critiquing a quantitative research article

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This article has a correction. Please see:

• Correction: How to appraise quantitative research - April 01, 2019

• Xabi Cathala 1 ,
• Calvin Moorley 2
• 1 Institute of Vocational Learning , School of Health and Social Care, London South Bank University , London , UK
• 2 Nursing Research and Diversity in Care , School of Health and Social Care, London South Bank University , London , UK
• Correspondence to Mr Xabi Cathala, Institute of Vocational Learning, School of Health and Social Care, London South Bank University London UK ; cathalax{at}lsbu.ac.uk and Dr Calvin Moorley, Nursing Research and Diversity in Care, School of Health and Social Care, London South Bank University, London SE1 0AA, UK; Moorleyc{at}lsbu.ac.uk

https://doi.org/10.1136/eb-2018-102996

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Introduction

Some nurses feel that they lack the necessary skills to read a research paper and to then decide if they should implement the findings into their practice. This is particularly the case when considering the results of quantitative research, which often contains the results of statistical testing. However, nurses have a professional responsibility to critique research to improve their practice, care and patient safety. 1  This article provides a step by step guide on how to critically appraise a quantitative paper.

Title, keywords and the authors

The authors’ names may not mean much, but knowing the following will be helpful:

Their position, for example, academic, researcher or healthcare practitioner.

Their qualification, both professional, for example, a nurse or physiotherapist and academic (eg, degree, masters, doctorate).

This can indicate how the research has been conducted and the authors’ competence on the subject. Basically, do you want to read a paper on quantum physics written by a plumber?

The abstract is a resume of the article and should contain:

Introduction.

Research question/hypothesis.

Methods including sample design, tests used and the statistical analysis (of course! Remember we love numbers).

Main findings.

Conclusion.

The subheadings in the abstract will vary depending on the journal. An abstract should not usually be more than 300 words but this varies depending on specific journal requirements. If the above information is contained in the abstract, it can give you an idea about whether the study is relevant to your area of practice. However, before deciding if the results of a research paper are relevant to your practice, it is important to review the overall quality of the article. This can only be done by reading and critically appraising the entire article.

The introduction

Example: the effect of paracetamol on levels of pain.

My hypothesis is that A has an effect on B, for example, paracetamol has an effect on levels of pain.

My null hypothesis is that A has no effect on B, for example, paracetamol has no effect on pain.

My study will test the null hypothesis and if the null hypothesis is validated then the hypothesis is false (A has no effect on B). This means paracetamol has no effect on the level of pain. If the null hypothesis is rejected then the hypothesis is true (A has an effect on B). This means that paracetamol has an effect on the level of pain.

Background/literature review

The literature review should include reference to recent and relevant research in the area. It should summarise what is already known about the topic and why the research study is needed and state what the study will contribute to new knowledge. 5 The literature review should be up to date, usually 5–8 years, but it will depend on the topic and sometimes it is acceptable to include older (seminal) studies.

Methodology

In quantitative studies, the data analysis varies between studies depending on the type of design used. For example, descriptive, correlative or experimental studies all vary. A descriptive study will describe the pattern of a topic related to one or more variable. 6 A correlational study examines the link (correlation) between two variables 7  and focuses on how a variable will react to a change of another variable. In experimental studies, the researchers manipulate variables looking at outcomes 8  and the sample is commonly assigned into different groups (known as randomisation) to determine the effect (causal) of a condition (independent variable) on a certain outcome. This is a common method used in clinical trials.

There should be sufficient detail provided in the methods section for you to replicate the study (should you want to). To enable you to do this, the following sections are normally included:

Overview and rationale for the methodology.

Participants or sample.

Data collection tools.

Methods of data analysis.

Ethical issues.

Data collection should be clearly explained and the article should discuss how this process was undertaken. Data collection should be systematic, objective, precise, repeatable, valid and reliable. Any tool (eg, a questionnaire) used for data collection should have been piloted (or pretested and/or adjusted) to ensure the quality, validity and reliability of the tool. 9 The participants (the sample) and any randomisation technique used should be identified. The sample size is central in quantitative research, as the findings should be able to be generalised for the wider population. 10 The data analysis can be done manually or more complex analyses performed using computer software sometimes with advice of a statistician. From this analysis, results like mode, mean, median, p value, CI and so on are always presented in a numerical format.

The author(s) should present the results clearly. These may be presented in graphs, charts or tables alongside some text. You should perform your own critique of the data analysis process; just because a paper has been published, it does not mean it is perfect. Your findings may be different from the author’s. Through critical analysis the reader may find an error in the study process that authors have not seen or highlighted. These errors can change the study result or change a study you thought was strong to weak. To help you critique a quantitative research paper, some guidance on understanding statistical terminology is provided in  table 1 .

• View inline

Some basic guidance for understanding statistics

Quantitative studies examine the relationship between variables, and the p value illustrates this objectively.  11  If the p value is less than 0.05, the null hypothesis is rejected and the hypothesis is accepted and the study will say there is a significant difference. If the p value is more than 0.05, the null hypothesis is accepted then the hypothesis is rejected. The study will say there is no significant difference. As a general rule, a p value of less than 0.05 means, the hypothesis is accepted and if it is more than 0.05 the hypothesis is rejected.

The CI is a number between 0 and 1 or is written as a per cent, demonstrating the level of confidence the reader can have in the result. 12  The CI is calculated by subtracting the p value to 1 (1–p). If there is a p value of 0.05, the CI will be 1–0.05=0.95=95%. A CI over 95% means, we can be confident the result is statistically significant. A CI below 95% means, the result is not statistically significant. The p values and CI highlight the confidence and robustness of a result.

Discussion, recommendations and conclusion

The final section of the paper is where the authors discuss their results and link them to other literature in the area (some of which may have been included in the literature review at the start of the paper). This reminds the reader of what is already known, what the study has found and what new information it adds. The discussion should demonstrate how the authors interpreted their results and how they contribute to new knowledge in the area. Implications for practice and future research should also be highlighted in this section of the paper.

A few other areas you may find helpful are:

Limitations of the study.

Conflicts of interest.

Table 2 provides a useful tool to help you apply the learning in this paper to the critiquing of quantitative research papers.

Quantitative paper appraisal checklist

• 1. ↵ Nursing and Midwifery Council , 2015 . The code: standard of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives https://www.nmc.org.uk/globalassets/sitedocuments/nmc-publications/nmc-code.pdf ( accessed 21.8.18 ).
• Gerrish K ,
• Moorley C ,
• Tunariu A , et al
• Shorten A ,

Competing interests None declared.

Patient consent Not required.

Provenance and peer review Commissioned; internally peer reviewed.

Correction notice This article has been updated since its original publication to update p values from 0.5 to 0.05 throughout.

Linked Articles

• Miscellaneous Correction: How to appraise quantitative research BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and RCN Publishing Company Ltd Evidence-Based Nursing 2019; 22 62-62 Published Online First: 31 Jan 2019. doi: 10.1136/eb-2018-102996corr1

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Writing, reading, and critiquing reviews

Écrire, lire et revue critique, douglas archibald.

1 University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada;

Maria Athina Martimianakis

2 University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Why reviews matter

What do all authors of the CMEJ have in common? For that matter what do all health professions education scholars have in common? We all engage with literature. When you have an idea or question the first thing you do is find out what has been published on the topic of interest. Literature reviews are foundational to any study. They describe what is known about given topic and lead us to identify a knowledge gap to study. All reviews require authors to be able accurately summarize, synthesize, interpret and even critique the research literature. 1 , 2 In fact, for this editorial we have had to review the literature on reviews . Knowledge and evidence are expanding in our field of health professions education at an ever increasing rate and so to help keep pace, well written reviews are essential. Though reviews may be difficult to write, they will always be read. In this editorial we survey the various forms review articles can take. As well we want to provide authors and reviewers at CMEJ with some guidance and resources to be able write and/or review a review article.

What are the types of reviews conducted in Health Professions Education?

Health professions education attracts scholars from across disciplines and professions. For this reason, there are numerous ways to conduct reviews and it is important to familiarize oneself with these different forms to be able to effectively situate your work and write a compelling rationale for choosing your review methodology. 1 , 2 To do this, authors must contend with an ever-increasing lexicon of review type articles. In 2009 Grant and colleagues conducted a typology of reviews to aid readers makes sense of the different review types, listing fourteen different ways of conducting reviews, not all of which are mutually exclusive. 3 Interestingly, in their typology they did not include narrative reviews which are often used by authors in health professions education. In Table 1 , we offer a short description of three common types of review articles submitted to CMEJ.

Three common types of review articles submitted to CMEJ

More recently, authors such as Greenhalgh 4 have drawn attention to the perceived hierarchy of systematic reviews over scoping and narrative reviews. Like Greenhalgh, 4 we argue that systematic reviews are not to be seen as the gold standard of all reviews. Instead, it is important to align the method of review to what the authors hope to achieve, and pursue the review rigorously, according to the tenets of the chosen review type. Sometimes it is helpful to read part of the literature on your topic before deciding on a methodology for organizing and assessing its usefulness. Importantly, whether you are conducting a review or reading reviews, appreciating the differences between different types of reviews can also help you weigh the author’s interpretation of their findings.

In the next section we summarize some general tips for conducting successful reviews.

How to write and review a review article

In 2016 David Cook wrote an editorial for Medical Education on tips for a great review article. 13 These tips are excellent suggestions for all types of articles you are considering to submit to the CMEJ. First, start with a clear question: focused or more general depending on the type of review you are conducting. Systematic reviews tend to address very focused questions often summarizing the evidence of your topic. Other types of reviews tend to have broader questions and are more exploratory in nature.

Following your question, choose an approach and plan your methods to match your question…just like you would for a research study. Fortunately, there are guidelines for many types of reviews. As Cook points out the most important consideration is to be sure that the methods you follow lead to a defensible answer to your review question. To help you prepare for a defensible answer there are many guides available. For systematic reviews consult PRISMA guidelines ; 13 for scoping reviews PRISMA-ScR ; 14 and SANRA 15 for narrative reviews. It is also important to explain to readers why you have chosen to conduct a review. You may be introducing a new way for addressing an old problem, drawing links across literatures, filling in gaps in our knowledge about a phenomenon or educational practice. Cook refers to this as setting the stage. Linking back to the literature is important. In systematic reviews for example, you must be clear in explaining how your review builds on existing literature and previous reviews. This is your opportunity to be critical. What are the gaps and limitations of previous reviews? So, how will your systematic review resolve the shortcomings of previous work? In other types of reviews, such as narrative reviews, its less about filling a specific knowledge gap, and more about generating new research topic areas, exposing blind spots in our thinking, or making creative new links across issues. Whatever, type of review paper you are working on, the next steps are ones that can be applied to any scholarly writing. Be clear and offer insight. What is your main message? A review is more than just listing studies or referencing literature on your topic. Lead your readers to a convincing message. Provide commentary and interpretation for the studies in your review that will help you to inform your conclusions. For systematic reviews, Cook’s final tip is most likely the most important– report completely. You need to explain all your methods and report enough detail that readers can verify the main findings of each study you review. The most common reasons CMEJ reviewers recommend to decline a review article is because authors do not follow these last tips. In these instances authors do not provide the readers with enough detail to substantiate their interpretations or the message is not clear. Our recommendation for writing a great review is to ensure you have followed the previous tips and to have colleagues read over your paper to ensure you have provided a clear, detailed description and interpretation.

Finally, we leave you with some resources to guide your review writing. 3 , 7 , 8 , 10 , 11 , 16 , 17 We look forward to seeing your future work. One thing is certain, a better appreciation of what different reviews provide to the field will contribute to more purposeful exploration of the literature and better manuscript writing in general.

In this issue we present many interesting and worthwhile papers, two of which are, in fact, reviews.

Major Contributions

A chance for reform: the environmental impact of travel for general surgery residency interviews by Fung et al. 18 estimated the CO 2 emissions associated with traveling for residency position interviews. Due to the high emissions levels (mean 1.82 tonnes per applicant), they called for the consideration of alternative options such as videoconference interviews.

Understanding community family medicine preceptors’ involvement in educational scholarship: perceptions, influencing factors and promising areas for action by Ward and team 19 identified barriers, enablers, and opportunities to grow educational scholarship at community-based teaching sites. They discovered a growing interest in educational scholarship among community-based family medicine preceptors and hope the identification of successful processes will be beneficial for other community-based Family Medicine preceptors.

Exploring the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical education: an international cross-sectional study of medical learners by Allison Brown and team 20 studied the impact of COVID-19 on medical learners around the world. There were different concerns depending on the levels of training, such as residents’ concerns with career timeline compared to trainees’ concerns with the quality of learning. Overall, the learners negatively perceived the disruption at all levels and geographic regions.

The impact of local health professions education grants: is it worth the investment? by Susan Humphrey-Murto and co-authors 21 considered factors that lead to the publication of studies supported by local medical education grants. They identified several factors associated with publication success, including previous oral or poster presentations. They hope their results will be valuable for Canadian centres with local grant programs.

Exploring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical learner wellness: a needs assessment for the development of learner wellness interventions by Stephana Cherak and team 22 studied learner-wellness in various training environments disrupted by the pandemic. They reported a negative impact on learner wellness at all stages of training. Their results can benefit the development of future wellness interventions.

Program directors’ reflections on national policy change in medical education: insights on decision-making, accreditation, and the CanMEDS framework by Dore, Bogie, et al. 23 invited program directors to reflect on the introduction of the CanMEDS framework into Canadian postgraduate medical education programs. Their survey revealed that while program directors (PDs) recognized the necessity of the accreditation process, they did not feel they had a voice when the change occurred. The authors concluded that collaborations with PDs would lead to more successful outcomes.

Experiential learning, collaboration and reflection: key ingredients in longitudinal faculty development by Laura Farrell and team 24 stressed several elements for effective longitudinal faculty development (LFD) initiatives. They found that participants benefited from a supportive and collaborative environment while trying to learn a new skill or concept.

Brief Reports

The effect of COVID-19 on medical students’ education and wellbeing: a cross-sectional survey by Stephanie Thibaudeau and team 25 assessed the impact of COVID-19 on medical students. They reported an overall perceived negative impact, including increased depressive symptoms, increased anxiety, and reduced quality of education.

In Do PGY-1 residents in Emergency Medicine have enough experiences in resuscitations and other clinical procedures to meet the requirements of a Competence by Design curriculum? Meshkat and co-authors 26 recorded the number of adult medical resuscitations and clinical procedures completed by PGY1 Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians in Emergency Medicine residents to compare them to the Competence by Design requirements. Their study underscored the importance of monitoring collection against pre-set targets. They concluded that residency program curricula should be regularly reviewed to allow for adequate clinical experiences.

Rehearsal simulation for antenatal consults by Anita Cheng and team 27 studied whether rehearsal simulation for antenatal consults helped residents prepare for difficult conversations with parents expecting complications with their baby before birth. They found that while rehearsal simulation improved residents’ confidence and communication techniques, it did not prepare them for unexpected parent responses.

Review Papers and Meta-Analyses

Peer support programs in the fields of medicine and nursing: a systematic search and narrative review by Haykal and co-authors 28 described and evaluated peer support programs in the medical field published in the literature. They found numerous diverse programs and concluded that including a variety of delivery methods to meet the needs of all participants is a key aspect for future peer-support initiatives.

Towards competency-based medical education in addictions psychiatry: a systematic review by Bahji et al. 6 identified addiction interventions to build competency for psychiatry residents and fellows. They found that current psychiatry entrustable professional activities need to be better identified and evaluated to ensure sustained competence in addictions.

Six ways to get a grip on leveraging the expertise of Instructional Design and Technology professionals by Chen and Kleinheksel 29 provided ways to improve technology implementation by clarifying the role that Instructional Design and Technology professionals can play in technology initiatives and technology-enhanced learning. They concluded that a strong collaboration is to the benefit of both the learners and their future patients.

In his article, Seven ways to get a grip on running a successful promotions process, 30 Simon Field provided guidelines for maximizing opportunities for successful promotion experiences. His seven tips included creating a rubric for both self-assessment of likeliness of success and adjudication by the committee.

Six ways to get a grip on your first health education leadership role by Stasiuk and Scott 31 provided tips for considering a health education leadership position. They advised readers to be intentional and methodical in accepting or rejecting positions.

Re-examining the value proposition for Competency-Based Medical Education by Dagnone and team 32 described the excitement and controversy surrounding the implementation of competency-based medical education (CBME) by Canadian postgraduate training programs. They proposed observing which elements of CBME had a positive impact on various outcomes.

You Should Try This

In their work, Interprofessional culinary education workshops at the University of Saskatchewan, Lieffers et al. 33 described the implementation of interprofessional culinary education workshops that were designed to provide health professions students with an experiential and cooperative learning experience while learning about important topics in nutrition. They reported an enthusiastic response and cooperation among students from different health professional programs.

In their article, Physiotherapist-led musculoskeletal education: an innovative approach to teach medical students musculoskeletal assessment techniques, Boulila and team 34 described the implementation of physiotherapist-led workshops, whether the workshops increased medical students’ musculoskeletal knowledge, and if they increased confidence in assessment techniques.

Instagram as a virtual art display for medical students by Karly Pippitt and team 35 used social media as a platform for showcasing artwork done by first-year medical students. They described this shift to online learning due to COVID-19. Using Instagram was cost-saving and widely accessible. They intend to continue with both online and in-person displays in the future.

Adapting clinical skills volunteer patient recruitment and retention during COVID-19 by Nazerali-Maitland et al. 36 proposed a SLIM-COVID framework as a solution to the problem of dwindling volunteer patients due to COVID-19. Their framework is intended to provide actionable solutions to recruit and engage volunteers in a challenging environment.

In Quick Response codes for virtual learner evaluation of teaching and attendance monitoring, Roxana Mo and co-authors 37 used Quick Response (QR) codes to monitor attendance and obtain evaluations for virtual teaching sessions. They found QR codes valuable for quick and simple feedback that could be used for many educational applications.

In Creation and implementation of the Ottawa Handbook of Emergency Medicine Kaitlin Endres and team 38 described the creation of a handbook they made as an academic resource for medical students as they shift to clerkship. It includes relevant content encountered in Emergency Medicine. While they intended it for medical students, they also see its value for nurses, paramedics, and other medical professionals.

Commentary and Opinions

The alarming situation of medical student mental health by D’Eon and team 39 appealed to medical education leaders to respond to the high numbers of mental health concerns among medical students. They urged leaders to address the underlying problems, such as the excessive demands of the curriculum.

In the shadows: medical student clinical observerships and career exploration in the face of COVID-19 by Law and co-authors 40 offered potential solutions to replace in-person shadowing that has been disrupted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They hope the alternatives such as virtual shadowing will close the gap in learning caused by the pandemic.

Letters to the Editor

Canadian Federation of Medical Students' response to “ The alarming situation of medical student mental health” King et al. 41 on behalf of the Canadian Federation of Medical Students (CFMS) responded to the commentary by D’Eon and team 39 on medical students' mental health. King called upon the medical education community to join the CFMS in its commitment to improving medical student wellbeing.

Re: “Development of a medical education podcast in obstetrics and gynecology” 42 was written by Kirubarajan in response to the article by Development of a medical education podcast in obstetrics and gynecology by Black and team. 43 Kirubarajan applauded the development of the podcast to meet a need in medical education, and suggested potential future topics such as interventions to prevent learner burnout.

Response to “First year medical student experiences with a clinical skills seminar emphasizing sexual and gender minority population complexity” by Kumar and Hassan 44 acknowledged the previously published article by Biro et al. 45 that explored limitations in medical training for the LGBTQ2S community. However, Kumar and Hassen advocated for further progress and reform for medical training to address the health requirements for sexual and gender minorities.

In her letter, Journey to the unknown: road closed!, 46 Rosemary Pawliuk responded to the article, Journey into the unknown: considering the international medical graduate perspective on the road to Canadian residency during the COVID-19 pandemic, by Gutman et al. 47 Pawliuk agreed that international medical students (IMGs) do not have adequate formal representation when it comes to residency training decisions. Therefore, Pawliuk challenged health organizations to make changes to give a voice in decision-making to the organizations representing IMGs.

In Connections, 48 Sara Guzman created a digital painting to portray her approach to learning. Her image of a hand touching a neuron showed her desire to physically see and touch an active neuron in order to further understand the brain and its connections.

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• Conducting an article critique for a quantitative research study: Perspectives for doctoral students and other novice readers (Vance et al.)
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• The experience of critiquing published research: Learning from the student and researcher perspective (Knowles & Gray)
• A guide to critiquing a research paper. Methodological appraisal of a paper on nurses in abortion care (Lipp & Fothergill)
• Step-by-step guide to critiquing research. Part 1: Quantitative research (Coughlan et al.)
• Step-by-step guide to critiquing research. Part 2: Qualitative research (Coughlan et al.)

Guidelines:

• Critiquing Research Articles (Flinders University)
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• How to Critique a Journal Article (UIS)
• How to Critique a Research Paper (University of Michigan)
• How to Write an Article Critique
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• Writing a Critique or Review of a Research Article (University of Calgary)

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Research essentials. How to critique quantitative research

Affiliation.

• 1 Anglia Ruskin University.
• PMID: 26558974
• DOI: 10.7748/ncyp.27.9.12.s14

QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH is a systematic approach to investigating numerical data and involves measuring or counting attributes, that is quantities. Through a process of transforming information that is collected or observed, the researcher can often describes a situation or event, answering the 'what' and 'how many' questions about a situation ( Parahoo 2014 ).

• Nursing Research / organization & administration*
• Nursing Research / standards
• Qualitative Research

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Appendix A: Questions for Critiquing Quantitative Research Articles

Guidebook for Social Work Literature Reviews and Research Questions Copyright © 2020 by Rebecca Mauldin and Matthew DeCarlo is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Critiquing research articles

5. Critiquing research articles Key Points • Research is rarely conducted under perfect conditions and so weaknesses can be found in most published research. This means that, just because a piece of research has been published, it is not above constructive criticism. • Critiquing research articles should be accomplished using a systematic approach. This chapter has provided two critique frameworks: one for quantitative research articles, and the other for qualitative articles. As these two designs are based on different principles, it is important that the criteria for judging one form are not applied to the other. • A critique should have a balance between description – what the researcher(s) did, and analysis – how well it was done. Undertaking a critique provides a sound basis for establishing evidence-based practice as it ensures that published research is carefully evaluated and not accepted on face value. The main purpose of midwifery research is to increase the quality of care through the application of evidence-based knowledge gained from systematic data collection and analysis. There is a problem, however, and that is research does vary in quality. The perfect research project is almost impossible to achieve as researchers seldom have ideal conditions in which to carry out their work and so find themselves making the best of a bad job. So how does the midwife reading research distinguish between the good, the misleading and the dangerous? Developing critiquing skills is part of the answer. This chapter clarifies the meaning and purpose of critiquing. The skill of critiquing is illustrated with the aid of two critiquing frameworks; one for qualitative research articles and the other for qualitative research. Some of the details within both frameworks are based on information in later chapters. This means that you may need to look at these for more details on certain points. This chapter appears at this point in the book as critiquing is a skill that should be developed early in gaining an understanding of research. Some research skills all midwives need to develop, and critiquing is one of them. This is because, as Lavender (2010) emphasises, it is no good relying on others to critique research for you as they may have a different agenda and interpret studies differently. You must be able to do this for yourself. According to Burns and Grove (2009 : 598), critiquing, or critical appraisal, means the systematic, unbiased careful examination of all aspects of a study in order to judge the merits, limitations, meaning and relevance to practice. Although the word critique sounds like the word ‘criticise’, it is meant to be a constructive evaluation, and should be objective, unbiased and impartial. It should take a balanced view of both the content and process of research as followed by an author. It is a way of using critical skills to reflect on not only the whole process in which the research was undertaken, but also the thinking and assumptions on which the research was based. Critiquing is a skill that requires practice, so read this chapter with a research article that is not too complex by your side. This will help you become familiar with applying the critique framework. In the first section you will need a quantitative study, where the results are presented in the form of numbers, and in the second part, a qualitative study where dialogue, quotes or descriptions of events are used. Applying a critiquing framework Before starting to critique it is useful to consider the words of McCarthy and O’Sullivan (2008) , who suggest that as time is so short and so much evidence available, we should firstly consider if an individual paper is worth reading. How do we tell? The first of two criteria that will help is to limit your effort to peer-reviewed articles. This will indicate it is from a reliable source, such as a well-known professional journal that first gets experts to check that the study is worthy of publication. Secondly, consider the title and its relevance to the topic you are exploring. Once you have chosen your article, there are three questions that need to be answered: • What does it say? • Can I trust it? • Will it contribute to practice? The first question relates to comprehension and is a description of what the authors examined. How did they justify the need for the study? How did they carry out the study? What did they find? What did they conclude? The second question relates to an assessment of the rigour applied to the research process – how well was it thought through, and what steps were taken to reduce problems of bias, reliability and validity. This second question requires knowledge of some of the kinds of issues and techniques of research covered throughout this book. The third question relates to an evaluation of the study’s contribution to professional practice – does it provide clear evidence for continuing, adapting or challenging practice. Who might benefit from the study, and in what way? Starting with the question of comprehension and what the research says, we might feel that if we read through an article we will know what it says. This is not necessarily the case. For instance, have you ever started reading at the top of a page, but by the time you have reached the bottom you have no recollection of what you have just read at the top? This is because most of us read passively a great deal of the time. Reading research articles is very different from reading a novel as they require a far more active, analytical and reflective approach. To help us improve our active reading and analytical skills we need two things; first of all, we need to separate a research article into its component parts. This will allow us to see the overall outline of the research, and understand how all the pieces fit together. Secondly, to be an active reader we need questions to which we actively seek answers. Box 5.1 provides such a framework and a list of questions for quantitative research articles. The following sections will add detail to the framework. BOX 5.1 Framework for critiquing quantitative research You should not expect to get answers to every question in each section, as what is important will vary from study to study. The questions provided here are to give you some guidance. 1. Focus In broad terms, what is the theme of the article? What are the key words you would file this under? Is the title a clue to the focus? How important is this for the profession/practice? 2. Background What argument or evidence does the researcher provide to suggest this topic is worth exploring? Is there a review of previous literature on the subject, or reference to government or professional reports that illustrate its importance? Are gaps in the literature or inadequacies with previous methods highlighted? Are local problems or changes that justify the study presented? Is there a trigger that answers the question, ‘why did they do it then’? Is there a theoretical or conceptual framework that helps us to see how all the elements in the study may be related? 3. Aim What is the aim of the research? This will usually start with the word ‘to’, e.g. the aim of this research was ‘ to examine/determine/compare/establish/etc ’. If relevant, is there a hypothesis? If there is, what are the dependent and independent variables? Are there concept and operational definitions for the key concepts? 4. Study design What is the broad research approach? Is it quantitative or qualitative? Is the design experimental, descriptive or correlation? Is the study design appropriate to the aim? 5. Data collection method Which tool of data collection has been used? Has a single method been used or triangulation? Has the author addressed the issues of reliability and validity? Has a pilot study been conducted or tool used from previous studies? Have any limitations of the tool been recognised? 6. Ethical considerations Were the issues of informed consent, confidentiality, addressed? Was any harm or discomfort to individuals balanced against any benefits? Did an ethics committee approve the study? 7. Sample Who or what makes up the sample? Are there clear inclusion and exclusion criteria? What method of sampling was used? Are those in the sample typical and representative of the larger group, or are there any obvious elements of bias? On how many people/things/events are the results based? 8. Data presentation In what form are the results presented: tables, bar graphs, pie charts, raw figures, or percentages? Does the author explain and comment on these? Has the author used correlation to establish whether certain variables are associated with each other? Have tests of significance been used to establish to what extent any differences between groups/variables could have happened by chance? Can you make sense of the way the results have been presented, or could the author have provided more explanation? 9. Main findings Which are the most important results that relate to the aim? (Think of this as putting the results in priority order; which is the most important result followed by the next most important result, etc. There may only be a small number of these.) 10. Conclusion and recommendations Using the author’s own words, what is the answer to the aim? If relevant, is the hypothesis accepted or rejected? Are the conclusions based on, and supported by, the results? What recommendations are made for practice? Are these relevant, specific and feasible? 11. Readability How readable is it? Is it written in a clear, interesting style, or is it heavy going? Does it assume a lot of technical knowledge about the subject and/or research procedures (i.e. is there much unexplained jargon)? 12. Practice implications Once you have read it, what is the answer to the question, ‘so what’? Was it worth doing and publishing? How could it be related to practice? Who might find it relevant and in what way? What questions does it raise for practice and further study? Focus The first thing we need to identify is the broad topic the research covers, so we can put it in the context of existing knowledge. This should be stated in a few words that include the key concepts or variables covered in the article.These might be found in the title, and most certainly in the aim. Ask yourself what is the basic theme of this article? The answer might be ‘making informed choices’, ‘care of the perineum’, or ‘breastfeeding support’. Notice that these are not questions, nor are they long or detailed. We are looking at the broad canvas of which this study forms a part. Background The opening to an article should provide a convincing justification for choosing the topic area. Here we should expect a clear argument or evidence as to why the topic is a problem, the nature and implications of that problem, and how it has been examined in the literature. A study should start with the identification of a problem. The author may use the subheading ‘ Review of the literature ’ (or ‘ Literature review ’) in which previous studies are examined. Some articles may contain only a summary or synopsis of previous work. Where possible, however, an author should provide a critical review of the literature. This should draw attention to both strengths and weaknesses of individual studies, and the literature overall. In this section the author may explicitly or implicitly draw together the theoretical or conceptual framework of the study. This will answer the question, ‘which concepts or variables are seen as linked for the purpose of this study’. The review of the literature section should open with some indication of how the search for appropriate literature was conducted, for example the databases, key words and time frame used (see Chapter 6 ). These will help identify if a comprehensive review was conducted. Aim (terms of reference) The background should prepare the way for the aim or ‘terms of reference’, which is the question the data will be collected to answer. There are two places where the aim can usually be found. The first is in the abstract, sometimes found underneath the title. The second place is just before the subheading, ‘method’. Although the aim usually begin with the word ‘ to ’, sometimes because of the grammatical construction of the sentence we might have to insert it ourselves (e.g. if it says ‘this study examines the problem, etc. we would insert ‘ to examine’ the problem, etc.’). If the work is experimental there might also be a hypothesis or assumption the researcher is testing. The author’s stated aim and hypothesis will help us identify if these were achieved or answered. With the aim, and the hypothesis if present, it should be possible to identify which of the three levels of research question has been used (see Chapter 2 ). The study variable(s) should also be clear at this stage. Where the research question is level three, there will be dependent and independent variables, and the researchers should provide a concept and operational definitions for the variables. (It may be helpful to return briefly to Chapter 2 for a reminder of these terms and their meaning.) In writing or producing a critique, it helps to use the author’s own words, rather than paraphrase them, to avoid change their meaning. Try to both describe what you have found under each heading in the critique framework, and also say how well you feel the author has accomplished each aspect. In other words, it is not simply what they said but how well they said it. This will result in a critical analysis of the article. Methodology This section indentifies the research design of the project, and matches its suitability to the research question. The first stage is to classify it under one of the following: • experimental design with an experiment and control group, • correlation, where the researcher searchers for patterns or associations between variables, • a survey where the purpose is description, • a qualitative design where the purpose is to gain insights into people’s perceptions, beliefs, or behaviour. Do you feel there is a match between the design and the aim? Within the broad research approach, you will identify which tool of data collection has been used. What are some of the strengths and weakness of the tool of data collection that makes it appropriately chosen here? Are the limitations of that tool recognised? Has triangulation been used, where the author has used more than one method of data collection to look at the same variable? Has the researcher attempted to strengthen the accuracy or ‘reliability’ of the tool? For instance, has the researcher used a pilot study to check the consistency of the tool of data collection? The critique will consider the ethical issues related to the tool of data collection. Here, we consider the principles of research governance (see Chapter 8

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April 17, 2024

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Research highlights new ways to tackle outlaw motorcycle gangs

by Deakin University

Deakin University criminology research can provide clues for law enforcement about the relationship between outlaw motorcycle gang (OMCG) clubs and how to combat gang crime.

The research, led by Professor of Criminology David Bright, builds on previous research by Deakin and the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC) that examined the inner workings within and between rival OMCG clubs. The research was published in the Journal of Quantitative Criminology .

"Previous studies of OMCG clubs have tended to focus on offending at the individual level, but do not address the question of how gangs collaborate together in crime, or the role that club structures and hierarchies play in setting up these collaborations," Professor Bright says.

"Our research delves into the interactions between club members such as co-offending in criminal activities."

The research reveals that office bearers—such as club presidents—act as brokers to organize collaboration between rival clubs, using lower ranked members to carry out offenses on behalf of more senior members.

"Lower ranked members are more likely to offend than office bearers. This supports previous research showing that leaders tend to maintain distance from direct criminal activities, so they aren't at risk of arrest or conviction," Professor Bright says.

"Our findings suggest that office bearers, rather than simply offending less, may play some role in directing or influencing the offending of other members from behind the scenes, while taking care not to become directly involved in crime and risk attracting the attention of law enforcement ."

"We also found that when lower ranked club members engaged in co-offending with members from other OMCG clubs, they were more likely to co-offend with members of the same rank."'

The fascinating insights come after extensive analyses of de-identified NSW police records. Professor Bright says law enforcement needs to examine and combat these criminal networks in its efforts to disrupt and prevent illegal activity.

"Specifically, intelligence agencies and law enforcement agencies should collect data on co-offending within and across OMCG clubs and seek to disrupt connections between some of the key players."

"Our results suggest the focus of law enforcement should be on the co-offending networks involved in serious crime such as organized crime, rather than on specific clubs."

Most OMCG members have histories of offending, including fighting, traffic violations , drug possession and disorderly conduct, as well as more serious violent and organized crime. OMCG clubs are sometimes portrayed as organized criminal groups.

Professor Bright says this is a contentious issue, both for criminology academics and law enforcement.

"There is often an assumption that all OMCG clubs are criminal or organized crime groups, but research tends to find that the reality is more nuanced. Some clubs do appear to operate as organized criminal groups, and some do not. Some OMCG members engage in crime, while others do not," he says.

"This has direct implications for how these gangs are policed. Our work suggests that rather than focusing on all outlaw motorcycle clubs—and all bikers for that matter—police should focus on intelligence collection and focus disruption attempts on the members and clubs that are involved in serious crime."

Commencing in mid-2024, Professor Bright will embark on a three-year research project. The project will also involve Deakin's Professor Chad Whelan and includes research partnerships with police agencies across Australia. The project aims to improve our understanding of OMCG crime and policies and practices that reduce such crime and related social harms.

Provided by Deakin University

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