3ASAP

Item

Response

a. What is the design? Explain the design. Is the study design identified?

b. Is the design used in the study the most appropriate to obtain the needed data? Why or why not?

c. Does the design provide a means to examine all of the objectives, questions or hypotheses? Give a rationale for your response.

d. Are the threats to internal and external design validity described? If yes, what are they, if not state what they could be. Elaborate on them and why present or not. Do not address statistical conclusions and construct here – will address these later.

Item

Response

a. What is the study purpose?

b. Does the purpose narrow and clarify the focus of the problem to be studied and identify the research variable, subjects and setting? Give a rationale for your response.

Item

Response

a. Is there a specific literature review section for the research study Give a rationale for your response.

b. Does the literature review provide rationale and a context for the study? Give a rationale for your response.

Item

Response

a. Is the framework explicitly expressed or must the reviewer extract the framework from implicit statements in the literature review? Give a rationale for your response.

b. Does the framework describe and define the concepts of interest, relate them to the variables of the study, and show relationships between the concepts discussed? Give a rationale for your response.

c. If stated, is the framework appropriate? Why or why not? Was it a nursing model or theory, if so what? If not, how does it relate to nursing?

d. If not stated, what nursing theory or model would be appropriate for this study, and why?

Item

Response

a. What are the objectives, questions and/or hypotheses for the study? Were they implied or explicit? Give examples.

b. Are the objectives, questions, and/or hypotheses appropriately linked to the research purpose and study framework? Give a rationale for your response.

Item

Response

a. What are the study variables?

b. Identify the dependent, independent and/or research variables.

c. Are the variables defined based on previous research and/or theories? Give a rationale for your response.

d. Is the conceptual definition of a variable consistent with the operational definition? Give a rationale for your response.

e. Is the framework logically linked with the research purpose, variables, and objectives or hypotheses? Give a rationale for your response.

Item

Response

a. What is the sample, accessible, and target population and setting?

b. What is the sampling method? Is the sampling method adequate to produce a representative sample? Give a rationale for your response.

c. What is the sample size? Is the sample size sufficient? Why or why not? Relate this to statistical conclusion validity.

d. If more that one group is used, how were they assigned? Was this the most appropriate method to use? Why or why not?

e. How were the rights of human subjects protected? Give a rationale for your response.

f. Can study findings be generalized? What are the limitations due to study and sampling design

g. Are there potential sampling biases in the study? What are they? Why do you feel these are biases?

Item

Response

a. What instruments were used for the study?

b. Are the instruments sufficiently sensitive to detect small difference between subjects? Why or why not?

c. Is the instrument (construct) reliability and validity adequate for this study? Why or why not? ( For example, present information from Cronbach’s alpha if presented)

Item

Response

a. What data analysis procedures were used (what specific statistical tests were used)?

b. Explain why each test in 9.a. was appropriate or inappropriate. Address criteria for selection of each test and validate why each was appropriate (e.g., Chi Square analysis used to test for a relationship between nominal data collected to represent subject eye color and gender).

c. Were the results presented in an understandable way? Give a rationale for your response.

d. Did data analysis address questions and/or hypotheses of the study? Give a rationale for your response.

Item

Response

a. Are the findings discussed in relation to the objectives, questions, and/or hypotheses? Give a rationale for your response.

b. Are various explanations for the findings examined? What are they?

c. Is there evidence of researcher bias in the interpretation? Validate your answer.

d. Do the conclusions fit with the findings from the analysis? Give a rationale for your response.

e. Are conclusions based on statistically significant or numerical results? Give a rationale for your response.

f. Are limitations identified by the researcher? Give a rationale for your response. If not state at least two limitations.

g. Are there inconsistencies in the report? Give a rationale for your response (e.g., are variables presented in the discussions that are not identified in the study hypothesis, questions or purpose). What are they?

h. What do you still not know about the concepts investigated in this study and what future research can be envisioned? Specifically state this and give a rationale for your response.

i. In what ways do the findings add to the current body of knowledge?

j. When the findings are examined in light of previous studies, are these results the same or different from those previous studies?