Critique of a Research Study

Instructions: Assignment:

• Visit the PRIME nursing website and review the case study titled “Stress Management for Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis”

Summarize the article and respond to the following questions:

• What sampling technique was used in this study?
• What concerns might you have about reliability and validity in this study, why? Explain.
• Were there any flaws or discrepancies in the study? Why or why not?

• Locate a qualitative study. Provide a summary of the study and its findings. Focus on elements of trustworthiness, addressing all four components—credibility, transferability, dependability, confirmability---do you think that the authors established trustworthiness? Why or why not? Provide suggestions for improvement.

Critique of Research Studies

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Critique of Research Studies

Sampling

           This study begins with a case study, and in my opinion, the sampling technique applied is purposive sampling. The researcher in this study was keen to select studies that are relevant to the topic being investigated. The study aimed at investigating the effects of non-pharmacological interventions on patients with RA. The researcher was therefore careful to choose studies that fit in this category that’s why most studies selected examine the impacts of various non-pharmacological interventions such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), Tai Chi, Yoga, and education.

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Reliability Vs Validity

Reliability refers to the degree under which the study results can be reproduced when the study is repeated under similar conditions (Mohajan, 2017). It is evaluated by examining the consistency of the results across time, across different observers, and across parts of the test itself. This study is not reliable because it presents conflicting results. For example, the study conducted by Shape and coworkers to examine the effect of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) showed that the technique achieves significant reductions in depression, stiffness of the joints, and the levels of C-reactive protein (CRP). The researchers also found that CBT leads to reductions in the levels of pain and anxiety. In contrast, some studies have reported that CBT exerts no substantial effect in alleviating the symptoms of RA.

Validity evaluates the degree to which results measure what they are supposed to measure. It is examined by assessing how well the results of the study correspond to established theories and other measures of the same concept (Mohajan, 2017). In a study to examine the effects of Yoga on patients with RA, Badsha and coworkers reported that the intervention achieves significant reductions on disability levels, depression, and the perceptions of pain. There is a dearth of evidence that limits making conclusions regarding the effects of yoga to reduce stress on people with RA. However, the study goes ahead to state that yoga is associated with numerous benefits such as positive mood, endurance, and flexibility for people without RA, making it possible to conclude that RA patients would experience the same benefits. This makes the study invalid because it is unrealistic to assume the benefits of Yoga for people with RA and those without will be the same.

Discrepancies in the Study

           One of the major limitations of this study is limited access to data. For example, there is a lack of sufficient evidence to conclude on the stress-relieving effects of yoga on patients with RA. There is also a dearth of evidence on the long-lasting effects of educational services on the patients with RA that leads to uncertainty regarding the outcomes. Furthermore, the studies on the effects of major stressors of RA are scarce, and the results documented are generally inconsistent. Moreover, some of the studies selected for the literature review are of low quality.

Qualitative Study

Gettens, S., Fulbrook, P., Jessup, M., & Low Choy, N. (2018). The patients’ perspective of sustaining a fall in hospital: A qualitative study. Journal of clinical nursing, 27(3-4), 743-752.

Summary of the Study and Findings

           Hospital falls have adverse effects on the physical and psychological functions of the patients, and increases their length of stay and make them prone to other complications. Although there is a wealth of literature focusing on risk assessment, prevention of falls and costs, there is a dearth of evidence that examines the experience of patients who have experienced falls, especially in hospital environments. This qualitative phenomenological study was designed to assess the experience of patients who have encountered hospital falls. The analysis unveiled three key themes: Feeling safe, Realizing the risk, and Recovering independence and entity. The themes describe a situation where the participants were not initially worried about falling because they had trusted the nursing staff to ensure they are safe and did not seek any assistance. The participants later began to recognize the reality of the risk of hospital falls but had feelings of disempowerment because of losing their independence but were more receptive to receiving any form of assistance. Finally, the desire to gain independence rose as the participants recovered. They wanted other people to know that they are physically competent, rather than perceiving them as frail old people.

Elements of Trustworthiness

Credibility refers to how confident the researcher of the qualitative study is in establishing the truth of the study results (Connelly, 2016). To present true results triangulation is used. Triangulation is the process of using more than one method in collecting the data of research (Connelly, 2016). This study is not credible because it used one method of data collection. The study used unstructured interviews only to collect data which makes it difficult to establish the credibility of the study. The study can be improved by using two or more methods of data collection.

Transferability refers to the degree to which the researcher demonstrates the findings of the study can be applied to other contexts (Connelly, 2016). “Other contexts” in this case mean similar populations, similar situations, and similar phenomena. The study was conducted in a 630-bed tertiary referral hospital in Queensland, Australia. In the conclusion part, the researcher states that the findings of the study are fundamental as they identify confidence as a critical factor in hospital falls and influence how patients view themselves. Therefore, the findings of this study do not only apply in Queensland but all other hospitals across the globe meaning the study is transferable.

Confirmability is the extent of neutrality that exists in the findings of the study. In simpler terms, confirmability means that the results of the study are based on the responses provided by the participants and not any potential bias or personal motivations of the researcher (Connelly, 2016). This study meets the requirements of confirmability because the researcher was not biased and only analyzed the responses provided by study participants.

Finally, dependability refers to the degree to which the study could be repeated by other participants under similar conditions and get consistent results (Connelly, 2016). In other words, if another researcher decided to replicate your study, they should get enough information from your study to enable them to do so and obtain similar findings. The study established three key themes Feeling safe, Realizing the risk, and Recovering independence and entity which contains enough information to enable other researchers to replicate the study and obtain sufficient evidence.

References

Connelly, L. M. (2016). Trustworthiness in qualitative research. Medsurg Nursing, 25(6), 435-437.

Mohajan, H. K. (2017). Two criteria for good measurements in research: Validity and reliability. Annals of Spiru Haret University. Economic Series, 17(4), 59-82.