Quantitative Critique
Article citation
Harner, H., Hanlon, A.L., & Garfinkel, M. (2010). Effect of Iyengar yoga on mental health of incarcerated women: A feasibility study. Nursing Research, 59(6), 389-399.
Title
The title is specific and concise, it is representative of the research report. From the title the focus of the study is understood including what was studied, who was studied, and where the study took place. It is also accurate and unambiguous. The title also described the study design, therefore the reader was not mislead on the data presented.
Researcher credibility
Each of the three researchers credentials and affiliations are disclosed on the first page of the article. All of the researchers have credentials in nursing research, however none of them disclosed any information on their expertise in the area of depression, interventions to decrease depressive symptoms, or working with incarcerated women. According to Coughlan, Cronin, & Ryan (2007) “an authors qualifications and job title can be a useful indicator into the researchers knowledge of the area under investigation and ability to ask the appropriate questions.” The first author held a clinical position in the institution, this was not disclosed until further into the article, I feel that this information could have been disclosed sooner in the article. This could possibly hold a conflict of interest, especially if the incarcerated women were familiar with the first author. The first authors clinical position in the prison enhances the study findings as he has worked with the population. However, this could be conflict of interest since he is an employee of the institution.
Abstract
The abstract is concise and summarizes the whole study. It is divided into subsections of background, objectives, methods, results, discussion, and key words. The objective is clearly stated, which is to determine the feasibility of providing a gender-responsive exercise intervention within a
Harner, H., Hanlon, A.L., & Garfinkel, M. (2010). Effect of Iyengar yoga on mental health of incarcerated women: A feasibility study. Nursing Research, 59(6), 389-399.
Title
The title is specific and concise, it is representative of the research report. From the title the focus of the study is understood including what was studied, who was studied, and where the study took place. It is also accurate and unambiguous. The title also described the study design, therefore the reader was not mislead on the data presented.
Researcher credibility
Each of the three researchers credentials and affiliations are disclosed on the first page of the article. All of the researchers have credentials in nursing research, however none of them disclosed any information on their expertise in the area of depression, interventions to decrease depressive symptoms, or working with incarcerated women. According to Coughlan, Cronin, & Ryan (2007) “an authors qualifications and job title can be a useful indicator into the researchers knowledge of the area under investigation and ability to ask the appropriate questions.” The first author held a clinical position in the institution, this was not disclosed until further into the article, I feel that this information could have been disclosed sooner in the article. This could possibly hold a conflict of interest, especially if the incarcerated women were familiar with the first author. The first authors clinical position in the prison enhances the study findings as he has worked with the population. However, this could be conflict of interest since he is an employee of the institution.
Abstract
The abstract is concise and summarizes the whole study. It is divided into subsections of background, objectives, methods, results, discussion, and key words. The objective is clearly stated, which is to determine the feasibility of providing a gender-responsive exercise intervention within a
References: Coughlan, M., Cronin, P., & Ryan, F. (2007). Step-by-step guide to critiquing research. Part 1: Quantitative research. British Journal of Nursing. 16(11), 658-663. Harner, H., Hanlon, A.L., & Garfinkel, M. (2010). Effect of Iyengar yoga on mental health of incarcerated women: A feasibility study. Nursing Research, 59(6), 389-399. Polit, D., & Beck, B. (2012). Nursing research: Generating and assessing evidence for nursing practice. Philadelphia: Lippincott.