Quantitative and Qualitative Research Report Critique by Nursing Students: Why and How to Conduct it?

Abstract

Background: Critiquing research is one of the core skills that nursing students must learn for several professional reasons. This is particularly important because it helps them to: apply evidence-based interventions that enhance patient care, reduce variation in nursing care, perform quality assurance principles, further their knowledge about the most efficient and cost-effective intervention, contribute to research by identifying gaps in the literature, further patient advocacy by ensuring the research was ethically conducted, protect human rights and enhance their critical thinking and analytical skills. Aim:  The aim of publishing this report is to provide a tool of reference for incoming nursing students when attempting their own research critiques for the first time. Method: The main literature sources used to guide our critique analysis included multiple resources provided by our course professor and Fain’s (2017) textbook titled: "Reading, Understanding and Applying Nursing Research". Conclusion:  Through the process of critiquing research reports, we developed our critical thinking skills on how best to use and interpret future studies in our other projects and in our nursing roles, as well as enhancing our explicit and tacit knowledge surrounding the validation of research before implementing it into practice. This ability to constructively critique research proves to be an asset to both novice and more seasoned nurses and to continue to support positive outcomes for those who come into contact with the healthcare system.