Zaman et al. (2015) The title of the quantitative study by Zaman et al. (2015) was a bit long, but the wording eliminated any ambiguity about the focus of the study. The title first defined the study population as "newly diagnosed sputum positive tuberculosis patients in Dhubri district, Assam, India" then alluded to the key variables with the phrase "factors influencing their compliance to treatment" (p. 415). Most readers would probably assume that there were too many factors to be listed in the title. The nature of the study was also made explicit with the words "epidemiological study." The title could have been shortened by a few words, but not many; therefore, the title is a good one.

Abstract

The abstract clearly and concisely summarized the main features of the report (Zaman et al., 2015). Tuberculosis (TB) compliance is an important issue in India and the abstract makes this claim at the beginning. The aims of the study were stated explicitly, which is the identification of clinico-social factors determining treatment compliance. The methods were clearly delineated as was the group under study. The results statement provided statistics for the factors influencing treatment compliance, while the conclusion statement was concise and to the point; therefore, the abstract...

The primary research concern was working adults who were living with untreated TB, because of the impact on household income, especially for those living in poverty. Accordingly, the researchers sought to better understand the socioeconomic factors determining TB prevalence and treatment compliance. The introduction was very brief, so little background was given, although the authors referenced studies supporting the economic impact of TB and the socioeconomic factors determining TB prevalence in other countries: however, readers are required to assume that these issues are relevant for the population of interest. The lack of background information could be due to very few studies having been conducted in the past, but this was not stated explicitly. If there was little or no information about this demographic then there was a good match between the study design/methods used and the research problem. A quantitative study would have been appropriate; however, this introduction does not build a cogent and persuasive argument for this study. The problem being addressed is relevant to…