Instructions: A major skill that is learned in this course
is how to critically read and critique nursing research articles. The purpose for critiquing an article is to
critically evaluate the research process followed by the author(s) of the
assigned article. This is an information-intensive, time-intensive process that
is not learned overnight. To
demonstrate your skill at critiquing an article, you will complete this
open-book multiple choice assignment.
Here's
how you should approach completing this week’s assignment to finish critiquing
an article:
1. First, do your assigned
reading in Grove, Gray, and Burns (2015) and complete the reading worksheets
early in the week. This will introduce
you to the critique skills you will need for the week.
2. Skim the entire instructor
assigned research article that has been posted on Blackboard for you so that
you will have an idea of what it is about.
Lightly cross out the abstract for the article (you won't be using it).
Then, for this week, re-read carefully from the study design section through
the end of the article.
3. Print this document and find
the best answer to each question below based on your Grove, Gray, and Burns
(2015) assigned reading for the week and what you have read in the instructor
assigned research article.
4. Some of the questions in the
critique assignment below will seem unfamiliar to you. Look up key terms from
the question in your textbook. Some
examples of these terms might be: power analysis, inter-rater reliability, and
generalization. You can also look in Chapter 12 for an example of a critical
appraisal (or critique) of a quantitative research article.
5. Once you have completed this assignment “on paper”, go into
blackboard and enter your answers by the assignment due date and time listed in
the syllabus. Ignore any wording from
Blackboard that indicates that “this is a test” and carefully enter your
answers from this document.
6. You will have two access
attempts to record your answers. This is
given to you so that if you encounter technical difficulties on your first
attempt, or you would like a second attempt to try to improve your grade, you
may do so. You will not be able to see
the questions that you missed when you submit your attempt. Blackboard will record the highest grade from
the two submissions.
If you
have questions about this assignment, you can post them to your group
discussion board for help. Please do not post the exact question from
the assignment below and ask the group for the answer as this would constitute academic
dishonesty.
Questions 1 - 9:
Sample. (For help with these questions,
refer to chapters: 9 & 12)
1. What sampling method or plan was used by the
authors in this study?
a. Simple random sampling
b. Systematic sampling
c. Purposive (convenience) sampling
d. Network sampling
2. According to Grove, Gray, and Burns (2015),
what are the potential biases of this sampling method?
a. This is a strong probability sampling method
with very little potential for bias
b. This method is used when an ordered list of
all members of the population are available and provides a random but not equal
chance for inclusion in the study.
c. This method provides little opportunity to
control for bias because subjects are included in the study merely because they
happen to be in the right place at the right time.
d. This method is specific to the individuals
who were recruited and the information gained cannot be generalized to others
who don’t share these types of experiences.
e. None of the above biases best describe the
sampling method chosen by the author.
3. What was the final sample size reported by
the authors for this study?
a. 1000 participants
b. 351 participants
c. 250 participants
d. 128 participants
4. Was a power analysis conducted? If so, which statement best describes the
results of the power analysis?
a. The authors mention that a power analysis
was conducted, and state that the low power level of 0.89 for the Pearson’s
product-moment correlation coefficient is a limitation of the study.
b. The authors mention that an a priori power
analysis was conducted, and 1000 subjects were
determined to be needed for the study.
c. The authors do not report that a power
analysis was conducted.
5. Which of these statements would be considered
to be inclusion criterion for the sample in the research article?
a. Have at least two years of acute care
experience
b. Able to read English
c. Be a member of the American Nurses
Association
d. Work at the bedside at least 8 hours per
week
6. Which of these statements would be considered
to be exclusion criterion specifically identified by the author for the sample
in the research article?
a. There were no exclusion criteria mentioned by
the authors.
b. Nursing charge nurses and managers were
excluded from the study.
c. New graduate nurses were excluded from this
study.
d. PRN and float pool nurses were excluded from
this study.
7. What is the refusal rate for this study? (Hint: see page 253 in your text)
a. 250/351 X 100% = 69.25%
b. 223/351 X 100% = 63.5%
c. unknown / cannot be calculated.
d. 0%
8. Which of the following would be accurate for
the attrition rate for this study?
a. 128/351 X 100% = 36.4%
b. 128/223 X 100% = 57.4%
c. unknown / cannot be calculated.
9. What was the setting for this research
study? Briefly describe the setting and
indicate whether it was appropriate for conducting this study.
a. The setting for this study was a partially
controlled setting and was appropriate for this study’s research design.
b. The setting for this study was a natural or
field setting and was appropriate for this study’s research design.
c. The setting for this study was a highly
controlled setting and was appropriate for this study’s research design.
d. The setting for this study was not well
described by the authors and therefore not appropriate for conducting this
study.
Question 10 - 14: Measurement Methods.
(For help with these questions, refer to chapters 10 & 12.)
10. Which one of these questionnaires, scales, or
physiologic measures is used in this research study?
a. The Nursing Incivility Scale (NIS)
b. The Team STEPPS Scale
c. The Team Characteristics Survey
d. The Attitudes About Incivility Scale (AAIS)
11. How do the authors describe the CURRENT
reliability of the Attitudes About Teamwork Survey?
a.
they compared the odd and even questions on the test to determine their
equivalence
b. a team of staff nurses was trained by the
primary investigator to administer the questionnaire.
c. they tested the current group of subjects
twice using the same questionnaire (test-retest reliability).
d. they reported a Cronbach’s alpha on the
current group of subjects.
12.
How do the authors describe the validity of the Attitudes About Teamwork
Survey?
a.
Discriminant validity demonstrated that each question measured the same
constructs.
b. A content validity index (Lynn, 1986) was
calculated based on item ratings provided by a national panel of experts.
c. The authors obtained evidence of validity
from contrasting groups because they gave it to spouses of ED nurses.
d. Construct validity was established and
reported by Agervold (2007).
13. What types of questionnaires or surveys were
used in this research study? (Select all that
apply.)
a. The authors developed the Negative Intention
Questionnaire (NIQ).
b. The authors developed their own questions to
ask about demographic information.
c. Interviews were reportedly used, but the
authors do not explain what was included in them.
d. The authors used previously developed
questionnaires or surveys to measure the study variables.
e. This study did not use any questionnaires or
surveys.
14. Were any physiological measurements
collected from the subjects for the purpose of this study?
a. Yes
b. No
Question 15- 16: Data Collection. (For help with these questions, refer
to chapters 10 & 12)
15. Which one of
the following best describes the data collection process used in this study?
a. questionnaires / surveys were completed using
a survey link / online.
b. participants were given the pencil and paper
questionnaire on enrollment in the study.
c. questionnaires / surveys were mailed to the
prospective participants and returned in a self-
addressed stamped envelope.
d. nurse researchers interviewed the study
participants in a focus group.
16. If there were more than one data collector
for the study, would an estimation of inter-rater reliability be an important
concept for the authors to report on for this study?
a. yes, and the authors reported their efforts
to achieve inter-rater reliability.
b. yes, but the authors do not discuss any
efforts to achieve inter-rater reliability.
c. no, the issue of inter-rater reliability
does not apply here.
Question 17 - 19: Data Analysis.
(For help with these questions, refer to chapters 11 & 12)
17. What descriptive statistics were used in this
study? (Select all that apply.)
a.
mean
b. median
c. mode
d. standard deviation
e. z-scores
f. percentage distributions
18. Which one of these inferential statistics was
used to examine the data obtained from the subjects?
a.
Pearson Correlation Coefficient
b. t-Test
c. Chi-Square
d. ANOVA
19. What is the level of significance (alpha) set
at for this study? (Hint: is there an alpha given under the Tables or
specifically mentioned in the text of the article?)
a. p < .001
b. p < .05
b. p. < .10
d. a level of significance was not specifically
mentioned by the author.
Question 20-25: Researcher’s Interpretation of the Findings. (For help
with these questions, refer to chapters 11 & 12)
20. There are several statistically significant
findings in this study. Which of these statements from the article would be
considered a significant and predicted
result about teamwork?
a. The belief that each team member should spend time and energy to make
the team work (AATS) was significantly associated with the TCS item
communication.
b. Older nurses have higher levels of belief in
the importance of teamwork than younger nurses.
c. Nurses were more likely to report observing
others being bullied (53%) than to report the direct experience of being
bullied (31%) in the past 6 months.
d. Nurses who work longer shifts (12+ hours)
have greater likelihood of observing incivility at work compared to shorter
shifts (8-10 hours).
21. There are several statistically significant
findings in this study. Which of these statements from the article would be
considered a significant and predicted
result about workplace bullying?
a. the highest rating for the TCS was highly
characteristic and the highest rating for the NIQ was rarely/never
b. Older nurses are more likely to report
witnessing bullying behavior than younger nurses.
c. Nurses were more likely to report observing
others being bullied (53%) than to report the direct experience of being
bullied (31%) in the past 6 months.
d. Nurses who work longer shifts (12+ hours)
have greater likelihood of observing incivility at work compared to shorter
shifts (8-10 hours).
22. Which one of these statements from the
article would be considered clinically
important?
a. Manager support positively predicts the
level of teamwork reported within a unit.
b. Strong
leadership on teams allows a patient care plan to be revised effectively.
c. Lower levels of decision-making power on
teams can result in staff burnout.
d. Nurse managers can capitalize on these baseline
perceptions and attitudes to further develop and maintain effective team
performance.
23. Which statements below would be considered a limitation of the study?
a. A convenience sample from two hospitals was
used without clear inclusion / exclusion criteria.
b. Very few participants answered all of the
questions on all three surveys.
c. The authors did not make any efforts to
discuss the reliability or validity of their surveys.
d. The authors did not use very many current
resources when writing the review of literature.
24. Which one of these statements would be
considered a statement regarding generalization
of these results?
a. A majority of
nurses in this study believed that working as a team was an effective means to
provide patient care.
b. The study results regarding nurses’
perceptions, attitudes and experiences related to teamwork and workplace
bullying are consistent with current literature.
c. A convenience sample of acute care nurses
enhances generalizability to nurses working in other environments (ie. long
term care or outpatient settings).
d. The
study’s intervention did not yield the expected results and thus cannot be
generalized.
25. Which one of these statements from the
article would be considered a recommendation
for future studies?
a. Research to discover why older nurses have
less compassion satisfaction compared to younger nurses.
b. Future development of programs to help
relieve the strain of caring in ED nurses.
c. This study demonstrated that a brief,
inexpensive family oriented intervention is feasible in the ED.
d. Additional work is needed to determine
potential direction of effects between team variables and dysfunctional
behavior such as bullying.
