NURS 744: Evidence Based Practice: Research Paper

• Step-by-step guide to critiquing research. Part 1: quantitative research - by Michaei Coughian, Patricia Cronin, Frances Ryan in British Journal of Nursing

• A guide for critique of research articles Reading and critiquing a research article by Louise Kaplan, PhD, ARNP, FNP-BC, FAANP in American Nurse Today October 2012 Vol. 7 No. 10

• A guide for critique of research articles- by Dr. Ali Rezaei, Cal State University

• Sample student research critique paper from Westgate University

Let's say that your assignment is to find at least four empirical, peer reviewed journal articles. If you are not familiar with what empirical studies are and/or how to find them the following links can be helpful:

• My instructor said that I needed to find "Empirical" articles. What should I do? - from Cal Poly Pomona. Pay attention to #2 -- search devices in different databases. Ignore the Ask Us section on the right as it is information pertinent to their library.
• Empirical Research - from CSU, Chico, Meriam Library. Check out the Test your knowledge section

• Study Designs: A Complete Guide -- Conduct Science
• Types of Clinical Study Designs - from Georgia State University  Library

• An overview of research designs relevant to nursing: Part 1: Quantitative research designs -- http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0104-11692007000300022  an article from Scielo

• Introduction to Study Design Handout 

• Quasi-experimental study designs series—paper 4: uses and value - an article from Science Direct database

• Intervention: in Encyclopedia of Research Design - from SAGE Research Methods

• Understanding Research -- from MedSurge Nursing Journal

• Qualitative vs. Quantitative Research  -- - a module from Evidence Based Nursing Practice created by the Library Faculty at Scottsdale Community College 

• On Methods: What’s the difference between qualitative and quantitative approaches? - from the Chronicle of Evidence-based Mentoring, U Mass Boston

• Guidelines for Reporting Quantitative Methods and Results in Primary Research - by Norris et al. Language Learning

• Anatomy of a Research Paper

• Anatomy of a Scientific Paper

• How do I begin - helpful guide from Purdue OWL

• Research Paper, Qualitative Methodology, APA Style (Sociology) - from Writer's Help Hacker Handbooks

• Example of Quantitative Paper  from Trinity Washington University

You may have an assignment that asks you to read a research paper and critique it. You start reading the paper but it is long and boring (!) and you may not have any clue how to comprehend it! 'How to Read a Paper' series from The BMJ is a go to source when it comes to learning how to read a research paper.

Here's the link to the following articles:

• Papers that go beyond numbers (qualitative research) Trisha Greenhalgh, Rod Taylor

• Papers that summarise other papers (systematic reviews and meta-analyses) Trisha Greenhalgh

• Papers that tell you what things cost (economic analyses) Trisha Greenhalgh

• Papers that report diagnostic or screening tests Trisha Greenhalgh

• Papers that report drug trials Trisha Greenhalgh

• Statistics for the non-statistician. II: "Significant" relations and their pitfalls Trisha Greenhalgh

• Statistics for the non-statistician Trisha Greenhalgh

• Assessing the methodological quality of published papers Trisha Greenhalgh

• Getting your bearings (deciding what the paper is about) Trisha Greenhalgh

• The Medline database Trisha Greenhalgh