The Literature Review
Include 5-10 paragraphs compiling the evidence from all of the studies in your project.
Include the following sections in your review:
Themes – What were the common themes throughout the articles?
Designs – How do the main objectives/purposes of the researchers affect how the studies were designed/carried out?
Variables – What are the common independent and dependent variables among the articles? Did any studies have particularly different variables? Did this affect the focus of those particular studies?
Findings – Synthesize the findings from all of the studies into a few key points. Did all of the studies have consistent findings or were any of them contradictory? You do not need to list the findings from every study. The goal here is to draw comparisons between the studies and find any contradictions. For example, if six of your studies agree with each other, but two of them disagree, then explain this. You will want to explore any possible reasons why there are contradictions in your Critical Analysis.
Make sure that your review:
Demonstrates that you have fully read and analyzed all of the evidence.
Compares and contrasts the evidence
Does not critique the evidence. (You will do this in the critical analysis.)
Is not redundant. Remember that your annotated bibliography and TOE will be in your paper before this section, so do not resummarize each article. The goal here is to discuss the body of evidence, not restate all of the information you have already provided.
Focuses on the key points. Avoid giving unnecessary detail and hone in on the most important information. For example, in your Design section, you do not need to restate the study design for every single study in the project. If the reader wants to know this, they can go to you TOE and look it up. Instead, discuss trends that you see. You might find that four of the studies are all RCTs, but the rest are all lower quality evidence. This may be relevant when you critique the evidence in the next section, so make note of it here.
Gives proper credit when citing source material. Cite every time you use information from a source. For example, when I mentioned above that four studies may be RCTs, you would include a citation listing all four of the relevant sources you are referring to. Never refer to articles as “article 2” or “some of the articles” without properly citing by author and year.
The Critical Analysis
Include 5-10 paragraphs evaluating the strength of the evidence from all of the studies in your project. Use this section to discuss whether some of the findings are more trustworthy than others. Since you’ve already mentioned any possible contradictions in the findings in your literature review, you can expand on this further by critiquing the quality of the evidence to determine which, if any, of the evidence is most trustworthy.
Include the following sections in your critique:
Study Designs – Discuss how the designs of the studies affects the credibility of the findings. Were there weaknesses in the study design that may have lead to incorrect findings? What controls were put in that strengthened the credibility of the findings?
Reliability – Discuss the reliability of measurement tools used to collect data in the research studies. Make sure to discuss at least one type of reliability described in your textbook (i.e. internal consistency, interrater reliability, test-retest reliability). You do not have to discuss the reliability of every article. Rather, go through all of the articles and look for particular strengths and weaknesses. Did one of the studies include an interrater reliability assessment that made the data collected more reliable? Did some of the studies use test-retest procedures to ensure that results were consistent across multiple measurement points? Did some of the studies have unreliable findings because they failed to implement strong reliability methods that were clearly needed?
Validity – Discuss the validity of measurement tools used to collect data in the research studies. Make sure to discuss at least one type of validity described in your textbook (i.e. face validity, content validity, criterion validity, construct validity). You do not have to discuss the validity of every article. Rather, go through all of the articles and look for particular strengths and weaknesses. For example, did the studies have instruments that looked like they were measuring what they were supposed to measure (face validity)? Did one of the studies use a survey that had very few questions and only weakly evaluated the construct it was supposed to measure (context validity)?
Conclusion – Based on your review and analysis so far, what are your conclusions regarding the findings? Which findings (if any) should be considered trustworthy and which (if any) should be disregarded?
Make sure that your critique:
Demonstrates critical thinking.
Is not redundant. Remember that your annotated bibliography, TOE, and literature review sections will be in your paper before this section, so do not resummarize each article. The goal here is to critique the body of evidence, not restate all of the information you have already provided.
Focuses on the key points. Avoid giving unnecessary detail and hone in on the most important information. For example, you do not need to discuss the reliability of each study’s measurement tools individually. Rather, focus on the body of the evidence and discuss only what points make the evidence particularly strong or weak.
Gives proper credit when citing source material. Cite every time you use information from a source.
Implications for Nursing Practice
Include 1-2 paragraphs of implications for nursing practice.
Consider such questions as:
How can/should nursing practice change based on these findings?
How should nurses respond to these findings?
Can current nursing practices be improved with these findings?
Is more research necessary?
Note: This is the crux of your entire paper, so make sure to focus on it. Nursing research is only important if you can use it to improve nursing practice. This section doesn’t have to be long, but make it count.
Last Completed Projects
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