Nursing Article Critique
Introduction
Article critiques are used to analyze the quality and reliability of information that is presented in research articles. Similarly, the nature of research design is analyzed to ensure that the researcher uses the most appropriate for that particular study as there are specific studies that incorporate qualitative while others quantitative research method. Hence it is important for the researcher to ensure that they have understood the scope of their research as a way of establishing the best method while the relationship between the title of article and information contained in the body of the text is determined to identify coherence.
Discussion
Descriptive vividness
The significance of the study was exhaustively established by addressing the experiences of the nurses after attending the refresher courses, in addition to looking into their implications on the nursing field. Similarly, the purpose of the research is exhibited quite substantially after the researcher conducted face-to-face interviews with the nurses before and after attending the refresher courses. This was paramount in establishing reliable facts and information regarding their experiences. However, the interpretation of the quotes did not ease the ability to understand the themes better as the quotes were quite easy to comprehend hence more outright without the explanations (Munhall, 2007).
Methodological congruence
Despite the fact that the participants were properly documented in the study, substantial information about them was illustrated or obtained. This included vital personal questions such as past nursing experiences as there could have been a difference in experiences of young nurses after the course and mature ones even if all had been employed within six months of completing the course. The selection of the sample was not logical as the size was quite small keeping in mind that hundreds of nurses undertake the course every year hence biasness was presented in this case. Similarly, the fact that all participants originated from almost the same geographical region indicated that they shared a similar workplace environment which could have generated discrepancies in the results. The amount of information regarding locality of the nurses, as well as, their personal lives at home was sufficient to establish the nature of social life. Consequently, the rural setting and the urban setting where the nurses worked presented new diverse variables as each area had its own challenges (Parahoo, 2006).
The theoretical basis of the study was established along the lines of nurse shortage in the country. The other theoretical base of the study was due to the fact that the researcher had taken a similar course at some point hence there was need to establish if all nurses have the same experience. The assumptions used by the researcher in the study were not stated in the course of writing the paper hence it would be difficult to establish if they were congruent with data collection methods used. An open dialogue was used when extracting information from participants as the researcher had carried out a trust wining conversation first before embarking on the interviews (Munhall, 2007).
The research questions used to collect data were quite exploratory although the data collection procedure was not expounded on effectively. A single interview was conducted for the participants and the amount of time spent on the interviews was minimal due to the tight schedules of the participants. Consequently, the method used to access the participants was logical as permission was requested from the university they had conducted their refresher courses with was sought. While the role of the researcher during the study is not described in the article, the expertise and experience in the field of nursing has being vividly explained (Burns and Grove, 2007).
Ethical considerations for the study such as making the participants aware of their rights, as well as, presentation of a signed consent form were adhered to effectively. Similarly, the rights of the participants were protected by creating pseudonyms for them.
The data collected and results of the study are sequential such that a reader can follow the procedures easily to arrive at the conclusion. However, maximal participant quotes reduced the degree to which the findings can be substantiated. Similarly, the data collected provided sufficient links between the findings and the conclusion hence validating the data (Parahoo, 2006).
Analytical and interpretative preciseness
The categories, as well as, themes of the article present a whole picture of the nursing experience after the refresher course. The article does not indicate at any point that participants obtained a copy of the findings although they were able to take part in editing and verifications. Data analysis was conducted by the researcher alone and the different conclusions were incorporated into sections dependent on the source or question that prompted the answer (Parahoo, 2006).
Philosophical and theoretical connectedness
The data collected was related to nursing practice as it entailed various concepts in the field such as academic level, area of participation and applicable skills. The researcher had a well laid out theoretical basis of the study and appropriate citations were used in the article. Similarly, the theoretical basis of the study was connected to the data collected and the interpretation given by the researcher. However, it would be difficult to determine if the basis was connected to the assumptions as they were not stated overly (Burns, 2007).
Heuristic relevance
The phenomenon described in this essay depicts the experiences that are conceived by nurses who have just completed the refresher course. Therefore, the findings are consistent with common experiences as a change of academic level and status is often exhibited by diverse experiences which vary among individuals (Munhall, 2007).
Sufficient examination was conducted on the existing bodies of knowledge as the nature of information and citations used are relevant to the topic. The findings of other researchers on the topic have been used as the basis of introducing the topic and making it relevant to the reader. The findings of this study are illustrated as different as they provide solid recommendations for the government to reduce shortage of nurses due to the experiences of ‘after refresher courses’ (Parahoo, 2006).
The findings of the study are relevant to nurses as they provide adequate information on how to overcome the problems associated with getting back to nursing after a refresher course. Similarly, the learner had an opportunity to learn more after examining the findings as some of the details were unique to this study. The article does not recommend further study on the topic hence it appears that the researcher exhausted everything regarding the study (Munhall, 2007).
References
Burns, N and Grove, S (2007). Understanding nursing research: Building an evidence based practice (4th ed.), St. Louis, MO: Saunders
Munhall, P.L. (2007), Nursing research: a qualitative perspective. 4th ed.Jones & Bartlett Learning
Parahoo, K. (2006), Nursing research: principles, process and issues. 2nd ed. Palgrave Macmillan.
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