PROCESS OF ENQUIRY

Articles' Critique: Process of Enquiry



Table of Contents

Introduction to Assignment1

Introduction to the Articles1

Main Research Paradigms2

Advantages of Administering Interviews3

Advantages of Administering Questionnaires3

Impact of Current Research on my Role as a District Nurse4

Influence on Choice of Articles based on Current Research Evidences5

Critical Appraisal of Chosen Articles and Relation to Nursing Practice6

Improvements in Chosen Articles using Alternative Methodologies and Research Methods7

Conclusion and Scope for Further Enquiry8

Recommendations for Improvement or Further Research9

References11

Articles' Critique: Process of Enquiry

Introduction to Assignment

Research in nursing was pioneered by Florence Nightingale (Roberts et al, 2006) however in the United Kingdom it did not develop until the 1950's (Parahoo, 2006) and over the last five decades its use has greatly increased, expanding nurses knowledge which in turn improves patient care (Polit et al, 2001). The following assignment aims to discuss how current research impacts on the authors role as a community nurse before critiquing the two chosen articles. This will then lead to suggestions of alternative/additional methodologies and/or research methods that may improve these articles. Finally the author will draw conclusions about the topics and discuss whether further enquiry is needed. The two articles are based one on qualitative research and the other on quantitative research.

Introduction to the Articles

The first article chosen is 'Dying well: nurses' experiences of 'good and bad' deaths in hospital' (Costello, 2006), which looks at registered nurses experiences of death and dying in different hospital settings in the United Kingdom. This article is a qualitative study making use of in-depth interviews with a convenience sample of twenty-nine. The second article chosen is; 'Staff nurses' sites of choice for administering intramuscular injections to adult patients in the acute care setting' (Walsh & Brophy, 2011) and is a quantitative study dealing with the site selection for intramuscular injections. A convenience sample size was accessed and six hundred and fifty-two questionnaires were sent out to nurses in acute care settings in a Canadian province. The two main research paradigms being used are quantitative and qualitative. The qualitative approach is commonly linked to naturalistic tradition. Its aim is to gain an understanding of lived experiences of the participants through collection and analysis of narrative data. A deep multi-dimensional insight into the data can be obtained compared to quantitative research which gives a broader view (Foss & Ellfeson, 2002).

The quantitative approach has its roots in positivism and derides from a philosophical paradigm which views human phenomena as being measurable in a study and its main goal is to obtain valid and reliable measurements (Parahoo, 2006) and using this type of paradigm strives for objectivity and uses measurement to test hypotheses (Young, 2008). Following the introduction the next section will discuss how current research evidence impacts on the authors role as a community nurse and how this influenced the choice of article That's it so far but the overall aim is to critically appraise and critique the two articles making suggestions how could be improved including alternative research approaches where appropriate and apply the subject of research methods to the critique ...