Guidelines for Research Summary Grids

Purposes:
The purpose of this assignment is to facilitate the student’s ability to integrate and interpret the studies as a preliminary step in writing the scholarly synthesis. The assignment addresses all course objectives.

Guidelines and Overview:
Each group identify one quantitative research article and one qualitative research article that are relevant to the EBP research question identified by the group. The research articles should be from peer-reviewed journals published in past 7 years, and should be primary research (original article written by the author/authors who conducted that study), not literature review.

Content:
• Succinctly record the key components and findings from each study. Record information in each column as indicated on the summary sheet form. Your answers will demonstrate your understanding of the research methods and the parts of a research study report pertinent to your research problem statement.
• It is permissible to use 10-point font so that you have more space; Arial font often takes less space than Times Roman.

First column- To include four items: Author, Year, Title of the study, & Name of the journal

Second column- To include two items:
a. Research purpose- paraphrase the purpose statement from the research study.
b. Research question- copy and paste the research question from the research study. If research question was not mentioned in the study, you can make one based on the research purpose, in an interrogative way.

Third column- To include three items:
a. Setting (where the study was conducted, if not mentioned say so)
b. Sample (how many, gender, age, education etc. if no demographics mentioned say so) and sampling method (e.g., convenience sampling, purposive sampling).
c. Design (what specific type of quantitative or qualitative research design, the study purpose can also give you a hint about the study design). If interventional studies- need to include what was the intervention and the difference between experiment and control groups.

Fourth column- To include two items:
a. Variables & instruments (e.g., name of the questionnaire, scale, equipment, photograph, and other tools) used to measure the variables – for a quantitative study only.
b. Data Collection Methods (such as interview, self-report, observation, biophysiological measures as lab values and physical assessment, existing record). Also, to include time/period of data collection if mentioned, and pre- and post-procedure data collection etc. if mentioned. Include data that is pertinent to your problem statement.

Fifth column-To include two items:
a. Results- paraphrase the key findings that are pertinent to your problem statement.
b. Clinical implications – mention about nursing relevance and clinical implications. If not mentioned
clearly, look at the discussion section and mention one or two most important points for clinical
professionals. Must paraphrase.

Sixth column – To include two items:
a. Limitations – critique of validity (e.g., construct validity, internal validity in quantitative studies,
rigor/trustworthiness in qualitative studies), generalizability of findings, and any other methodological flaws. Usually it is discussed in a Limitation paragraph at the end of the discussion section or the article.
b. Research recommendations – suggestions for future studies or researchers. Must paraphrase.

Seventh column: to include one item- paraphrase study conclusion or summary of study findings. This should be based on the study purpose and pertinent to your research problem statement. Must paraphrase. Make sure to answer the question: how the study findings could help to answer your group’s research problem statement? This could be one of the themes to be utilized in your EBP paper, regarding “…provide a summary of evidence found in studies (based on the conclusion in research grid summary) with synthesis of highlights that match with your problem statement” (see the guidelines of the EBP paper).