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How many references should I use Chris? 

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How many references should I use Chris? 

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For a Masters level 7 study you should be using a reference for every 100 words ideally. Dont forget that you will be critiquing your x2 articles in depth but as well you will need to pull all the wider literature into your discussion and that's the point where you synthesise everything in your assignment all together - all your other literature - your policy documents, the articles that you found in your initial wider search and so forth - Do they say anything different? Or is there consistency amongst the findings? Were different methods used and how do they compare? Were some studies designed better than others and if so in what way? What themes are emerging in all the different papers? Are they contradictory or complimentary? What might that tell you about the research topic in question? Every thing you say should be backed up with an academic reference so if you are doing the above and citing a ref or two as you go you will be on the right tracks!

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Read Texas Am GIF by Texas A&M University - Find & Share on GIPHY

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academic, university, Texas A&M, college sports, college, football, Aggies

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Does my topic always need to be written out in a sentence like an actual research question? 

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Does my topic always need to be written out in a sentence like an actual research question? 

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No, your research topic doesn’t always need to be a research question that starts with a question word. For this module’s assignment it is especially important to refrain from topics/questions that seeks to answer causality (e.g. Does x cause y?) or statistical relationships between variables as these questions are more suited for experimental design primary studies rather than literature reviews.

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A walk through example of how to critique a paper using a qualitative example

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A walk through example of how to critique a paper using a qualitative example

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Critical Appraisal of a Qualitative Study

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What are the main pitfalls to avoid in this assignment? 

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What are the main pitfalls to avoid in this assignment? 

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For the most part student do not pass the assignment if they do not critically appraise but rather just describe the findings from the articles they have selected. Other omissions include not having a well developed discussion around how they will change their practice from their learning and what the implications are for their wider profession. Some students forget to include the PRISMA flow diagram or it is presented poorly. Other times there is no clear rationale for the chosen topic, its importance and its relevance. The search strategy needs to be done in keeping with the procedures taught on the course and sometimes this is missing. One way to ensure you detail it properly is to ask the question could others use my research terms and approach and locate the same returned articles. Dont forget to be clear about inclusion and exclusion criteria and the reasons for these

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The Simpsons (1989) - S16E14 Comedy clip with quote Well, there must have been a mistake. Yarn is the best search for video clips by quote. Find the exact moment in a TV show, movie, or music video you want to share. Easily move forward or backward to get to the perfect clip.

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Do I have to choose a topic related to my clinical area of practice ? 

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Do I have to choose a topic related to my clinical area of practice ? 

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Yes that's correct! Don't forget in your discussion you will also need an implications for practice section so this is important - what are the implications for 'my own practice' and my clinical area of practice? So if I am a district nurse for example how might I change my nursing care but also what are the implications for community nursing more generally as well.

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Any tips on getting started? I am really anxious about research methods!

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Any tips on getting started? I am really anxious about research methods!

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Yes research methods can be daunting for some people. My advice is to get writing ASAP - Writing focuses the mind and your thinking in a way reading alone never achieves - Rough drafts - no matter how rough are great for getting your thinking underway - And as they are rough it doesnt matter how rough as no one will see the first drafts! Secondly get a research question ASAP- it doesnt have to be anything super special - ( no Nobel Prize winners here for choice of question!) The marks are awarded for how well you critique the literature NOT for your choice of topic - remember that.
Also read, read and read research papers - the more you do this the more you will spot patterns and start to understand the language!
Thirdly make sure you understand the most important element to this assignment is to critique the literature and NOT simply describe findings. Do read around critical appraisal and familiarise yourself with tools such as CASP as these will guide you in the process, they are your checklist to ensure you are considering all the essential criteria for critiquing the papers

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I am not sure I am doing the search correctly - any suggestions

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I am not sure I am doing the search correctly - any suggestions

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The librarian's session was recorded if you want to play it again - but dont forget you can always book a one to one with a librarian to go through the process again

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1) Check and re-check the assessment criteria in the assignment guidelines
2) Do have a look at the criteria used to mark the assessment i.e Specifically the rubric
3) Use sub headings in your written assignment. Not only does this sign post the reader but it ensures you get everything into the assignment that you are supposed to. You can place the headings in your early draft as a bit a 'checklist' reminder for yourself to ensure you do not miss anything.

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When I am critiquing my final chosen 'best two' articles - do I critique one first - then immediately after critique the second paper?

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When I am critiquing my final chosen 'best two' articles - do I critique one first - then immediately after critique the second paper?

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Ok you can do it this way -  however what is even better is if you are comparing and contrasting as you go. So for example if you were talking about how participants were recruited to the study, you might make comparisons over one method being stronger than the other. In fact you can do this for a number of other considerations as well - for example are the studies credible? And why? Also are they robust? And/or reliable, trustworthy, dependable and so forth - Maybe the strengths and weaknesses vary and part of your weighing up of them can fairly represent their pros and cons in a balanced evidenced discussion

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Synthesising my findings from my critical review! how do I do this ?

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Synthesising my findings from my critical review! how do I do this ?

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Ok here's some things to consider ;
1) What are the similarities and differences across your papers and in turn then compared to the wider literature?
2) What are the strengths and limitations for each article?
3) Were there any frameworks or concepts? How do they compare across the literature?  How robust/rigourous are these?
4) How do the research methods used compare? Are some better than others ? If so why?
5) What key themes emerge across the literature? Are these complimentary or conflicting? If the later why might this be? Ie different research method? Population used?
6) What's the contribution overall in terms of knowledge if all the literature is considered as a whole?
7) Is the evidence base overall inadequate? biased? lacking rigour?
8) Is the evidence overall of a high quality and well documented, and consistently of a high quality across a number of studies?
9) Has research on the topic overall been done well to date?

Research that is rigourous may have findings that are consistent and overwhelmingly in support of certain required approaches in health care and a require a clear change in policy. Or maybe that evidence is insufficient. You should comment on this. Make sure you back this up based on how you have weighed up the balance of probabilities - That argument is based on your assessment of the literature! So you have to make a strong justification for it one way of the other. Make arguments either way from your critical evaluation of the evidence you have reviewed. Be careful not to suddenly at this stage bring in a new unsubstantiated argument.

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Is it ok to just score the articles using CASP and stick it in a table in the appendix?

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Is it ok to just score the articles using CASP and stick it in a table in the appendix?

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No its important that you unpack all the appraisal of the articles and have a written critical discussion where you weigh up everything up and compare and contrast it all in the main section of the assignment.

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Do I need to use a PRISMA flow diagram and where in the assignment should I place this?

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Do I need to use a PRISMA flow diagram and where in the assignment should I place this?

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Yes definitely include a PRISMA diagram to demonstrate how you selected your literature and applied your inclusion and exclusion criteria - Your PRISMA flow diagram should go in the main body of the essay. Make sure you visit the PRISMA website for examples on how to do it well - PRISMA (prisma-statement.org) You would be surprised how many students' flow charts do not total correctly!!

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Often students will send a title that looks like a very good topic. They ask me if the topic is a good one. Really I cant say without reviewing the literature myself. Moreover a key part of the assignment itself is about the student making the case early on for the topics relevance and why it is important to their own clinical area and their own practice.

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I have worked with both Amy and Amanda - and they are great health services researchers! Both were key people in the creation of CASP. Here is some research I published with them PLOS ONE: What utility scores do mental health service users, healthcare professionals and members of the general public attribute to different health states? A co-produced mixed methods online survey- have a look and try and critique it! Let me know what the strengths and limitations are

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Do I have to have one quantitative and one qualitative article? What if the area I am looking into only seems to have qualitative research studies done in this area?

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Do I have to have one quantitative and one qualitative article? What if the area I am looking into only seems to have qualitative research studies done in this area?

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Sometimes a certain research area only has say trials or semi structured interviews as those methods lend themselves to the study of that particular research area. If this is the case then thats fine - but you will need to explain this!

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The assignment says 4000 words - is there a 10% word allowance one way or the other - 

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The assignment says 4000 words - is there a 10% word allowance one way or the other - 

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No there is an expectation that you achieve the assignment objectives within this word count

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This is a good article ; Critical appraisal: how to evaluate research for use in clinical practice - The Pharmaceutical Journal (pharmaceutical-journal.com)

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Critical appraisal: how to evaluate research for use in clinical practice - The Pharmaceutical Journal

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Not all data in healthcare research are of equal quality​[1]​. To incorporate evidence-based medicine (EBM) into practice, pharmacists must be able to assess the quality and reliability of evidence​[2]​. This requires the development of critical appraisal skills. Critical appraisal The critical appr…

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So if I just go through the CASP checklist - or other similar sort of checklist and tick it all off - thats it? I have critiqued the literature and I am done?!

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So if I just go through the CASP checklist - or other similar sort of checklist and tick it all off - thats it? I have critiqued the literature and I am done?!

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No unfortunately not quite - CASP is useful to a certain point - and a very helpful checklist - but remember this is level 7 writing - We also want to hear how you apply it all - so you cant get all of that from a checklist - what about your thoughts too on the quality of the research? Use your clinical intuitive skill set as well to weigh up whether the research has been done well - if so in what ways? And if its findings can be generalised to other clinical settings and/or populations. Also say how the research could have been improved and what its strengths and weaknesses are overall relative to say other research.

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CASP - Critical Appraisal Skills Programme

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This set of eight critical appraisal tools are designed to be used when reading research. CASP has appraisal checklists designed for use with Systematic Reviews, Randomised Controlled Trials, Cohort Studies, Case Control Studies, Economic Evaluations, Diagnostic Studies, Qualitative studies and Clinical Prediction Rule.

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CASP - Critical Appraisal Skills Programme

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The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) enables you to systematically assess the trustworthiness, relevance & results of published papers. Learn more