Research Article Critique Instructions

Research Article Critique, Part One

Instructions: A major skill that is learned in this course is how to critically read and critique nursing research articles. The purpose for critiquing an article is to critically evaluate the research process followed by the author(s) of the assigned article. This is an information-intensive, time-intensive process that is not learned overnight. To demonstrate your skill at critiquing an article, you will complete this open-book multiple choice assignment.

Here’s how you should approach completing this week’s assignment to begin critiquing an article:

1. First, do your assigned reading in Grove & Gray (2019) and complete the reading worksheets early in the week. This will introduce you to the critique skills you will need for the week.

2. Skim the entire instructor assigned research article that has been posted in Module One for you so that you will have an idea of what it is about. Lightly cross out the abstract for the article (you won’t be using it). Then, for this week, re-read carefully the introduction / literature review /theoretical framework and methods sections of the article again.

3. Print the Research Article Critique, Part One and find the best answer to each question based on your assigned reading for the week and on what you have read in the instructor assigned research article.

4. Some of the questions in the critique assignment below will seem unfamiliar to you. Look up key terms from the question in your textbook. Some examples of these terms might be: problem statements, hypotheses, or variables. You can also look in Chapter 12 for an example of a critical appraisal (or critique) of a quantitative research article.

5. Once you have completed this assignment “on paper”, go into the course and enter your answers by the assignment due date and time listed in the syllabus. Ignore any wording from that indicates that “this is a test” and carefully enter your answers from this document.

6. This RAC is intended to be your own work. Do not discuss the questions with other students online or any other way. Doing so would be collusion and will be reported to the Office of Community Standards.

If you have questions about this assignment, you can post them to the Q & A board for help. Please do not post the exact question from the assignment below and ask the group for the answer as this would constitute academic dishonesty.

Your assigned article for critique is:

Logan T.R., & Malone, M.M. (2018). Nurses’ perceptions of teamwork and workplace bullying. Journal of Nursing Management, 26, 411-419. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.12556

Your questions for this week’s critique are here:

 

1. Which choices below best reflect the problem statement for this article?

a. Nurses are often positioned toward the bottom of the healthcare hierarchy, invoking a sense of powerlessness and frustration that can engender aggressive behavior toward peers.

b. Unfortunately, team efficacy can be undermined by team dysfunction related to negative behavior.

c. A gap exists regarding stakeholder perspectives regarding the teams they serve and their experience of bullying on these teams.

d. A purposeful non-probability sampling technique was used to recruit hospital-based nurses in order to solicit perceptions of teamwork and workplace bullying.

2. Which of the choices below best reflects the purpose statement for the instructor assigned article?

a. Respondents were asked to complete three surveys: attitudes about teamwork scale, team characteristics survey, and the negative intention questionnaire.

b. Unfortunately, team efficacy can be undermined by team dysfunction related to negative behavior.

c. A gap exists regarding stakeholder perspectives regarding the teams they serve and their experience of bullying on these teams.

d. The purpose of this study was to explore the association between nurses’ perceptions and attitudes of teamwork and workplace bullying.

3. According to Grove & Gray (2019), which of the following statements are important when considering the significance and relevance of a study’s problem and purpose?

(Select all that apply.)

a. Does it consider ethical principles in its design?

b. Does it address nursing research priorities?

c. Does it influence nursing practice?

d. Does it identify the population to whom they intend to generalize?

e. Does it promote theory testing or development?

f. Does it identify extraneous variables?

4. When considering the feasibility of a study’s problem and purpose, Grove & Gray (2019) suggest that several areas should be evaluated, including: researcher expertise, money commitment, ethical considerations, and availability of subjects, facilities, and equipment. Which of the following statements accurately assesses the feasibility of this article?

(Select all that apply.)

a. Funding sources for the study were identified in the article.

b. The author’s credentials to design and conduct research are described.

c. 100% of the eligible subjects contacted participated in the study.

d. Evidence of protection of the subjects’ rights and confidentiality was mentioned in this article.

5. According to Grove & Gray (2019), which one of the following is NOT a major purpose of the review of literature (ROL):

a. Describing the current knowledge of the practice problem

b. Identifying gaps in the knowledge base of the practice problem

c. Explaining how the current study contributes to the knowledge being built

d. To explain the reasons behind the research design used in the study.

6. Select three MAJOR topics covered in the review of literature (ROL) from the list below:

a. Effective teamwork is one tool for addressing the prevalence and impact of bullying in healthcare settings.

b. The purpose of this study was to explore the association between nurses’ perceptions and attitudes of teamwork and workplace bullying.

c. Unfortunately, team efficacy can be undermined by team dysfunction related to negative behavior.

d. While various causes, scope, and influence of bullying on the provision of quality care is described in the literature, one important consequence is the resulting high turnover in the nursing workforce worldwide.

e. Respondents were asked to complete three surveys: attitudes about teamwork scale, team characteristics survey, and the negative intention questionnaire.

7. Current knowledge in the review of literature (ROL) (all information included before the “Methods”) is considered to be articles that are within 5 years of the publication date of the article. This is often assessed by reviewing the citations that are used in the ROL and counting the number that meet this criteria. Which number below most closely reflects the number of current citations in the ROL? (HINT-start with the year 2018 as the year published in the journal and don’t double count your sources!)

a. 0

b. 5

c. 10

d. 15

8. Which of these statements best describes this study’s research framework?

a. This study has an implicit framework, which is not fully developed.

b. The authors developed the study’s research framework based on Watson’s Theory of Caring to describe the concept of caring for the self when faced with workplace bullying.

c. This study is based on Bandura’s social-cognitive theory.

9. What are some of the key concepts in this study’s research framework?

a. This study does not have any clearly defined concepts within a framework because it has an implicit framework.

b. The authors clearly identify the concepts of the framework from Watson’s Theory of Caring in a map or model.

c. The authors do not clearly define the concepts they are using from Bandura’s social cognitive theory.

d. The dependent variables included workplace bullying and burnout.

10. Which one of the statements below is an example of a relational statement from the study or research framework?

a. One relational statement identified in the review of literature is that perceptions influence attitudes, which in turn influences beliefs, judgments, and ultimately behavior.

b. This study does not have any clearly defined relational statements because it has an implicit framework.

c. The authors clearly identify the relational statements of Watson’s Theory of Caring in the abstract.

11. The authors state that one of the research objective, question, or hypothesis was “to explore the association between nurses’ perceptions and attitudes of teamwork and workplace bullying” on page 412. This is best described as a

a. Research objective

b. Research question

c. Research hypothesis

d. None of the above

12. Which of these would be considered MAJOR study variables?

(Select all that apply.)

a. Nurse attitudes about teamwork

b. Burnout

c. Demographic characteristics

d. Characteristics of teams

e. Nursing turnover rates

f. Exposure to negative acts / bullying

13. What is the conceptual definition (as defined in the review of the literature) of the following study variable: Negative acts / bullying

a. Repeated mistreatment including threats, humiliation, intimidation, sabotage, and verbal abuse.

b. Effective teamwork is grounded in key performance variables: leadership, trust, communication.

c. Nurses are often positioned toward the bottom of the healthcare hierarchy invoking a sense of powerlessness and frustration that can engender aggressive behavior toward peers.

d. A negative consequence of working with numbers of traumatized patients combined with a strong empathetic orientation.

14. What is the operational definition (as defined in the methods section) of the following study variable: Nurse attitudes about teamwork

a. Effective teamwork is grounded in key performance variables: leadership, trust, communication.

b. The Attitudes About Teamwork Survey (AATS)

c. Effective teamwork is one tool for addressing the prevalence and impact of bullying in healthcare settings.

d. The Negative Intention Questionnaire

15. Which demographic variables were assessed by the author for this study?

(Select all that apply.)

a. Age

b. Education level

c. Work years

d. Marital status

e. Sex

f. No demographic variables were assessed by the authors.

16. Which three phrases best describe the research design of this study?

a. Experimental

b. Descriptive

c. Nonexperimental

d. Quasi-experimental

e. Correlational

17. Which phrase best describes the time element of the research design of this study?

a. Cross-sectional design

b. Longitudinal design

c. None of the above

18. Does the study include a treatment or intervention described in the methods section?

a. The questionnaire used in the study (The AATS) may be considered a treatment or intervention.

b. 351 nurses were invited to participate in the intervention.

c. A control group of ICU nurses were also asked to complete the survey.

d. This study was not designed with a treatment or intervention.

19. Does the author specifically mention that a pilot study was done prior to conducting this study?

a. Yes

b. No

20. The authors indicate on page 412 of the article that the subjects were assured of confidentiality and that their responses were secured on a password-protected laptop computer. They do not mention the issue of informed consent in this article. Per Grove & Gray (2019), which of the following would NOT be considered essential information for informed consent?

a. a statement of the research purpose and any long-term goals of the study

b. a summary of the findings of the review of literature

c. an explanation of the procedures to be followed in the study

d. an explanation of why the prospective subject is being asked to participate