Quantitative Study Review: Nursing Student Learning Styles
This paper reviews a quantitative study by Gonzales et al. (2017) that examined the predominant learning styles of graduate entry nursing students at a southwestern university. The review evaluates the study's purpose, sample composition, data collection method (the Index of Learning Styles), statistical findings, and overall credibility. Key findings identified sensing, visual, sequential, and active learning as the dominant preferences among the 202 student participants. The paper also addresses the study's clinical significance (or lack thereof), its peer-reviewed publication, and its value for nurse educators in designing curricula that reflect how graduate-level nursing students learn most effectively.
- Introduction and Study Purpose: Study purpose and research question introduced
- Sample and Participant Demographics: Convenience sample of 202 nursing student volunteers
- Data Collection Method and Analysis: Index of Learning Styles instrument and descriptive statistics
- Key Findings: Sensing, visual, sequential, and active styles dominant
- Credibility of the Study: Peer-reviewed, consistent with prior research findings
- Clinical Significance and Value for Nurse Educators: No clinical significance; strong curricular implications
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What makes this paper effective
- The review follows a logical, consistent structure — moving from purpose and sample through method, findings, credibility, and significance — making it easy to follow for readers unfamiliar with the original study.
- The paper appropriately draws on multiple corroborating studies (McKenna et al., AbuAssi & Alkorashy, Brannan et al., Vizeshfar & Torabizadeh) to contextualize and support its credibility assessment.
- The author demonstrates critical thinking by honestly noting limitations, such as the absence of discussed inclusion/exclusion criteria and the lack of control for extraneous variables, rather than presenting the study uncritically.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper exemplifies systematic quantitative study critique: it evaluates each component of the research design (sampling strategy, instrument validity, statistical method, and generalizability) against standard research quality criteria, rather than merely summarizing what the study found.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with the study's purpose and research question, then details the sample, method, and findings in sequence, mirroring the structure of the original study. It then shifts to evaluative commentary — assessing credibility, clinical significance, and broader educational utility — before closing with implications for nurse educators. This review-then-evaluate structure is well-suited to the quantitative study critique format.
Introduction and Study Purpose
The purpose of the study by Gonzales et al. (2017) was to describe graduate entry nursing students' learning styles. The research question was: "What are the predominant learning styles of graduate entry nursing students?" (Gonzales et al., 2017, p. 56). The study did not formulate any hypothesis prior to conducting the Index of Learning Styles (ILS) survey.
Sample and Participant Demographics
The sample for the study was obtained by recruiting 202 graduate entry nursing student volunteers at a southwestern university, making it essentially a convenience sample. No inclusion or exclusion criteria were discussed in the study; however, in order to participate, each participant had to be an entry-level graduate nursing student at the recruiting institution. The ILS was administered to six cohorts of entry-level graduate nursing students at the southwestern university from 2011 to 2015.
Of the 285 students to whom the study was explained and from whom consent was obtained, 202 completed participation; thus the dropout rate was under 30% over the five-year period. The demographics of participants were as follows: age range was 21–56 years, with a mean age of 28.93 years; 62% were female; 61% were Caucasian; and 63% came from an urban or suburban home.
References
AbuAssi, N. E., & Alkorashy, H. A. E. (2016). Relationship between learning style and readiness for self-directed learning among nursing students at King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Advanced Nursing Studies, 5(2), 109–116.
Brannan, J. D., White, A., & Long, J. (2016). Learning styles: Impact on knowledge and confidence in nursing students in simulation and classroom. International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship, 13(1), 63–73.
Gonzales, L. K., Glaser, D., Howland, L., Clark, M. J., Hutchins, S., Macauley, K., ... & Ward, J. (2017). Assessing learning styles of graduate entry nursing students as a classroom research activity: A quantitative research study. Nurse Education Today, 48, 55–61.
McKenna, L., Copnell, B., Butler, A. E., & Lau, R. (2018). Learning style preferences of Australian accelerated postgraduate pre-registration nursing students: A cross-sectional survey. Nurse Education in Practice, 28, 280–284.
Vizeshfar, F., & Torabizadeh, C. (2018). The effect of teaching based on dominant learning style on nursing students' academic achievement. Nurse Education in Practice, 28, 103–108.
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