Guidelines to Critiquing Qualitative Research Reports

 Was the title a good one, suggesting the key phenomenon and the group of community under study?  Does the abstract clearly and concisely summarize the main features of the report?

 Statement of the Problem  Research Questions  Literature Review  Conceptual Underpinnings

 What is the research problem?  Is the problem statement easy to locate and clearly stated?  Does the problem statement build a cogent and persuasive argument for the new study?  Does the problem have significance for and/or contribute to nursing?  Is there a good fit between the research problem and the research paradigm?

 Are purpose statements or questions worded appropriately? ◦ Key concepts/variables should be identified ◦ Population of interest should be specified ◦ Are verbs used appropriately? ◦ Are questions consistent with the study’s philosophical basis, underlying tradition, conceptual framework, or ideological orientation?

 Does the review seem thorough and include most of the major studies on the topic?  Does the review include recent research in nursing and related disciplines?  Is the review a critical appraisal and comparison or a summary of existing work?  Does the review identify important gaps in the literature?

 Is the review well organized? Is the development of ideas clear?  Does the review use appropriate language related to prior findings?  Does the author paraphrase or over-quote?  Does the review support the need for the study?  Does the review draw appropriate conclusions about practice implications?

 Does the report describe an explicit theoretical or conceptual framework for the study? If not, is the absence a detraction?  Does the report describe the major features of the theory or model for the reader?  Is the theory or model an appropriate fit for the research problem?  Is the philosophical basis, underlying tradition, conceptual framework, or ideological orientation made explicit?

 Are concepts adequately defined and consistent with the theory?  Is the framework based on a conceptual model of nursing or borrowed from another discipline?  Did the framework guide the study methods?  Does the researcher tie the findings of the study back to the framework at the end of the report?

 Protection of Participants’ Rights  Research Design  Sample and Setting  Data/Text Collection  Procedures  Enhancement of Trustworthiness

 Was the study approved and monitored by an IRB or other ethics review committee?  Were study participants subjected to any physical harm, discomfort, or psychological distress?  What steps did researchers take to remove or prevent harm?  Did benefits outweigh any potential risks experienced?  Did benefits to society outweigh costs to participants?

 Was any type of coercion or undue influence used to recruit participants? Did they have the right to withdraw or refuse without penalty?  Were participants deceived in any way?  Were appropriate informed consent procedures used?  Were adequate steps taken to safeguard the privacy of participants?  If vulnerable groups were involved, were special precautions taken?  Were groups omitted without justifiable rationale?

 Is the research tradition for the qualitative study identified?  Is the research question congruent with a qualitative approach and with the specific research tradition?  Are data sources, research methods, and analytic approach congruent with the research tradition?  How well is the research design described?  Are design decisions explained and justified?

 Does it appear that the researcher made all design decisions upfront, or did the design emerge during data collection?  Is the design appropriate, given the research question?  Does the design lend itself to a thorough, in- depth, intensive examination of the phenomenon of interest?  Was there appropriate evidence of reflexivity in the design?

 Was the study undertaken with an ideological perspective?  Was there evidence of full collaboration between researchers and participants?  Did the research have the power to be transformative, or is there evidence that a transformative process occurred?

 Is the setting or context adequately described and appropriate for the research question?  Are sample selection procedures clearly delineated?  What type of sampling strategy was used?  Were eligibility criteria for the study specified?  How were participants recruited into the study?  Did the recruitment strategy yield information-rich participants?

 Given the information needs of the study, was the sampling approach appropriate?  Are dimensions of the phenomenon under study adequately represented?  Is the sample size adequate and appropriate for the qualitative tradition of the study?  Did the researcher indicate that saturation had been achieved?  Do the findings suggest a richly textured and comprehensive set of data/text?  Are key characteristics of the sample described?  Is a rich description of participants and context provided, allowing for an assessment of the transferability of the findings?

 Was the best method used to capture the data?  If self-report methods were used, what decisions were made to solicit information?  Were data gathered through two or more methods to achieve triangulation?  If observational methods were used, how were the observations described?

 How were data recorded?  Did the report provide adequate information about data collection procedures?  How were data collectors selected and trained?  Where and under what circumstances were data/text gathered and recorded?

 Does the report discuss efforts to enhance or evaluate the quality of the data and the overall inquiry?  Is the description sufficiently detailed and cleared, or is there other information that allows you to draw inferences about the quality of the data, the analysis, and the interpretations?  What specific techniques did the researcher use to enhance the trustworthiness and integrity of the inquiry?

 Which specific quality criteria (credibility, authenticity) were addressed through quality- enhancement efforts and which were not?  What can you conclude about the study’s validity/integrity/rigor/trustworthiness?  How does the report address the transferability of findings?  How did the report address any study limitations and implications for further study?

 Given the nature of the data, was the analysis approach appropriate for the research design?  Is the category scheme described? Does it appear logical and complete, without overlap and redundancy?  Were manual or computer methods used to index and organize the text?  How does the report describe the process by which the actual analysis was performed?

 What major themes or processes emerged?  If excerpts from the data are provided, do the themes appear to capture the meaning of the narratives?  What evidence does the report provide that analysis is accurate?  Were data displayed in a manner that allows you to verify the researcher’s conclusions?

 Was a conceptual map, model, or diagram effectively displayed to communicate important processes?  Was the context of the phenomenon adequately described?  Does the report give you a clear picture of the social or emotional world of study participants?  Did the analysis yield a meaningful and insightful picture of the phenomenon under study?

 See above under heading “Enhancement of Transferability”

 Presentation ◦ Is the report well written, well organized, and sufficiently detailed for critical analysis? ◦ Was description of the methods, findings, and interpretations sufficiently rich and vivid?  Researcher Credibility ◦ Do the researchers’ clinical, substantive, or methodolgic qualifications and experience enhance confidence in the findings and their interpretation?

 Do the study findings appear to be trustworthy—do you have confidence in the truth value of the results?  Does the study contribute any meaningful evidence that can be used in nursing practice or that is useful to the nursing discipline?  Will you use this study in your practice?