Critical Appraisal: Nursing Field

The purpose of critical appraisal is not solely to find issues in a research study but to understand how it fits into the overall practice of clinical nursing and medicine. Each critical appraisal is assessed based on the type of evidence in the study, how well the study was conducted/investigated and its overall use to the field. Questions that often come up when performing a critical appraisal are related to the reliability and analysis of the research and whether it achieved its purpose. Critical appraisals are important to know if the research in the study will impact the field of medicine and nursing. There are instances where the article that provides information on the study can change how certain operations within the field. Most, if not all critical appraisals utilize an evaluation table that has several fields that should be filled in such as the conceptual framework of the study, the design/method, the sample/setting, the variables associated with the study and their definitions, how the study was measured, the analysis, the application of evidence-based practice, the findings and whether or not the study is useful in practice (Fineout-Overhold et al. (2010).

Based on the definition of critical appraisals and why they are necessary, in my research I will carefully assess and examine the purpose of the studies in the articles to know whether or not they will be significant. It will be important to know the reliability and validity of the instruments that were used in the study to know if they will be meaningful to what I am researching. Additionally, I will also analyze the results of the literature articles to know what the outcomes are as some articles may be more useful to my research than others. Also, the more useful articles will hopefully provide a foundation for the literature review in my own research. By performing critical appraisals, it will assist my research in being thorough and useful in practice at the conclusion of the project.

Reference

Fineout-Overholt, E., Mazurek, B., Stillwell, S., & Williamson, K. M. (2010, July). Critical Appraisal of the Evidence: Part I An introduction to gathering, evaluating, and recording the evidence. AJN, American Journal of Nursing, 110(7), 47-52.