CRITIQUE OF QUANTITATIVE ARTICLE - Research Paper Example

Critique of Quantitative Article Research Purpose/Question This study was meant to establish the knowledge of nurse of inadvertent hypothermia. Inadvertent hypothermia has been recognized to have significant consequences in the perioperative settings (Hegarty, Walsh, Burton, Murphy, OGorman, & McPolin 2009). The research indicates the significance of inadvertent hypothermia among nurses. The researchers conducted a quantitative descriptive research to establish the extent of inadvertent hypothermia knowledge among practicing nurses.

The study concludes that nurses fail to execute their roles effectively due to certain inherent factors.The researchers conducted a qualitative study in order to evaluate inadvertent perioperative hypothermia knowledge among nurses. This means that the study applied normal quantitative techniques and research design. Quantitative designs are useful when a researcher intends to measure the relationship between two or more variables. In this case, the outcome needs to have experimental significance.

The study considered is descriptive indicating that the researcher did not utilize an experimental approach. The research design fails to satisfy the requirements of a quantitative study. Choice of dependent and independent variables also fails to comply with quantitative requirements. This implies that the study would be effective if it was conducted from a quantitative approach. Indeed, the quantitative approach does not answer some critical questions that are of interest to the audience. For instance, the study does not explain lack of inadvertent perioperative hypothermia knowledge among practicing nurses.

Sample Size and SelectionSuccessful descriptive studies, utilizes large the sample size (Evans & Kenkre, 2006). This indicates that the researcher required hundreds of subjects to minimize errors and biasness. However, the study received only 130 responses from the 168 participants selected for the study. This was a fair outcome since the respondent provided quality data. Participants for the study were selected from nurses attending the Irish Anesthetic and Recovery Nurses Association Annual Conference.

The study seems to have attracted participants of the right caliber as required in the initial proposal. The study also followed an acceptable protocol to request consent and participation of the nurses. Voluntary participation and completion of question contained in the questionnaire indicates a high level of consent among the participants. Data Collection, Legitimacy, and ConsistencyQuestionnaires were the main data collection tools for the study. The questionnaires had nine questions that were designed to establish nurses’ awareness of perioperative hypothermia.

The questions sought to collect qualitative data. They required the participants to define hypothermia, identify causes, causes of the heat loss and intervention techniques used by the participants in their practice. Data collection was successful and hence valid. Data Analysis and PresentationQuantitative studies present quantifiable data. Thus, data collected for the study needed to be coded since it was collected qualitatively. Consequently, coded data can be analyzed easily using statistical packages.

Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 15, 2007 was used to analyze the data. Responses collected through close-ended questionnaires were coded into percentages and frequencies to make it viable for statistical analysis. This was a cost cutting strategy since it saves the researchers the need for quantitative data and research models. Consequently, this analysis responds to key qualitative questions that could have been left out if the study was conducted quantitatively.ReferencesEvans J, Kenkre J (2006).

Current practice and knowledge of nurses regarding patient temperature measurement. Journal of Medical Engineering & Technology, 30 (4): 218-223.Hegarty, J., Walsh, E., Burton, A., Murphy, S., O’Gorman, F. & McPolin, G. (2009). Nurses’ knowledge of inadvertent hypothermia. Journal of Advanced Perioperative Care, 89(4):707-713.