Methodology Critique Assignment (Article Critique Sample)

Research Article Critique
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Research Article Critique
Introduction
A research article is a representation of the results found after conducting a particular research. It should be well presented from the article title to the presentation of the results. For a medical research article, the abstract needs to be well structured. The analysis of results should be clear, concise, and to the point. The methodology should also be well explained and the results well presented in graphs and tables (Kothari, 2004). This paper seeks to examine whether the research article “Pain, Fatigue, Disturbed Sleep And Distress Comprised A Symptom Cluster That Related To Quality Of Life And Functional Status Of Lung Cancer Surgery Patients” (Lin, Zhou, Yang, & Chen, 2013, p. 1281), is a good representation of the study and its results.
Article Title
The title of the article, which is “Pain, fatigue, disturbed sleep and distress comprised a symptom cluster that related to quality of life and functional status of lung cancer surgery patients” (Lin, Zhou, Yang, & Chen, 2013, p. 1281), accurately, describes the article. It is well defined in terms of what was being researched on and the major results. It is also very clear and easy to understand. Again, the language used is very simple with no overutilization of technical terms. From this title, it is easy to know the research problem and the results found.
Critique
Abstract
Its abstract effectively represents the entire article since it is well structured. It is divided into a series of headings, including aims and objectives, background, design, methods, results, conclusion, and relevance to clinical practice. It includes a summary of all the topics in the article. From the abstract, one can deduce everything in the article. The summaries have the relevant key words including symptom cluster, lung cancer, functional status, and quality of life, with no repetition of words or phrases. Structured abstracts are used in medical and clinical literature. This article is a medical literature, making the use of a structured abstract the most appropriate thing to do.
Article’s Introduction
The introduction of this article shows clearly its intended purpose, which is to “explore the common symptom cluster in lung cancer patients with surgical treatment and to evaluate the relationships between symptom cluster and patients’ disease outcomes, including functional status and quality of life” (Lin, Zhou, Yang, & Chen, 2013, p. 1281). It introduces the prevailing problem that in 2010, lung cancer contributed to most of the male deaths and was second to breast cancer in women; it goes ahead to explain why there is need to research on the problem to improve the quality of life of such patients. The purpose of the article comes out very clearly and is presented in simple language, making it easily comprehensible.
Problem Statement
The research problem appears as the first thing in the introduction (Kothari, 2004). It brings out the hypothesis that lung cancer is the most common male disease and in women, it has the second highest death rates. This hypothesis itself introduces the need for the research. The research problem is very essential in the construction of research objectives, methodology, budget, and work plan (McGaghie, Bordage, & Shea, 2001). In this article, the problem statement has been properly introduced as the first thing in the introduction.
Purpose of the Study
In this article, the purpose of the study has been explained through the aims and objectives. It Cleary explains the aims and objectives, which are “To explore the common symptom cluster in lung cancer patients with surgical treatment and to evaluate the relationships between symptom cluster and patients’ disease outcomes, including functional status and quality of life” (Lin, Zhou, Yang, & Chen, 2013, p.1281). This is a trouble-free and lucid rationalization of the purpose of conducting the research.
Research Question
The research question is not well defined on its own in this article. The implicit research question should be: what are the common symptom clusters in lung cancer patients with surgical treatment? The research problem serves as the basis for the relationship between the different elements involved in a research. The goal of a research is the main objective of the study. The goal details what the research study intends to do to address the problem. The research goal, which in this case was to explore the common symptom cluster in lung cancer patients with surgical treatment, should be operationalized by the research question. The research question is meant to narrow the purpose in to the specific questions to be addressed in the study. The research question is included in the purpose of the study and does not have to be well defined on its own. It is upon the reader to understand the relationships between the research purpose and research question and understand what the research question is.
Theoretical Framework
In this article, the theoretical framework is not readily available. A theoretical framework consists of concepts and their definitions and existing theories that are used for a particular study. It connects the researcher to existing knowledge relevant to the study. Though the theoretical framework in this article is not readily available, a review of the article literature reveals that the theoretical framework is described. The background section of the article reveals existing knowledge about symptoms of cancer and the relationship between these symptoms in relation to the disease. Different theories have been included in this section, such as “fatigue affected most patients with lung cancer” (Lin, Zhou, Yang, & Chen, 2013, p.1282). These among others clearly indicate the presence of a theoretical framework in this article.
Literature Review
The literature review in this article is very relevant to the study as it should be (Rowley, Slack, 2004). It is very comprehensive in showing the results of previous studies and why there is a need to conduct this particular study. It includes recent research specifically those done between the years 2000 to 2011. An example of such studies includes one done by Gift (2003) that sought to determine the number and severity of symptoms in cancer patients. The study concluded that patients with lung cancer suffered the greatest number of and most severe symptoms as compared to those with other cancer types. This was recent research considering that the study was initiated in the year 2011. The literature review reveals that there are different symptoms cluster and their impacts on patients suffering from lung cancer and undergoing chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and palliative care. This provides the need to evaluate whether there is existence of symptoms cluster in lung cancer patients who are surgically treated. Thus, the literature review fully supports the need for this study.
Methodology
The cross-sectional research design was used in this study to examine the symptoms cluster in lung cancer patients who have been surgically treated. Cross sectional research design examines one variable in different groups that are similar in all other relevant characteristics (Kothari, 2004). The variable being examined constitutes symptoms cluster and similar characteristics where all participants are patients and must been surgically treated. Thus, the design is appropriate for this study. The independent variables studied include fatigue, pain, distress and disturbed sleep, in addition to income and education status. The dependent variables included quality of life and functional status. There is also an aspect of descriptive research design since symptoms like pain; fatigue among others can only be described for they cannot be seen. The article itself is quantitative because the results are made up of information taken from interviews and structured questionnaires.  It focuses more in counting and constructing statistical models and figures to explain the results. The methods used and results are all numerical in nature and the data is statistically analyzed.
The sample used was consistent with the research design since it included lung cancer patients who had been treated surgically (Hulley, Newman, Grady, Browner, & Cummings, 2013). The sample size was forty-six women and ninety-nine men. The average age of these participants was 20-78 years. 88 had finished junior high school, 44 had been employed full time, 53 were retired, and 23 were farmers. 58.6% of the participants were former active smokers but had quit smoking prior to the surgery (Lin, Zhou, Yang, & Chen, 2013). This was a sufficient sample size given that the study was examining one variable in different groups meaning the sample of ninety patients used was a good representation of different groups.
However, the study could have been stronger if the methodology used had incorporated the patients who had undergone other cancer treatment methods like radiotherapy and chemotherapy. This would have given room for comparison between the different methods of treatment.
Different data collection instruments were needed to measure symptoms, functional status, and the quality of life the participants. The Chinese version of MD Anderson Symptom Inventory was used to measure the symptoms, while the Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) was used to quantify the functional status; conversely, the Quality of Life Instruments for Cancer Patients (QLICP-LU) was used to measure the quality of life of the participants (Lin, Zhou, Yang, & Chen, 2013). Reliability and accountability were accounted for since the instruments used were proved to be effective. According to the analysis of all the ...