence as the focus is, however, and the raw data can usually be made available via a university’s website or a journal’s online archives for expert readers and future researchers.

Discussion The Discussion section of a quantitative paper is where you interpret your research results and discuss their implications. Here the hypotheses as well as the research questions established in the introductory material are important. Were your primary suppositions confirmed by your results or not? Be precise and concise as you discuss your findings, but keep in mind that matters need not be quite as black and white or as strictly factual as they were in the Results section. Your ideas and argument should be soundly based on the data you collected, of course, but the Discussion is the place for describing complexities and expressing uncertainties as well as offering interpretations and explanations. The following opening briefly restates primary findings, picks up other important threads from the Results section and sets the stage for discussing the complexities involved in assessing the true value of Pudgy’s to the Quaintville community:

Although I had anticipated that families constitute the majority of Pudgy’s clientele, the evidence gathered over two months of observation does not support this supposition. In fact, individuals are the most frequent customers, with groups of teenagers running a close second. These teenagers are often in the restaurant when families are and they sometimes sit on the indoor toys instead of at the plastic tables and chairs, which I can confirm as extremely uncomfortable. On a few occasions the presence of teenagers appeared to intimidate the children and prevent them from playing on the facilities intended for them. In accordance with Parkson (2016) and Shemble (2017), my research also showed that most families who eat at Pudgy’s do not choose the healthier low-fat menu items, with the limited number and extremely high prices of these items offering little incentive. The few parents who make healthy choices for themselves and their children often do not insist upon the children eating those items, adding waste (of both food and money) to the problem. Furthermore, although Pudgy’s prices for their more traditional fast-food items are the lowest in town, at least two of the restaurants in Quaintville offer equivalent meals for similar prices and far healthier ones for just a little more.

The claim, then, in the  Quaintville Times  that “good old Pudgy’s is the only restaurant in Quaintville where a working family can still get a decent meal for a fair buck, and a comfortable place to eat it too, out of the winter wind where the kids can run about and play a bit” (Chapton, 2017, p.A3) is revealed as more sentiment than fact. It would be equally erroneous, however, to insist that Pudgy’s Burgers has no value for the local community or to call it more of “a hazard…to the health of some of our poorest families” (“Local dive,” 2017, p.1) than any other restaurants serving burgers and chips in Quaintville. Indeed, I suspect those “poorest families” very rarely visit local restaurants at all, but my observations have revealed a great deal about who does eat at Pudgy’s, what they do when they are there and what kind of value the establishment actually has for Quaintville residents.

The discussion could then continue with information about the customers, behaviours and other issues that render the findings more complex and the restaurant more valuable to the community than the primary results noted above may indicate:

• Perhaps the restaurant serves a vital function as a social gathering place for all those single customers. Do they usually remain alone or do they meet up with others to linger and talk over coffee or lunch? • Do the teenagers who gather at Pudgy’s have an alternative place to meet out of the cold? In towns without recreation centres or other facilities for teens, restaurants with informal, open-door policies can be vital. Where might those teenagers go or what might they be doing were Pudgy’s not there? • Even though the evidence showed that families are not the most frequent customers, you may want to consider the value the restaurant has for the families who do use it. Those single fathers are certainly worthy of some attention, for instance, and perhaps family groups occasionally met up with other families, ate together and then lingered for dessert and talk as their children enjoyed the toys. This would be worth discussing too. • Less measurable considerations viewed through a qualitative research lens may be helpful as well, but the data collected through observations should support such discussions. Remember as you analyse your data, reflect on your findings, determine their meaning and develop your argument that it is important to keep the limitations of your methodology and thus of your results and their implications clearly in mind.

Offering recommendations is also standard in the Discussion section of a quantitative research paper, and here recommendations might be particularly useful if the franchise had not yet finalised its decision about closing Pudgy’s and was actively seeking community feedback. The researcher might suggest that Pudgy’s could better serve families by increasing the number of healthy food items on the menu, offering these for more affordable prices and making an effort to keep the teenagers off the children’s toys. Finally, the last part of a Discussion usually provides concluding comments, so summarising your key points and clearly articulating the main messages you want your readers to take away with them are essential. In some organisational templates, Conclusions are offered in a separate final section of the paper instead of at the end of the Discussion, so always check the guidelines.

References These references follow APA style, but since special fonts may not display properly in all online situations, please note that the titles of books and the names and volume numbers of journals are (and should be) in italic font. The list represents a sample only; a paper the length of the one posited in this example would almost certainly mention, discuss and list more than half a dozen studies and sources.

Chapton, D. (2017, September 29). Will Quaintville lose its favourite family restaurant?  Quaintville Times , pp. A1, A3. Local dive sees last days. (2017, Autumn).  Quaintville Community Newsletter , pp. 1–2. Shemble, M. (2017). Is anyone really eating healthy fast food in rural towns?  Country Food & Families ,  14 , 12–23. Shunts, P. (2013). The true cost of high-fat fast food for low-income families.  Journal of Family Health & Diet ,  37 , 3–19. Parkson, L. (2016). Family diets, fast foods and unhealthy choices. In S. Smith & J. Jones (eds.),  Modern diets and family health  (pp. 277–294). Philadelphia, PA: The Family Press. Whinner, N. (2015). Healthy families take time: The impact of fatty fast foods on child health.  Journal of Family Health & Diet ,  39 , 31–43.

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Example of a Quantitative Research Paper This example is organised into introductory material, method, results & discussion.

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How to Critique a Research Paper

Published 25 August 2021

How to Critique a Research Paper

You might be asked by your teachers and professors in college to critique an article or research paper to reveal its authenticity through criticism. A research paper critique considers both negative and positive points of the research paper before giving any statement about the Research Paper. Students having no idea about how to critique a research paper can take the help of the following tips given for the research paper critique. My Research Topics experts give their guidance to critique a research paper to the students.

Useful tips and examples are cited below for the students to understand the process of critiquing a research paper with expertise. Make sure that you are not skipping these tips as professional research paper writers of My Research Topics have suggested these guiding tips to the students.

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Read the entire research paper before start critiquing it.

If you have been assigned with writing a research paper critique make sure that you have finished the primary reading of the research paper. It is very important to read the research paper carefully till the end It will help the students to find out certain useful leads to a critique of a research paper. Also, research topics for the critique also become easy to find. You can also take the help to critique a research paper from the professional research paper helpers of the My Research Topics. So do not show a casual approach a write high-quality research paper on the deadline assigned to you.

Note down some important arguments that are discussed in the paper

While reading the research paper it is the responsibility of the students to note down important points of the research paper. These important points include the arguments that the writer of the research paper has risen through his writing the paper. It will help the students to start critiquing their research paperwork. Students can pin these points on the paper and then while finding the research leads these arguments could serve this purpose easily. Help from the certified and professional research paper helpers could be taken by the students. High qualities help in critiquing arguments of the research paper is given to the students and that is to all the time.

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Do research on the authenticity of these arguments and resources used

The next step in the process of article critique is to check the authenticity of the arguments that are written by the writers of a research paper. This authenticity could be checked only through performing research on the resources used and how authentic they were. If research is done by using authentic resources and by applying a correct research methodology authenticity of the research paper could be checked. Help in checking the research paper’s authenticity to the students is given by Myresearchtopics .com experts to the students. So make sure that you are taking this help to check whether the given arguments of the research paper are authentic or not.

Write the validity of the solutions given for these arguments

The next step in writing the research paper article is to check the validity of the solutions that research paper writers have given to the arguments of the topic. These solutions must be practical in nature which could be applied to real life. There are many solutions that the research paper contains that are of no use when it comes to applying them on the real grounds. Such solutions must be disclosed by the critique while critiquing a research paper. Help to critique the research paper solutions is given by the My Research Topics Experts to the students.

So if you are assigned such a task take the help of experts for this task. There is no value in the solutions given for the troubles discussed related to the research paper topics if they are not useful in the real part of life. A research paper critique must keep this point in mind before giving an unbiased research paper critique to the professors. A high score could be obtained by following this philosophy.

Give your personal critical analysis at the end

When all the above tasks are completed by the students the final step is to give an overall personal criticism on the research paper. It is what the critique personally feels about the research paper. But it does not mean that anything could be said about the research paper as every statement has to be substantiated with valid reasons and examples. So this is the most difficult task that students do in their personal critical analysis while writing a research paper critique. Seek the help of the My Research Topics experts to complete research paper critique assignments on time with these experts and submit them before the deadline.

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Conclude your article critique

Finally, conclude your research paper critiquing at the end by giving a research conclusion at the end. You can give the overall review of the entire critique of the research paper that you have written so far. Both negative and positive aspects of the research paper need to be discussed at this stage. Do not include new points at this part of the time. You have to show the success of your article critique at this point in time. You have the option to seek help from the My Research Topics Experts as well. High-quality help in writing research paper critiques is given to the students by these experts.

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QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH is a systematic approach to investigating numerical data and involves measuring or counting attributes, that is quantities. Through a process of transforming information that is collected or observed, the researcher can often describes a situation or event, answering the 'what' and 'how many' questions about a situation ( Parahoo 2014 ).

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Critique of A Qualitative Research

Critique of A Qualitative Research

Article: The Experience of Acupuncture for Treatment of Substantial Dependence, by Kunsook Song Bernstein

The study has a clear title and abstract statements. The purpose of the study, the research design and methods used and the findings and conclusions were briefly but adequately explained in the abstract. However, literature synthesis is not provided. Nonetheless, the abstract is able to distinguish the specific purpose identified for the research and how the actual procedures and findings matched the problem.

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While the author recognizes the dearth of materials on the subject matter, she comes to this study from a number of conceptual perspectives, most prominent of which are concepts of traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture treatment of substance abuse. A cursory study of related materials that were available at the time of the research reveals that the author has made an exhaustive presentation of theories and findings of previous researches. The author presents an integrative literature review and gives a critical analysis of the significance, methods, and inadequacies of previous researches on the use of acupuncture as an alternative treatment mode to substance abuse. Discussing concepts of traditional Chinese medicine and the Chinese medical theory of substance abuse helped to broaden the focus. Overall, the literature review is written from an interpretive definitive voice (e.g. they reported, they claimed) as a dimensional analysis.

While the portion on literature review in the introduction is well organized, it does not, however, effectively establish the framework for the way in which the researcher proposes to achieve the purpose of the study. The proposed research method, i.e. phenomenological investigation, and the theoretical foundations of phenomenological tradition as a paradigm in qualitative studies are not explained.

The purpose of the research is to “explore the meaning of substance abuser’s experience while receiving acupuncture as a part of the treatment for substance dependence” (Bernstein, 2000). The study hinges on the importance of studying the facets of substance abuse and of finding ways to improve efforts for prevention and control. She claims that although there were studies already conducted to study the effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment mode to substance abuse, research has yet to address acupuncture as a treatment for substance abuse through the exploration of a substance abuser’s experiences with acupuncture (Bernstein, 2000). Thus, the author succinctly establishes the significance of her investigation.

While the report does not have any explanation on the philosophical background or assumptions of phenomenological theory as a research method, the author explicitly identified the source of the theoretical framework, enumerated the steps entailed in this method and justified its use as being appropriate to the purpose of the study.

Typical of qualitative studies, the participants of the study were chosen from among a group of individuals who match the criteria and who can contribute to the purposes of the investigation.   The researcher claims that redundancy was used as the primary criterion in sample selection which implies that homogeneity was achieved. Twelve patients of a detoxification and rehabilitation unit for substance and gambling addictions were recommended by a volunteer informant. The final sample size was eight subjects who were chosen after having been interviewed by the researcher. Choosing only those patients who have not tried acupuncture as a treatment mode is commendable as it contributed to the reliability of the results. Nonetheless, the small sample size is acceptable for a pioneering study such as this.

Interviewing is a central method in phenomenological studies. This was used by the researcher to explore the experiences of the participants during acupuncture treatment. How the interview was conducted was sufficiently explained by the author but she does not elaborate on the specific questions asked during the interview. The author mentioned she used Giorgi modification method for data analysis and enumerated the steps in accordance to this method but does not explicitly describe the approaches to coding the data and condensing the data in meaningful form. The phenomenological method was very appropriate for the study because this particular qualitative method is often used in situations with a strong emotional element, since it emphasizes experience above thought (Giorgi, 1985). Although the outcome of Giorgi’s method is usually a descriptive statement rather than a list of categories, the researcher was able to come up with a list of themes to give a more substantive presentation of findings.

Overall, the aspects of the research design, data collection and analysis remain true to the rules and assumptions of qualitative research.

At this juncture, it should be pointed out that other design elements could have been incorporated to strengthen the study. For example, a longitudinal perspective could produce more solid evidences on the effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment to substance abuse, although this was properly acknowledged by the researcher at the end of the report.

Bernstein was successful in integrating theories and findings of previous researches in her discussion of results. She underscores that her findings indicate that acupuncture can be viewed as a complex phenomenon and further studies should be conducted. Although her study was limited in sample size and one-time interview, her preliminary findings are consistent with the related literature and buttress the use of acupuncture as a treatment to substance abuse.

Although validity and reliability are concepts which do not translate well to a qualitative paradigm, the researcher strived to address validity and reliability issues through a number of steps. In sampling, she availed of the expertise of a psychiatrist who determined the diagnosis based on DSM-IV criteria and validated the diagnosis of substance dependence. The researcher sought to ensure credibility of the volunteer informant by choosing someone who has more than 10 years experience in the field of substance abuse and independence. In data collection and analysis, the researcher followed Giorgi’s phenomenological method to ensure reliability of the procedure of identifying and documenting recurrent themes of experiences reported by the participants. She used an external auditors, i.e. other mental health clinicians (but as to how many is not indicated), for critique of the synthesized insights and results.

Basing from the intrinsic limitations of the study, Bernstein lists a number of recommendations to follow up her research among which is the conduct of related studies that either strengthen data collection techniques or broaden the time and setting of the study.

The significance of this study as implied by the researcher in her concluding statements lies in its contribution to knowledge the dimensions of substance abuse and on acupuncture as a treatment modality in order to aid health care providers in incorporating alternative approaches to their practices.

Overall, the research reflects consistency between procedure, data and interpretation. The author was able to make reasonable and founded interpretations from her findings. The researcher adequately applied the principles of qualitative research to come out with a valid and reliable study.

References:

Bersntein, K.S (2000). The experience of acupuncture for treatment of substance dependence. Journal of Nursing Scholarship . Fall 2000 v32 i3 p267.

Giorgi, A. “Sketch of a psychological phenomenological method”. In: Giorgi A (ed). Phenomenology and Psychological Research. Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne Press, 1985.

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Critique of A Qualitative Research. (2016, Nov 08). Retrieved from https://graduateway.com/critique-of-a-qualitative-research/

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sample critique papers of quantitative research

Sample and Design Critique

Sample and Design Critique The purpose of this paper is to critique the design‚ sample and ethical issues used in the selected research studies. The article “The Experience of Patients Undergoing Awake Craniotomy” is a qualitative study. The overall purpose of the study is as Palese‚ Skrap‚ Fachin‚ Visioli‚ and Zannini‚ (2008) states‚ “Although different techniques are used‚ very little has been documented about how the patients feels‚ what they think about‚ or how they approach this type of surgery

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Research Critique

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research critique

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sample critique papers of quantitative research

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A Research Critique

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Abstract The purpose of this paper was to critique a research paper that explored the experiences and attitudes of mental health nursing students towards using cigarettes as a means of controlling client behavior. A survey was used with the information broken down into graphs. Overall‚ the data showed that the respondents generally did not like this practice. There were both ethical and moral dilemmas involved using lifestyle risk factors as rewards or a patient’s addiction as a way of modifying

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can reduce the incidence of urinary catheterization‚ and consequently this will enhance the patients’ safety. Critique Part 1 Research Questions or Hypotheses The background and significance of this study are properly presented in the introduction. The research question is presented at the end of the introduction of this article. Saint et al. (2005) develop the research question based on the scientific backgrounds they selected and reviewed: “Is a urinary catheter reminder effective

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Critique: Sample Size and Personal Message

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“It usually comes as a surprise to students to learn that some (the purists would say up to 99% of) published articles belong in the bin, and should certainly not be used to inform practice. Trisha Greenhalgh, How to Read a Paper: The Basics of Evidence-Based Medicine

When asked to write a critique of a journal article for an an assignment your job is to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of that article and decide if it achieved what it set out to do.

What is a journal critique assignment?

A journal critique assignment is a piece of writing in which you assess the effectiveness of a journal article in achieving its stated aims and evaluate its value as a reliable resource. You will most commonly be asked to critique a piece of primary (empirical) research though critiquing theoretical papers or literature reviews is also possible.

Sometimes you will be asked to undertake a comparative review where you critique more than one article and compare them.

Choosing an article to critique

You may be provided with an article to critique or you may be asked to find articles that meet certain criteria. For example you may be asked to find a piece of primary research on a certain topic or you may be asked to find a piece of quantitative research and a piece of qualitative research on a certain topic so that you can evaluate the approaches used.

Recognising primary research

icon of magnifying glass look at the world

Primary research (sometimes called empirical research) is research where the author has collected the data directly themselves . This could be through experimentation, surveys, observations or other means. To identify a piece of primary research look out for sections such as "Methods" or "Methodology" which show how the data have been collected. Be careful about systematic reviews though - see the note below.

Recognising secondary research

icon of a magnifying glass looking at a document

Secondary research is that which uses the findings of others as its data . A literature review is the most obvious type but it could also include other forms of theoretical paper. They are usually identified by their lack of a methods/methodology section. However, see note about systematic reviews below.

Note about systematic reviews

Systematic reviews are the exception to the rules above as they are a form of secondary research which does include a methodology section. Luckily, they are usually easy to spot as they are keen to make it clear what they are and usually include something like 'a systematic review' in the title of the paper (or mention the fact in the abstract at the very least).

Recognising quantitative research

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Quantitative research usually involves statistical analysis to identify whether the data collected is statistically significant. There will usually be tables or graphs showing the data in numerical format and an indication of which statistical tests have been used to analyse them. Generally, if you see lots of numbers, it's probably quantitative.

Recognising qualitative research

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Qualitative research explores and understand people's beliefs, experiences, behaviour, attitudes and interactions. It generates non-numerical data and so can be recognised by a lack of statistical analysis. It can also be helpful to look out for the data collection techniques which are commonly focus groups, interviews, observations and documentary analysis (many other forms too but these are the most popular).

How to critique

First, it is important to recognise that a critique is not just about finding things wrong with a paper . It is about evaluating it as a piece of research: good, bad or indifferent. Evaluation means coming to a judgment about and assessing something's worth. You are therefore looking to see if the claims it makes appear to be valid and if the conclusions make a useful contribution to the field . This involves asking questions of each part of the article. The following tables are adapted from Coughlan et al. (2007) and Ryan et al. (2007)  and show typical questions you need to ask and how to find out the answer (this could be further, more specific questions to ask).

Assessing credibility (should you trust it?)

Assessing robustness (is it good research).

Coughlan, M., Cronin, P., & Ryan, F. (2007) Step-by-step guide to critiquing research. Part 1: quantitative research.  British Journal of Nursing , 16(11), 658-663.

Ryan, F., Coughlan, M., & Cronin, P. (2007) Step-by-step guide to critiquing research. Part 2: qualitative research.  British Journal of Nursing, 16(12), 738-744.

Coming to your own conclusions

You need to complete your review by providing a personal judgment on how effective the research was in achieving its aims and how well the article described the research.

You could include information on:

Is the research timely?

Is the research design appropriately inclusive and/or sensitive to the cultural context?

Are you aware of any omissions or errors that might affect the reliability of the research?

Are the results original and significant?

Does the author provide new ideas or cause new questions to be asked?

Is the article unbiased, objective (if required) and reasonable?

Is the author respectful of participants and other researchers?

Is the report structured well with sections an appropriate length?

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    Sample and Design Critique The purpose of this paper is to critique the design‚ sample and ethical issues used in the selected research studies. The article "The Experience of Patients Undergoing Awake Craniotomy" is a qualitative study. The overall purpose of the study is as Palese‚ Skrap‚ Fachin‚ Visioli‚ and Zannini‚ (2008) states‚ "Although different techniques are used ...

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    A journal critique assignment is a piece of writing in which you assess the effectiveness of a journal article in achieving its stated aims and evaluate its value as a reliable resource. You will most commonly be asked to critique a piece of primary (empirical) research though critiquing theoretical papers or literature reviews is also possible ...