Exercise Qualitative Research Critique Over Attached Article

Exercise

Qualitative Research Critique over attached article

EVALUATION CRITERIA

What is the phenomenon and is it clearly stated?

The phenomenon is the impact of the presence of a family while a patient is undergoing an intensive medical procedure. The phenomenon is clearly stated at the outset of the article. There is an option for registered nurses to have families present during these operations.

Is the context thoroughly described?

The context is thoroughly described, and includes RN's working with patients and their families in care settings "including the emergency department, cardiac stepdown, intensive care…and labor and delivery" (Knott and Kee, 2005, p. 192).

Are the informants appropriate to inform the research and adequately described?

The informants were appropriate to inform the research, since they consisted of RN's in acute care settings who worked on cardiac resuscitation operations with patients or who witnessed others doing so -- when there were family members present. This was the only criteria for the informants.

4. Does the research document the research process?

The research process is sufficiently documented in this article. It involved interviewing RN's in a variety of settings about the phenomenon. The interview questions are included in the article. There are also details regarding the data analysis and the interpretation of results.

5. What are the data collection strategies?

The data collection strategies involved the researchers asking the RNs a series of "open-ended questions" (Knott and Kee, 2005, p. 193) relating to the latter's experience with family presence during cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The RNs were also encouraged to add input outside of the questions at the end of the interviews.

6. Are considerations adequately addressed?

For the most part, the considerations of the study were adequately addressed. However, it would have been better to get more parity in the gender of the respondents, 90% of whom were women (Knott and Kee, 2005, p.194). It would also have been more advantageous and non-partisan to select respondents whom the researcher did not know -- which was not the case (Knott and Kee, 2005, p. 193).

7. Does the researcher address credibility, audibility and fittingness of the data?

The researchers addressed credibility, audibility and fittingness of the data by listing the respective specializations of the RN's interviewed, their education, and their demographic information. They also employed the constant comparative method to elucidate findings (Knott and Kee, 2005, p. 193-194).

8. Can the reader follow the researcher's thinking?

The reader can definitely follow the researchers' thinking. Every step in the method for this study is written out, as are the themes in the findings.

9. Is the decision-making process clear?

Other than the fact that the researchers chose to select participants that they knew, the decision-making process for this study was clear. The reasons for the study, the method selected, and the way of determining the findings (the constant comparative method) are well clarified.

10. Is the strategy used for analysis compatible with the purpose of the study?

The strategy used for analysis is compatible with the study. Since it is a qualitative one, the comparative method helped to discern themes in the data. The two researchers combined their results to elucidate themes. Even better, elements of one interview are compared with the others to identify commonalities (Knott and Kee, 2005, p. 193).

11. Are the findings meaningful to individuals not involved in the research?

The findings are definitely meaningful to those not involved with the study. They are of importance to family members present during cardiopulmonary resuscitation, as well as for RNs who have to deal with such families. The findings denote conditions for which FP is viable, as well as decision-making applications of family presence and its impact on family members (Knott and Kee, 2005, p. 194).

12. How do the conclusions reflect the study findings?

The conclusions reflect the findings by discussing the implications of the former. Those implications include the need for written policy regarding family presence. The positives and negatives in the findings emphasize the fact that the family's presence can be good or bad, and reinforce the need for policy.