Critical Appraisal Skills for Healthcare Students - A Practical Guide to Writing Evidence-Based Practice Assignments

Are you struggling to make sense of complex research papers and craft insightful critiques for your academic assignments? Then look no further!
 
Critical Appraisal Skills for Healthcare Students is your indispensable guide to understanding research papers, mastering critical appraisal, and most importantly, succeeding in your summative assignments. While this text is written with Level 5 students in mind, you will find it is a useful text at any academic level when required to engage in evidence-based practice.
 
In today's ever-evolving healthcare system, the ability to critically appraise research evidence is crucial. In pre-registration programmes, this core skill is often assessed through written assignments. However, students can struggle not only to interpret research papers and evaluate their quality, but also to write about this appraisal in an academic way. This comprehensive textbook equips healthcare students with the evidence skills they need, while also enhancing their ability to produce high-quality assignments.
 
Authored by experienced academics with over two decades of teaching research and evidence-based practice, this text covers core topics such as:
* The significance of evidence in practice, locating and selecting appropriate literature, and navigating assignments based on the appraisal of research
* Strategies for reading research papers and understanding them before appraisal
* The fundamentals of critiquing research, with Key Fact sheets summarising the design issues of specific types of research
* How to move beyond EBP for academic assessment, towards using evidence in everyday professional practice
 
Critical Appraisal Skills for Healthcare Students is an excellent core text to master the art of critical appraisal and enhance academic performance.

List of contents

Foreword xii
 
Preface xiv
 
Acknowledgements xvi
 
Part I Finding Your Way Around! 1
 
Chapter 1 Introduction to Using This Book 3
 
1.1 Introduction 3
 
1.2 Who Is the Book For? 4
 
1.3 What Is in This Book? 4
 
1.3.1 Part 1: Finding Your Way Around! 4
 
1.3.2 Part 2: Digging in the Detail! 5
 
1.4 Chapter Summary 8
 
Chapter 2 Professional Practice and the Mandate for Evidence- based Practice 9
 
Five Things to Learn from This Chapter 9
 
Five Minutes with Sara, Midwifery Student 10
 
2.1 Introduction 11
 
2.2 Relevance: Why Healthcare Programmes Have EBP Modules 12
 
2.3 Development: Where Did EBP Come From? 14
 
2.4 Definitions: What Is EBP? 17
 
2.5 Process: How Does EBP Work? 21
 
2.6 Hierarchies: What Evidence Is Best? 23
 
2.7 Debate: What Are the Criticisms of EBP? 25
 
2.8 Writing About EBP in Your Assignment 27
 
2.9 Assignment Examples 27
 
2.10 End-of-Chapter Checkpoint 28
 
2.11 Chapter Summary 29
 
References 29
 
Chapter 3 The Task at Hand 33
 
Five Things to Learn from This Chapter 33
 
Five Minutes with Jack, Occupational Therapy Student 34
 
3.1 Introduction 35
 
3.2 The Importance of Learning Outcomes 35
 
3.3 How to Follow the EBP Process for an Assignment 35
 
3.4 Choosing a Topic 38
 
3.5 Turning a Topic into a Question 41
 
3.6 How to Develop a 'Good' Question 42
 
3.7 Benefits of a Good Question 44
 
3.8 Writing About EBP Questions in Your Assignment 45
 
3.9 Assignment Examples 45
 
3.10 End-of-Chapter Checkpoint 45
 
3.11 Chapter Summary 46
 
References 46
 
Chapter 4 Locating and Identifying Research 48
 
Five Things to Learn from This Chapter 48
 
Five Minutes with David, Nursing Associate Student 49
 
4.1 Introduction 50
 
4.2 How Much Time Do You Have? 51
 
4.3 Why Are You Searching for Literature? 51
 
4.4 Prepare to Be Frustrated! 52
 
4.5 Looking for the Evidence 53
 
4.5.1 Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles 56
 
4.5.2 Types of Journal Article 57
 
4.6 How to Find Research 57
 
4.6.1 Searching for Research 57
 
4.6.2 Internet Searching 59
 
4.6.3 Subject-Specific Databases 60
 
4.6.4 Developing a Search Strategy 62
 
4.6.5 Systematic Searching 63
 
4.7 Transparent Reporting of Search Methods 73
 
4.8 Writing About Systematic Searching in Your Assignment 74
 
4.9 Assignment Examples 74
 
4.10 End-of-Chapter Checkpoint 75
 
4.11 Chapter Summary 76
 
References 76
 
Chapter 5 Preparing the Ground for Appraisal 78
 
Five Things to Learn from This Chapter 78
 
Five Minutes with Jade, Mental Health Nursing Student 79
 
5.1 Introduction 80
 
5.2 Finding Your Way Around a Research Paper 80
 
5.3 Getting to Grips with Your Primary Study 85
 
5.4 Gather Your Tools 88
 
5.4.1 Research Resources 88
 
5.4.2 Peers and Group Support 89
 
5.4.3 Make a Plan 89
 
5.5 Writing About the Type of Research and Its Layout in Your Assignment 90
 
5.6 Assignment Examples 90
 
5.7 End-of-Chapter Checkpoint 91
 
5.8 Chapter Summary 92
 
References 92
 
Part II Digging in the Detail! 95
 
Chapter 6 Critical Appraisal 97
 
Five Things to Learn from This Chapter 97
 
Five Minutes with Tom, Radiography Student 98
 
6.1 Introduction 99
 

About the author

Charlotte Whiffin, RN, PhD, Associate Professor of Nursing, University of Derby, UK.
 
Donna Barnes, RN, PhD, Senior lecturer, University of Derby, UK.
 
Lorraine Henshaw, RN, DProf., Associate Professor of Nursing, University of Salford, UK.

Summary

Critical Appraisal Skills for Healthcare Students

Are you struggling to make sense of complex research papers and craft insightful critiques for your academic assignments? Then look no further!

Critical Appraisal Skills for Healthcare Students is your indispensable guide to understanding research papers, mastering critical appraisal, and most importantly, succeeding in your summative assignments. While this text is written with Level 5 students in mind, you will find it is a useful text at any academic level when required to engage in evidence-based practice.

In today's ever-evolving healthcare system, the ability to critically appraise research evidence is crucial. In pre-registration programmes, this core skill is often assessed through written assignments. However, students can struggle not only to interpret research papers and evaluate their quality, but also to write about this appraisal in an academic way. This comprehensive textbook equips healthcare students with the evidence skills they need, while also enhancing their ability to produce high-quality assignments.

Authored by experienced academics with over two decades of teaching research and evidence-based practice, this text covers core topics such as:
* The significance of evidence in practice, locating and selecting appropriate literature, and navigating assignments based on the appraisal of research
* Strategies for reading research papers and understanding them before appraisal
* The fundamentals of critiquing research, with Key Fact sheets summarising the design issues of specific types of research
* How to move beyond EBP for academic assessment, towards using evidence in everyday professional practice

Critical Appraisal Skills for Healthcare Students is an excellent core text to master the art of critical appraisal and enhance academic performance.

Product details

• Authors: Donna Barnes, Donna (University of Derby Barnes, Lorrai Henshaw, Lorraine Henshaw, Lorraine (University of Derby Henshaw, Charlotte Whiffin, Charlotte (University of Derby Whiffin, Charlotte J Whiffin, Charlotte J. Whiffin, Charlotte J. (University of Derby Whiffin
• Publisher: Wiley, John and Sons Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.03.2024
• EAN: 9781119722816
• ISBN: 978-1-119-72281-6
• No. of pages: 304
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Medicine > General; Krankenpflege, Gesundheitswesen, Healthcare, Nursing, EVIDENZBASIERTE PRAXIS, evidence-based practice, Nursing Research, Health & Social Care, Gesundheits- u. Sozialwesen, Krankenpflegeforschung, Health Care Research, Forschung im Gesundheitswesen