Assignment: Critique of a Research Study

Assignment: Critique of a Research Study ORDER NOW FOR CUSTOMIZED AND ORIGINAL ESSAY PAPERS ON Assignment: Critique of a Research Study 800-1000 words Complete a critique of a research study. one article will be provided, in which you will chose randomized controlled clinical trial. The critique should identify areas of strengths and weaknesses in all aspects of the study as well as the quality of the written report. Assignment: Critique of a Research Study I will provide 4 attachemnt which explain how would you do the assignment . pleases, follow them and read them to get the idea. there will be a file explaining the details too. the article is also there which will be doing the critique on . research_critique_physical_activity_in_class_answers.doc research_critique_format.doc chapter4.ppt article.pdf Article Critique Introduction What was the purpose of the study? To address the gap of studies that do not exist that focus on examining the impact of exercise programs already existing in the community. The purpose of the study was very basic and mentioned quite early in the article. List any objectives, questions or hypotheses. The hypothesis was that the outcomes of treatment participants would improve significantly relative to the outcomes of the control group. This is a very broad hypothesis and could have focused on specific outcomes rather than all outcomes, which we assume they are talking about, however a broad hypothesis is acceptable since this is the first study looking at programs already in existence – they might not know what to expect or what to focus on. What are the independent and dependent variables contained within the study? Because the hypothesis is so broad, they are not identifying one single dependent variable that is the primary outcome. It is evident as you read through the methods that there are several main and intermediate outcomes that are being measured that could be identified as independent variables. Based on the hypothesis I would suggest the dependent variable is participation in the existing exercise program and the independent variables are all of the measurable outcomes. Does the hypothesis or research question flow logically from the framework of the article? Assignment: Critique of a Research Study Yes – it is mentioned very early in the study and the article flowed well with it. The only suggestion would be that the hypothesis be more specific as to what is expected to improve, with further discussion on why. This would help eliminate the multiple comparison problem – finding something to be significant by chance alone since so many outcomes are being measured. Lit Review and Ethics Does the content of the literature review relate directly to the research problem? At first glance, yes all of the cited sources appear to apply and relate directly to the problem at hand. Several other studies were referred to at the beginning of the article. Was the study approved by the appropriate IRB or similar ethics review committee? Assignment: Critique of a Research Study It was not discussed being approved by Institutional Review Board so it would have been nice to have noted. Did the study identify the risks/benefits of the study? Once could assume that the risks and benefits of an exercise program are understood based on the natural cognitive ability of a typical participant, but we do not want to leave the reader of research to assume anything. If the study did not provide the risks/benefits, what might they be? Risks could include risks associated with physical activity, especially since most participants have not been a part of such activity in a long time, including broken bones, strained muscles, fatigue, and other factors. Benefits could include a more healthy lifestyle, alleviated symptoms of many other factors, overall improvement of physical and mental health, and other factors. Were appropriate informed consent procedures used with all participants? The participants did sign a form indicating their informed consent and their physicians gave consent to participants’ participation. Assignment: Critique of a Research Study Research Design Is the research design appropriate for the problem being studied? Because this is the first of its type of study there is not a clear basis to determine if the design is completely inappropriate. The study did do an excellent job to outline its processes and data collection procedures and its process for controlling for missing data with participants. How were confounding variables controlled? The inclusion and exclusion criteria assisting with testing those that truly are not already participating in physical activity programs rather than all participants which could include already physically active individuals – preventing the questions they want to answer from being answered. Are the sampling inclusion and exclusion criteria described? Yes, but not in a lot of detail. This isn’t necessarily bad because not a lot of criteria existed for each because of the simplicity of this study. This will make extrapolation easier because of the broad implications of this study hypothesis and goal. What is the sample size? 544 participants across 3 sites. The breakdown between treatment and control group was fairly even (289 vs 255). Considering the study was powered for 750 participants, even though that was noted as conservative, they did not recruit that many. This makes their argument about whatever they prove to be statistically significant not as strong of an argument. There is more of a chance that whatever is significant is not because of the physical activity program, but because of change alone or some other factor not being investigated. Was a power analysis done to indicate the number needed to be in the study to demonstrate statistical significance? Yes, the study was powered conservatively to enroll 750 participants at baseline across the 3 study locations. I like that this was the conservative approach, so if they didn’t reach that number they were confident that the study would still have enough participants to demonstrate statistical significance, which they did in this study. Data Collection What categories of data collection methods were used? (self-report, scales, observational, biophysiological) Data was collected many different ways. Interviews, self-report questionnaires and measurements, basic fitness tests that are equated to scores, measurements of flexibility, calculation of weight and height measurements, etc. What was nice about all outcomes of this study is that they are quite basic and widely accepted in the community of measuring one’s overall level of fitness and health. Identify the specific instrument(s) used to measure the dependent variable(s)? For this specific study, the dependent variable is quite simple – participation in a physical activity program or not. The measurement of that is knowing whether or not a participant is in the control or study group. If the hypothesis was more specific, for example, saying that the activity program would result in improvements for BMI then I would critique the tools used in calculating that measurement. What is the reliability of the data collection methods used? Discuss each measure of the dependent variable(s). I feel quite confident that all main and intermediate outcomes being measured are quite reliable. This is important since the study is being performed across multiple locations. This means that the outcomes are reproducible in different settings – both accurate and precise in measurement. We should expect to get the same result for someone in all locations with the same “characteristics.” Data Analysis How were the data analyzed? (What statistical tests were used) First, a logistic regression model compared those who remained in the study with those who left across the sites. Then data analysis was done in means of a random-intercept model assuming data are missing at random (accounting for participants dropping out or not participating at month 5 and then at month 10). They used the Cohen d to measure the strength of the relationship between the multiple variables they compared against participation in exercise program. They used Cohen criteria to categorize results as having a small, medium or large effect (different measurements of strength of relationship). Cohen’s D is mearly the difference between two averages, divided by the standard deviation of the data. What type of data was analyzed? (nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio, etc.) A majority of the data that was analyzed was in the form of ordinal data – discrete data that can be ordered one higher that the next and with at least three and at most a limited number of possible values. This type of data works great with the Cohen D calculation for shoeing the strength of a relationship between two variables. Are the analyses interpreted correctly? I believe the analysis is performed correctly. What gives me a confidence about that statement is the fact that they controlled for missing data and set thresholds for small, medium and large associations. I believe the method for collecting data was strong, so this leads to strong interpretation of the strength of relationship. What were the findings? The basic findings outside of statistical significance testing are outlined at the beginning of the results section of the paper. Many facts were noted in the discussion of what was found in the study, including but not limited to, improvements in sit and stand, arm-curl tests, higher participation in all types of physical activity, higher increase in frequency of physical activity, no differences in scores for CES-D, BMI, 6 min walk, back-scratch test, weekly caloric expenditure or SF-36. This is not of much surprise as the goal was not to measure anything specific, just to see “improved results” which is not clearly defined so could be interpreted as anything at all. Were the findings significant? Some findings were indeed significant as defined by the Cohen D thresholds and were noted above – sit and stand test, arm curl test, higher participation of physical activity and higher increase in frequency of physical activity. The last two improvements can be expected because of the nature of the research, and the first two could almost be implied because of the higher participation of physical activity – one would expect to see these types of results. Interpretation, Discussion (Evaluation) What are the study limitations? The broad hypothesis makes the focus of seeing improvement on any one variable of physical fitness quite difficult. This, as mentioned earlier, is permissible as this is the first study of its kind. Another limitation was enrolling participants that already do not participate in some type of physical fitness routine. This would explain why they could not get 750 participants to complete. Attendance in exercise programs was also a problem throughout the study. To get more accurate results you would expect as high of an attendance rate as possible. Retaining participants, working in conjunction with overall participation, was also a limitation of the study. Many people want to improve physical fitness but following through long term on programs proves to be difficult. How do the results fit with previous research in the area? The results were as I expected – minimal improvements in certain areas. I would like to have seen a breakdown of participants that attended more than 90-% or even 90% of the classes and viewed their results compared to a similar portion of the study group (perhaps matched for age or baseline results on certain outcome measurements). Also, since this was one of the first studies of its kind, I did not know exactly what to expect. What is the overall quality of the study when the strengths and weaknesses are summarized? The overall quality of this study was quite good. I would expect future studies to build off of this and create a more specific hypothesis to build off of study strengths and weaknesses. I would like to learn more about what benefits could be seen from strict participation in one type of study over another. This will aid in clinicians being able to determine what type of program is best for what type of disease or issue a patient is going through. What does the research mean for clinical practice? It was stated that the US public policy should encourage programs of the type examined in this study and that multiple component physical activity programs should be supported by location community partners and national agencies – encouraging their use and assisting with their availability to the public. This translates to more need of these types of programs so clinicians are able to suggest or require their clients and patients to participate in a similar program when certain improvements are needed. At this point in the research, the findings for clinical practice are still quite weak, but more research will suggest more specific meaning which will equate to more evidence for specific programs for specific needs and patients. Get a 10 % discount on an order above $ 100 Use the following coupon code : NURSING10