Critique

NURS 4313 Nursing Research

Guidelines for Research Critique

· This assignment must be completed as an individual assignment (no group work).

· Choose a QUANTitative OR QUALitative nursing research study to critique in a topic of interest.

· Submit a copy of the article for me to approve in the Article Approval Assignment Dropbox by date listed in course schedule.

· Use corresponding chapters to assist you in addressing each criteria, particularly the “Critiquing” sections at the end of most chapters. Chapter 3 provides summary information on many sections. Chapter 4 provides some specific criteria on page 69 (Quantitative) and page 70 (Qualitative) for some aspects of a research report but other areas will need to be reviewed from the corresponding chapter for the criteria (see Rubric where I roughly identified associated chapters for each criterion).

· Write your paper using the template for either the Quantitative Critique or Qualitative Critique. If you are not absolutely sure which template to use, please contact me. Your paper will not be accepted unless you use and follow the correct template. You must use headings/subheadings exactly as they are structured in the template.

· Do not change format of the template. Just add your information to the template. Include each question (do not delete), followed by your response to answer each question. (Do not write a single paragraph that addresses all questions).

· I have added an exemplar paper from a previous student to demonstrate the way to format your paper, and the depth and analysis I would expect for addressing the questions.

· I realize the example critiques from your text do not include subheadings or the specific questions, but I want you to include them in your paper.

· Be sure to not only address the questions, but also clearly discuss how it does or does not meet the criteria or your rationale. (In previous papers, some information was taken straight from the article, but there was no rationale/discussion of how or why it did or did not meet the question criteria).

· Be sure to explicitly address all questions in the critique guide, even if you have some redundancy (in previous papers some skipped or omitted some questions, which can affect your grade). If you are not sure how to answer a question, please refer to the “detailed critiquing guidelines” box# and page# found in right column on page 69 or 70, which will give you more specific detail on how to address the criteria. If you still do not understand the criteria, read through the corresponding chapter. If you still are having trouble, contact me.

· Your paper should be 8-15 double spaced pages in length (including the title and reference pages).

· Submit the following attachments to the Article Critique Assignment Dropbox:

· The completed paper.

· Forms document that includes:

· Research Study Critique Grading Criteria Sheet with your self-evaluation completed;

· Criteria for Effective Writing with your self-evaluation completed.

· Copy of the actual article.

· Submit your final critique by the date listed in the course schedule. There will be a 5% loss in grade for each day late. Please begin work on your paper early so that you can avoid being late.

· Review critique examples done by the authors of your text, but be aware that these articles do not follow APA or the template format. Your paper will need to follow APA and the template/rubric format.

· Proofread your paper carefully for typos, misspelled words, grammar, sentence flow, etc… If you have difficulty writing, I suggest you have someone read your paper for clarity and correct structure.

· Be extremely careful not to use word-for-word excerpts from your article, as this is considered plagiarism. Instead, try to paraphrase when possible, or if necessary, use quote marks and page numbers for direct quotes. Plagiarism is a common unintentional mistake that students often experience in writing papers. If you use your own words to explain something you will avoid the risk of potential plagiarism. Also, using your own words helps to demonstrate that you understand the material.

· Do not try to use flowery or intellectual terms, instead, be simple, objective and straight forward in your writing. If you do not truly understand terms you are using, you could inadvertently say the wrong thing.

· Don’t “guess” or just take a stab at answering the questions without understanding what it is asking. It is very clear to me when you try to answer a question that you do not understand.