Urmeka, T. J. (2013). Infant feeding attitudes and breastfeeding intentions of black college students. Western Journal of Nursing, 2013: 1-20.

arch Critique
Research Article Critique One
From the following quantitative nursing research article:
Urmeka, T. J. (2013). Infant feeding attitudes and breastfeeding intentions of black college students. Western Journal of Nursing, 2013: 1-20.
Complete a critique of the information provided in the article. You will need to answer the following questions:
Box 2-1
1- Was the study approved by an Institutional Review Board (IRB)?
2- Was informed consent obtained from the subjects?
3- Is there information about provisions for anonymity or confidentiality?
4- Were vulnerable subjects used?
5- Does it appear that subjects might have been coerced into acting as subjects?
6- Is it evident that the benefits of participation in the study was outweighed the risks involved?
7- Were subjects provided the opportunity to ask questions about the study and told how to contact the researcher if other questions arose?
8- Were the subjects told how they could obtain the results of the study?

Table of Contents

Box 5-1
1- Is the research problem area clear?
2- Is there a succinct problem statement, purpose statement, or research question?
3- Are the study variables and the population included?
4- Can a determination be made as to whether the study was a quantitative or qualitative study?
5- Can a decision be made that empirical data were gathered on the topic of interest?
6- Does it appear that the study was ethical?
7- Is the feasibility of the study evident?
8- Is the significance of the study to nursing apparent?
Box 6-1
1- Is the literature review comprehensive?
2- Is the literature review concise?
3- Does the review flow logically from the purposes of the study?
4- Are all sources relevant to the study topic?
5- Are sources critically appraised?
6- Are both classic and current sources included?
7- Are paraphrases or direct quotes used most often?
8- Are both supporting and opposing theory and research presented?
9- Can a determination be made if sources are primary or secondary?
10- Are all sources that are cited in the article on the reference list?
11- Do the references appear to be free of citation errors?
Box 7-1
1- Is that framework clearly indentified?
2- Is the framework based on a nursing theory or a theory from another discipline?
3- Does the framework appear to be appropriate for the study?
4- Are the concepts clearly defined?
5- Are the relationships among the concepts clearly presented?
6- Are the propositional statements identified that will guide the research questions or hypothesis?
7- Are operational definitions provided for the theoretical concepts that will be tested?
8- Does the researcher relate the study findings back to the study framework?
9- Do the study findings provide support for the study framework?

Box 8-1
1- Does the study contain a hypothesis?
2- Is each hypothesis clearly worded and concise?
3- Is the hypothesis written in a declarative sentence?
4- Is each hypothesis directly tied to the study problem?
5- If there is a clearly identified study framework, is each hypothesis derived from this framework?
6- Does each hypothesis contain the population and at least two variables?
7- Is each hypothesis stated as a directional research hypothesis? If not, is the rationale given for the type of hypothesis that is stated?
8- Is it apparent that each hypothesis can be empirically tested?
9- Does each hypothesis contain only one prediction?

Box 9-1
1- Is the design clearly identified and described in the research report?
2- Is the design appropriate to test the study hypothesis or answer the research question?
3- If the study used an experimental design, was the most appropriate type of experimental design used?
4- If the study used an experimental design, what means were used to control for threats to internal validity? External validity?
5- Was assignment of subjects to the experimental and control group clearly described?
6- Does the research design allow the researcher to draw a cause-and-effect relationship between the variables?
7- If a nonexperimental design was used, would an experimental design have been more appropriate?
8- What means were used to control for extraneous variables, such as subject characteristics, if a nonexperimental design was used?

Box 10-1
1- Does the phenomenon lend itself to study by qualitative methods or would a quantitative approach have been more appropriate?
2- Does the study focus on the subjective nature of human experience?
3- Is the specific qualitative approach named and described?
4- Will the study findings have significance for nursing?
5- Does the researcher clearly describe how participants were selected?
6- How was the sample size determined?
7- Is the data collection and recording process fully presented?
8- Is it clear how the researcher bias in data collection was avoided?
9- Is the data analysis method consistent with the purpose and approach of the study?
10- Are the study findings clearly presented and study limitations acknowledged?
11- Are suggestions made for further research, based on the study findings?
Box 11-1:
1- Is the target population identified?
2- Is the accessible population identified?
3- Was a probability or non-probability sampling method used?
4- Is the specific sampling method named?
5- Is the sampling method described?
6- Is the sampling method appropriate for the study?
7- Are the demographic characteristics of the sample presented?
8- Is the sample size adequate?
9- Is the sample representative of the population?
10- Are potential sampling biases identified?
11- Is subject dropout discussed?
Box 12-1:
1- Did the research report provide information on who collected the data, when the data were collected, where the data were collected, what data were collected, and how the data were collected?
2- Was the appropriate level of measurement used to measure the research variables?
3- Was there a section in the research report where the data –collection instruments were described?
4- Was the description of the instruments thorough?
5- Had the instruments been used previously?
6- Had the instruments been tested for reliability?
7- If so, what type of reliability was assessed, and was there sufficient evidence to indicate that the instruments was (were) reliable?
8- Had the instruments been tested for validity?
9- If so, what type of validity was assessed, and was there sufficient evidence to indicate that the instruments was (were) valid?
10- Was the pilot study conducted using the instruments?
Box 13-1:
General Criteria:
1- Were the data-collection methods described thoroughly?
2- Were the data-collection methods appropriate to test the research hypothesis or answer the research questions?
3- Was the self report or psychological method used when a physiological method might have gathered more valid data?
4- How many methods were used to collect data? If only one method was used, would the study have benefited for more than one method?
Questionnaires:
1- Was information provided on the number of questions, the length of the questionnaire, and how long it would take to complete the questionnaire?
2- Was the response rate provided for the return of the questionnaires?
3- Were sampling biases discussed?
4- Was anonymity or confidentiality assured?
Interviews:
1- Was information provided on how long the interview would take?
2- Was information provided about training for the interviewers?
3- Was confidentiality assured?
Other Methods:
1- Was a specific method identified (for example, semantic differential)?
2- Was the rationale for use of the method presented?
3- Was the instrument described in detail?
4- Was the scoring method clearly discussed?
Box 14-1:
1- What types of descriptive statistics are included in the research report?
2- Were the descriptive statistics appropriate for the level of measurement of the variables?
3- Were measures of central tendency and variability both presented?
4- Do the descriptive statistics clearly present the demographic characteristics of the subjects?
5- Are the descriptive statistics clearly presented in the text? In tables and graphs?
6- Do the descriptive statistics presented in the text agree with those presented in the table?
Box 15-1:
1- Are inferential statistics presented in the research report?
2- If inferential statistics are presented, is enough information presented for the reader to determine whether or not the appropriate tests were used?
3- Is the reader provided with the calculated value of the inferential statistics, the degrees of freedom, and the level of significance that was obtained?
4- Were paramedics or non paramedics used when the other type would have been more appropriate?
5- Are the chosen tests appropriate considering the level of measurement of the variables, the number of groups that were tested, the size of the sample, and so on?
6- Are inferential statistics presented for each hypothesis that was stated in the study?
7- Are the results of inferential tests clearly and thoroughly discussed?
8- Are the results presented both in the text and in the tables?