Paper Example on Research and Clinical Questions

Introduction

Appraising the clinical literature is essential because it is ensured that the right resources are used. If the literature used did not meet the minimum requirements of acceptability, then the research findings will not be valid. The research and clinical questions should also be well-framed to be effective. Therefore, this essay will analyze the criteria used in selecting literature in nursing. It will also explain what are research and clinical questions and give examples

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Research and Clinical Questions

The most important part of a review of the literature and a research project is the research question. It is the one that gives the study a focus; guides all the analysis, reporting and inquiry stages as well as determining the methodology to be used. The research question starts with the problem of the study, which means the issue the researcher would like to have more information. It can also refer to a problem that needs to be addressed. It covers areas such as the difficulties that need to be eradicated, the areas of concern, the conditions which require improvement and the questions which need answers (Hart, 2018). A research question should have the following characteristics:

Increase the knowledge and value to the field of study:

• Be worthy to investigate
• Contribute and improve the education practice
• Improve the conditions of human beings

The correct research questions should have the following characteristics:

• They should be clear and concise
• They should be feasible
• They need to be ethical
• They should be significant

On the other hand, clinical questions should be relevant to the problem or the patient being investigated (Nicol & Latif, 2017). They are also formulated in a way that they make it possible to search for the solution or answer to the problem being investigated.

Clinical Question

How can the pre-operative and postoperative pain be managed?

Appraising the Clinical Literature

Clinical Appraisal of literature is a process which is used to point out the strengths and weaknesses of written material, to assess how useful and valid the study findings are. It is the most critical step before carrying out any study because if the literature used is not appropriate the findings will be affected negatively. The first step in the appraisal is evaluating how relevant the research question is as well as a careful assessment of the main methodological components of the design. The other consideration is how sustainable the methods used in the statistical analysis are and their interpretations. The evaluation of the primary variable should be appropriately done because it is essential in getting valid findings. The tools used for the collection of data should be appropriate and relevant to the study. The relevance of the research to the area of practice of the researcher should also be analyzed (O'Cathain, 2018). For instance, it would not be appropriate and relevant for a banker to conduct a study on the postoperative pain because it will not be in the domain of his/her area of practice.

The methodology and the sampling methods should be appropriate. For instance, the number of people sampled should be large enough to give a good representation of the population under study. Professionals should write the literature used in research in nursing in their fields of specialization and must be experienced and currently practicing on the areas relevant to the topic of research (Stanley & Campos, 2015). It is also essential to evaluate the piece of literature on the possibility of the research findings beings reproduced if the same procedure was to be used to carry out the study by a different researcher. The other method used in the analysis of the nursing literature is the conflict of interest or bias. If there is a conflict of interest, the results are likely to be skewed to get the desired results (O'Cathain, 2018). If a piece of literature does not meet all the above criteria, then the literature is not appropriate to be used for any study. Therefore the main steps, therefore, are the validity of the study findings, the importance of the study findings clinically and the clinical validity of the findings.

References

Hart, C. (2018). Doing a literature review: Releasing the research imagination.

Nicol, A. L., & Latif, U. (2017). Literature Review and Evidence. Oxford Medicine Online. doi:10.1093/med/9780190217518.003.0002

O'Cathain, A. (2018). Selecting research questions. Oxford Medicine Online. doi:10.1093/med/9780198802082.003.0008

Stanley, D. E., & Campos, D. G. (2015). Selecting clinical diagnoses: logical strategies informed by experience. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 22(4), 588-597. doi:10.1111/jep.12417