Paper Outline and Necessary Inclusions

1. Introduction paragraph that

1. Discusses purpose of you writing this essay
2. Discusses relevance of assignment to evidence based practice (EBP)

• Provide citation for study that being critiqued

1. Discuss the strengths and limitations of the study authors in relation to their ability/credibility in carrying out the study
2. Discuss major areas addressed in the lit review (may be called background or introduction section)
3. Discuss the strengths and limitations of the literature review section
4. Articulate the gap (problem statement) identified by the author (s)
5. Articulate the study purpose
6. Evaluate the consistency between the lit review, problem and purpose statements
7. Identify target population for study
8. Discuss sampling procedure used in the study
9. Discuss major characteristics of sample (age, race/ethnicity, gender, education, income, geographic location, number of participants in study, other important characteristics relevant to study).
10. Evaluate the representativeness of sample in relation to target population
11. Articulate research design
12. Assess the strengths and limitations of study design in relation to study purpose
13. Articulate the major study variables (no more than 2 for this critique)
14.  Provide a step by step overview of the data collection process used:
    1. For Quantitative Study

1. Describe the who, what, when, where, and how of data collection process
2. Describe data collection format (paper pencil, online, telephone, interview)

• Describe the tools/instruments used to collect data including:
  1. Number of items in survey or questionnaire
  2. Type of survey or questionnaire (short answer, true false, Likert Scale)

1. Describe other data collection tools (if applicable)
2. Discuss how reliability and validity of data collection methods were evaluated

1. 1. For Qualitative Study

1. Describe the who, what, when, where, and how of data collection process
2. Describe data collection format (1:1 interview, focus group, internet interview, other)

• Discuss process used to ensure rigor of process

1. Discuss strengths and limitations of data collection process in relation to study purpose
2. Describe process used to protect participants
3. Evaluate strengths and limitations of process used to protect participants based on 3 principles guiding the ethical conduct of research
4. Provide an overview of data analysis process
   1. For Quantitative Study

1. Discuss descriptive and inferential statistics used to analyze data and evaluate appropriateness of statistics in relation to study purpose and level of data
2. Describe processes used to ensure analysis and interpretation were accurate

• Discuss level of significance set for evaluating findings (alpha level)

1. 1. For Qualitative Study

1. Discuss qualitative method of analysis in detail
2. Discuss process used to increase believability of findings

1. Findings
   1. For Quantitative Study

1. Discuss statistically significant findings (results) of study related to primary variables
2. Discuss clinically relevant findings

1. 1. For Qualitative Study

1. Discuss major themes

1. Discuss the believability of study findings and provide rationale for conclusions
2. Describe major study limitations and discuss impact on usefulness of study to guide evidence based practice
3. Discuss major implications of study findings (results)
4. Provide conclusion that:
   1. Summarizes major points of critique
   2. Describes one thing you learned about the topic of interest in the study and how you can apply this knowledge to your future practice as a nursing student/nurse
   3. Describes one thing that you learned about the relationship between research and EBP through completion of this critique