● Research questions : Are the research questions clearly stated? Is there a null hypothesis, if appropriate? ● Theoretical framework : Is the theoretical framework described? If there is no theoretical framework, should there be one? ● Literature review : Is the literature relevant to the study? Is it thorough? Does it include recent research (within the last 5 years, although 3 years is preferred)? Does the literature review support the need for the study? ● Methods : Is the research design appropriate for the study? Does the sample correlate with the research design and is the size adequate? Was a data collection instrument used? If so, was it relevant to the study? How were data collected? Were methods, instruments, and surveys reliable and valid? ● Analysis : Is the analytical approach consistent with the study questions and research design? ● Results : Are the results presented clearly in the text of the article? Are there tables or figures? If so, are they clear and relevant to the study? Are the statistics clearly explained? ● Discussion : Are the results explained in relation to the theoretical framework and research questions? Is the significance to nursing explained? ● Limitations : Are limitations identified? Are the implications of the limitations discussed? ● Conclusion : Are there recommendations for nursing practice, future research, and policymakers? All literature reviews should include the following (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2019): ● Introduction : Describes the general state of the literature on the identified topic. ● Methodology : Provides a concise narrative of how the literature search was conducted, including what terminology was used to initiate the search, so that it is reproducible by other investigators. ● Findings : Provides a summary of the major findings of the critical analysis of the literature review. ● Discussion : Presents a more detailed description of findings from broader studies to more focused studies. ● Conclusion : Provides the overall state of the research; implications for clinical practice; and, if indicated, suggestions for additional research. When reviewing the literature, nurses are cautioned to avoid the following (Melnyk & Fineout-Overholt, 2019): ● Stating personal opinions, unless the review includes evidence that supports such opinions. ● Stating what they think nurses should do, unless the review includes evidence that supports such assertions. ● Providing long descriptions of the topic under review without referencing research studies. ● Providing numerous lengthy definitions, signs and symptoms, and treatment initiatives of a specific illness without focusing on research studies that provide evidence to support the purpose of the review of the literature. ● Discussing research studies without showing how these studies correlate with each other. Nursing consideration: A literature review must be focused, succinct, organized, and free from personal bias. Researchers must ask themselves the following questions (Polit & Beck, 2022): ● What is the specific problem or research question that the literature must help to define? ● What is the scope of the literature review? ● Is the search wide enough to make sure that all relevant literature has been found? ● Is the search narrow enough to make sure that irrelevant literature has been discarded?
to objectively establish the strength, quality, quantity, and consistency of evidence provided by the studies. The goal of the literature review is to determine the applicability of the research under review to clinical practice (Polit & Beck, 2022). Nursing consideration: Evidence gathered from the critical appraisal of the literature—as well as patient care data, clinical experience/expertise, and patient and family preferences and values—are all used to justify changes in clinical practice. This evidence can also support the current practice or trigger additional research. Nurses must be prepared to objectively evaluate all types of evidence to provide the best possible patient care. The literature review helps narrow the researcher’s focus and establish a foundation and theoretical basis for the research project. A review of the literature should achieve the following (Polit & Beck, 2022): ● Identify appropriate areas for investigation. ● Provide credible initiatives for patient care. ● Define appropriate concepts. ● Explain the proposed relationship between concepts. ● Provide evidence for clinical practice initiatives. The literature review involves critiquing the evidence and putting the results of the review in writing. How findings from the literature review are presented can persuade organizational leadership to accept or reject proposed changes in clinical practice or support or block proposed nursing research studies. Thus, nurses must be able to prepare a clear and concise written essay of their literature review findings. Here are some recommendations for reading and critiquing a research article (Polit & Beck, 2022): ● Authors : Who conducted the research? Do their titles and credentials indicate expertise in the research? ● Bias : Is the article free of bias? Were the researchers paid to conduct the research? If so, did this interfere with the ability of the researchers to conduct scientific, objective research and report the findings without bias? Was there any evidence of researcher bias in the data collection or analysis? ● Title : Does the title accurately describe the article? A good title is intriguing and triggers interest. However, before spending time reading the article, it is best to critically review the title. An appropriate title should communicate key concepts, methods, and variables. For instance, the keywords of the investigator’s research question should appear, to some extent, in the titles of the article they are critiquing. Reading the abstract helps to determine if the title accurately describes the article. ● Abstract : Does the abstract accurately convey the key concepts of the article? A good abstract contains the purpose of the study; the pertinent research question or questions; and a brief overview of methodology, results, and conclusions. The abstract should help the nurse decide if the article is worthy of being included in their literature review. Abstracts should typically be from 250-500 words in length. ● Introduction : Does the introduction make the purpose of the article clear? ● Problem statement : Is the problem clear? Is it properly explained? ● Purpose of the study : Has the researcher clearly explained the purpose of the study? Identification of key words for literature search Before accessing Internet search engines or other resources, it is imperative to identify keywords to save time and narrow the search to relevant citations. For example: Suppose a group of rehabilitation nurses specializing in stroke care is interested in improving bladder training for increasing continence and independent bladder functioning. In a search engine, the nurses cannot simply type in “urinary incontinence” or “bladder training.” Citations for thousands, if not millions, of resources will appear.
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Book Code: AUS3024
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