Quantitative Research Critique

  Quantitative Research Critique

Summary Overview

The authors in the study conducted a quantitative review to examine the exposure of nursing practitioners to both physical and non-physical violence as well as bullying and sexual harassment in the workplace. They denoted these elements in the title, which helped make it clear, descriptive, and appropriate in informing the audience regarding the contents of the paper.  In articulating the topic, the research began by employing an abstract to denote the contents of the article. Mainly, the component described the paper aims, which mostly focused on estimating the exposure rates of nursing practitioners to various forms of violence and abuse in the workplace, including bullying and harassment. The section also described the study design, data sources, results, and conclusion, which the audience would anticipate. They presented these segments chronologically and consistently, which made it easy for the audience to follow through the paper hence comprehend its data. Also, they expanded on the subject by citing relevant past literature in the field while noting emerging gaps and giving suggestions for future research to help fill them. They also fostered objectivity, which helped impede the emergence of bias in the study.

Background Significance

The background study follows a logical approach in establishing a context for the problem. Mainly, it noted the vulnerability of nursing practitioners to workplace violence arising mostly from patients and their caregivers (Spector, Zhou, & Che, 2014). Hence, it signaled this high predisposition of nurses to violence as critical to warrant an exploration of the topic.

Research Questions or Hypothesis

The authors in the study raised the concern of the lack of studies that confirm the rate of exposure of nurses to workplace violence. However, they failed to provide research questions or hypotheses to help denote the outcomes that they hoped the study would attain. This situation comes as no surprise since the research mostly embraces the review of literature on the subject to help inform the study. Overall, the authors did manage to outline the critical objectives of the research as well as the anticipated findings that they hoped it would reveal. Also, through their review of the literature, they incorporated high levels of research evidence, which went a long way to inform the findings of the study.

Literature Review

Unfortunately, the three authors did not include a section with the literature review. They also did not summarize the studies utilized as samples in the study. However, it is equally understandable since the authors reviewed 135 articles, and this process would be arguable involving. On the upside, they made up for this shortcoming by outlining all existing knowledge about the topic using the literature. They also indicated what their study aimed to add to this body of knowledge. In pursuing this endeavor, they denoted the aims of their quantitative analysis of this literature. Mainly, they indicated that it sought to discern the gaps in the literature hence tailor the research to strive to fill these gaps. For instance, one factor they researchers affirmed profoundly was the vulnerability of nursing practitioners to incidences of both physical and non-physical violence in the workplace. In this regard, the researchers focused on adding onto this body of knowledge by tailoring the study to denote the rate of incidences of violence among various departmental units in a health facility. Also, they indicated several gaps existing in present literature, including the disparities in the rates of workplace violence among nursing practitioners across regional boundaries.

Methodology

The authors align their review with the accepted practices in standard meta-analyses.  Their first step was to identify their topic, which focused on exploring the exposure of nurses to violence, both non-physical and physical. Next, they conducted relevant searches using reliable databases, including such as Medline and PsycInfo. Here, they utilized keywords, including aggression, bullying, and harassment. Afterward, they adhered to agreed criteria to aid them in sorting the articles to determine which among them met the inclusion guidelines. This endeavor saw them settle for 135 pieces, which they professed to contain the highest quality of evidence. Afterward, they undertook the effort of conducting a comprehensive analysis that would aid them in building onto study focus. Here, they presented collected data as physical, non-physical, and combined violence. Overall, the study faced minimal threats to external validity, considering the high quality of data is employed. The concept also aided to bolster its internal validity.

Sampling, Data Collection, and Analysis

After a critical assessment of the research articles in various databases, the authors settled for 160 samples. They then applied an agreed criteria, which saw them reduce the number of useful ones to 135. These samples represented information from over 151,000 nurses across the globe. It thus signaled that th sample for the study was adequate and highly generalized. Since the articles contained research published by researchers in over 38 countries, the authors employed regional clustering to differentiate between them (Spector, Zhou, & Che, 2014). However, they did not rate those articles according to quality, given the homogeneity of the methodology. Also, the researchers used the papers to determine timeframes and the kind of violence exposure.

As regards analysis, the authors operationalized the rate of exposure to denote nursing practitioners who reported all types of violence as well as those who reported injuries after an assault. They also carried out an analysis of the settings in which the vice most occurred, including the emergency department, hospitals, geriatric facilities, and psychiatric units. They converted these proportions into percentages, which played a critical role in enabling them to tabulating and compute their findings.

Legal Ethical Considerations

It is critical to recognize that the research mainly employed a review of literature in examining the topic. Hence, it did not involve direct participants in the study. This situation indicated no need for informed consent. However, it is essential to point out that the researchers failed to seek the approval of the IRB in conducting the research. There was no mention of this throughout the study. This situation enhanced the propensity of the audience to question its adherence to ethics.

Conclusion, Implications, and Recommendations

The segment affirmed the success of the study in painting a clear picture of the incidences of violence among nursing practitioners in their work setting. It also presented them objectively, which helped to impede the emergence of bias.

Overall, the paper displayed several critical strengths, which helped to improve the reliability of the review. First, the authors clearly stated the objectives of the article, which made it easier for the reader to know what to expect. The paper was also concise, well-constructed, which helped to foster consistency in its presentation of findings hence enhancing their comprehension. It is noteworthy that Spector and colleagues made sure to state inclusion and exclusion criteria that guaranteed the quality of results. Also, their analyses were rigorous. This situation helped the researchers to build on their aim to contribute new knowledge to the issue.

In spite of these strengths, several significant weaknesses abound. It mainly arose due to their limitations of the research articles selected in articulating the study topic comprehensively. For instance, in articulating the issue regarding non-physical violence, the authors could only locate ten papers that addressed it. This situation displayed their likelihood of arriving at suggestive conclusions, which could impede the objectivity of their findings.

Another notable weakness of the study emerged from the challenge of incomparability of all samples according to type, source, setting, and region. The fact that measures and procedures varied across the regions significantly meant that the investigators could not compare them directly (Spector, Zhou, & Che, 2014). The types of violence under review also across different settings among the global regions identified. For this reason, measuring them proved difficult due to limitations in the standardization of the formulas required to articulate them. Finally, several articles employed by the researcher made it difficult for them to study in profound detail. For example, some studies could indicate incidence rates by sources or settings generally. Doing so hindered the author from making direct comparisons, which were critical in strengthening the outcomes of the study.

Applicability to Nursing Practice

Although it is evident that the study is applicable in the nursing practice, the researchers failed to denote it directly. Mainly, they focused on the presentation of their findings and identifying the imminent gaps to inform future research. However, the applications of the results could be useful in informing the strategies that health care institutions may aim to employ to minimize the emergence of the vice in practice.

References

Spector, P. E., Zhou, Z. E., & Che, X. X. (2014). Nurse exposure to physical and nonphysical

violence, bullying, and sexual harassment: A quantitative review. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 51(1), 72-84.