- Research Problem a) Is the problem identified clearly? b) Is the problem significant, and do(es) the researcher(s) provide a good argument for significance? c) Is the problem relevant to nursing/health care? 2. Literature Review a) Is it convincing that the author(s) reviewed a sufficient amount of literature? Is the review comprised only of primary sources? Are references current, or a combination of current and classic? b) Is the review balanced, presenting literature that supports and that differs from the researcher(s) position? c) Is the review written critically, presenting both strengths and weaknesses of previous work? 3. Theoretical Framework a) Is a theoretical framework specified? b) If so, does the framework “fit” the problem? Does it include all relevant variables? Are the concepts (variables) clearly defined? Are the results interpreted in reference to the theoretical framework? c) If not, should there be one? Is it difficult to understand the relationships among the variables in the study without a framework to tie the pieces together? (Note: qualitative research, descriptive studies, and physiologic studies typically will not specify a theoretical framework.) 4. Variables/Hypotheses a) Are the variables in the study appropriate to the problem? Are they relevant to nursing practice? Are the means to measure the variables appropriate? b) Are hypotheses stated? If so, what are they? Are they clear, specific and testable? c) If not, do(es) the researcher(s) provide sufficient information to determine what the hypotheses were? 5. Design (overall) a) What design was used? Is the design specified correctly? Is the design appropriate to answer the research question? b) Did the researcher(s) attempt to control for threats to internal and external validity? How did the researcher(s) do this? 6. Sample/Ethical Considerations a) Is the sample size adequate? Are the criteria for including and/or excluding people or items from the sample clear and appropriate?
b) Is the sample likely to be similar to members of the target population?
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