Quantitative Research Critique

Quantitative Research Critique Part I
Introduction
It is important to note, from the onset, that the health and wellbeing of women is often impacted upon negatively by intimate partner violence (IPV). In the past, various research studies have attempted to not only assess the impact of IPV on the health and wellbeing of women, but also the strategies that ought to be implemented in seeking to care for victims of IPV. In their study titled Nurses' Preparedness to Care for Women Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence: A Quantitative Study in Primary Health Care, Sundborg, Saleh-Stattin, Wändell, and Törnkvist attempt to evaluate how well nurses are prepared to not only highlight, but also advance the appropriate nursing care to IPV victims seeking primary health care.” In critiquing the article, this text will largely focus on the said article’s problem statement/purpose, literature review, theoretical framework, hypotheses/research question, and design.
Problem Statement/Purpose
Sundborg, Saleh-Stattin, Wändell, and Törnkvist state the purpose of this particular article as “to assess nurses' preparedness to identify and provide nursing care to women exposed to IPV who attend primary health care.” This being a descriptive research study, it may not be possible to establish cause and effect or correlate variables. In contrast to other kinds of research (i.e. experimental research), descriptive research seeks to assess or highlight specific features of the phenomenon or population being studied. In this case, the study sought to assess the preparedness of nurses to care for women victims of IPV. The purpose of this research does imply empirical testability. Testability is a tenet that ought to be central in the design of all studies. In this case, testability is promoted by the clear definition of the population under consideration and the specific distinguishing features of interest. It is important to note that the authors of this particular study specify the population in the problem statement as nurses working with IPV victims in private health care. It should be noted that the issue or concern that the authors of this study set to investigate is of great relevance to nursing. This is more so the case given that IPV has variously been identified as one of the public health concerns having the greatest impact on the health and wellbeing of women. In that regard, therefore, any undertaking that is keen on promoting the ability of nurses to further enhance their competencies with regard to the provision of quality nursing care to women exposed to IPV would be relevant to nursing.
Review of the Literature
A review of literature has the overall purpose of presenting “a strong knowledge base for the conduct of the study” (Lo-Biondo-Wood and Haber, 2014, p. 51). To successfully take into consideration useful information on the concern under enquiry, the review of literature ought to be not only comprehensive and diverse, but also well organized. The authors of this study conduct meaningful and comprehensive review of literature from a variety of sources. The majority of the sources used are current and they are relevant to the concern being queried. The authors also source some materials from sources that, at first instance, appear outdated – i.e. sources that are more than 10 years old. According to Gray, Ferris, and White (2018), there is need to discriminate sources so as to ensure that that validity of the study is not in question. In the words of the authors, “validity is ascertained by ensuring the information is current, relevant, reliable and feasible….” (Gray, Ferris, and White, 2018, p. 50). It should, however, be noted that in this case, the validity of the study may not have been compromised as more than 90 percent of the materials the authors rely on are current in the context of this particular research undertaking.
The review of literature in this case is inclusive of conceptual literature, and relevance to not only the issues at hand but also the specific theoretical constructs as well as area of research is sustained. It should also be noted that in a move that further advances reliability, most of the sources used are sourced from reputable journals and other related nursing texts. Also, only a few secondary sources have been used – effectively meaning that most of the sources used are primary. Thanks to the authors’ efforts to critically analyze sources, the literature review section is not just a collection of annotations. Although the literature review does not include the strengths and weaknesses of each study, it does comprehensively compare and contrast the various studies cited therein. As has been highlighted elsewhere in this text, this being a descriptive research study, the dependent and independent variables were not necessarily correlated as no cause or effects were presumed. In aggregate, most studies cited therein seem to suggest that the relevance of further enhancing the preparedness of health professionals as far as their engagement with those exposed to IPV cannot be overstated in seeking to improve outcomes as far as nursing care provided to women exposed to IPV is concerned. In essence, improving preparedness could be used in reference to proper training and the advancement of the relevant support. The authors of this particular study conclude with a brief assessment of the available and presented literature and also go ahead and assess the implications for the issue at hand. It is important to note that in this case, implications are assessed from a theoretical rationale. In the end, no inconsistencies or gaps were identified.
Theoretical Framework
In basic terms, the theoretical framework “presents the context for studying the problem…” (Lo-Biondo-Wood and Haber, 2014, p. 51). It has got to do with the presentation, detailing, and explanation of the theory explaining the problem being researched and why it exists. In that regard, therefore, the theoretical framework highlights good understanding of the various concepts as well as theories that are of great relevance to issues under consideration. Moyls, Rickard, Chambers, and Chaboyer (2015) are of the opinion that “it is now well recognized that nursing interventions frequently entail multiple factors, and thus fall within the realm of complex healthcare interventions” (112). In the present study, many of the participants pointed out that in the absence of physical injuries, they were not likely to make enquiries from women about violence. As a matter of fact, as Sundborg, Saleh-Stattin, Wandell, and Tornkvist point out, “they felt difficulties to know how to ask and if they identified violence they mostly offered the women a doctor's appointment.” The framework was largely founded on the need theory as developed by Virginia Henderson. In this case, the role of the nurse is largely inclined towards lending assistance the patient, as opposed to the doctor. Towards this end, nurses ought to be cognizant of the most critical needs required for patients to achieve greater outcomes and live independently. Henderson identified the said needs as: spiritual, social, physiological, and psychological needs (Gray, Ferris, and White, 2018). In this case, therefore, of key relevance is the ability of nurses to promote patient outcomes using a holistic approach so as to not only identify women exposed by IPV but also promote better outcomes for the various interventions instituted.
Hypotheses/Research Question
In the present study, the authors do not clearly identify the research question/hypotheses. At first instance, it may not be apparent how the authors intend to approach the process via the analysis of the topic. It should, however, be noted that this being a descriptive study, the research questions/hypotheses were not needed. As a matter of fact, the testing of a null-hypothesis could be implied by any p-value statement.
Design
The authors in this case made use of the descriptive research design. It is important to note that the appropriate research design is of great relevance in seeking to ensure that the research problem is unambiguously as well as logically addressed using the evidence obtained. Gray, Ferris, and White (2018) define descriptive design as an approach to research “that describes the characteristics of the population or phenomenon that is being studied” (132). As the authors further point out, this approach largely concerns itself not on the “why”, but on the “what” of the subject (Gray, Ferris, and White, 2018). The study in question sought to “assess nurses' preparedness to identify and provide nursing care to women exposed to IPV who attend primary health care.” In this endeavor, the researchers developed a questionnaire that sought to evaluate and assess the preparedness of nurses in encountering with those exposed to intimate partner violence. In developing the questionnaire, the authors relied on both their professional experience/knowledge and a systematic review of literature. In assessing internal validity, it should be noted that the same is of greater relevance in research undertakings seeking to assess causal relationships.
Conclusion
Sundborg, Saleh-Stattin, Wandell, and Tornkvist found a majority of nurses to be largely incompetent as far as the provision of nursing care to victims of IPV is concerned. Towards this end, the authors are of the opinion that the treatment options were largely founded on the symptoms presented – effectively meaning that unidentified abuse went unaddressed. As a result, the authors call for improvements to be made “on both the level of organization and individual.”

References
Gray, S., Ferris, L. & White, L.E. (2018). Foundations of Nursing: Enrolled Nurses. Mason, OH: Cengage.
Lo-Biondo-Wood, G. & Haber, J. (Eds.). (2014). Nursing Research: Methods and Critical Appraisal for Evidence-Based Practice (8th Ed.). New York, NY: Elsevier.
Moyle, W., Rickard, C.M., Chambers, S.K. & Chaboyer, W. (2015). The Partnering with Patients Model of Nursing Interventions: A First Step to a Practice Theory. Healthcare, 3(2), 252-262.
Sundborg, E. M., Saleh-Stattin, N., Wändell, P., & Törnkvist, L. (2012). Nurses' Preparedness to Care for Women Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence: A Quantitative Study in Primary Health Care. BMC Nursing, 11(1), 1-11.