HHLT1RAE Research and Evidence in Practice Essay – Critical Appraisal

What is the Critical Appraisal?

This task is designed to help you develop your skills in appraising published health research and communicating complex research ideas to an academic audience. To do this you are required to write an  academic essay critically appraising an article related to your Enquiry 1 database search (see resources below). Your essay should consist of five (5) paragraphs. Each of the dot points below should form the basis of a single paragraph.

• Briefly summarise the nature and aims of the study and state the hypotheses.
• Summarise the methods used in the study, including participants, materials, and basic procedure.
• Outline the main findings of the study and whether the hypotheses were supported.
• Identify and define one potential threat to each of the following types of validity in the research design: measurement, internal, and external validity. Briefly explain the possible impact each threat may have on the outcome of the study.
• In conclusion, propose some suggestions as to how each threat to validity could have been resolved so that the research outcomes could have been better applied to the health-related field being discussed in the article.

What resources do I need to complete this assessment task?

• A copy of the nominated article: Available on the RAE Moodle in Assessment > Critical Appraisal > Resources: Critical Appraisal > Delgado, C., Toukonen, M., & Wheeler, C. (2018). Effect of canine play interventions as a stress reduction strategy in college students. Nurse educator, 43(3), 149-153. https//doi.org/10.1097/NNE.0000000000000451
• APA Style Essay Template: Available on the RAE Moodle in Assessment > Critical Appraisal > Resources: Critical Appraisal.

References:

You are required to provide a minimum of four (4) credible references to support your writing. These MUST be selected from the references provided for this task. No other references should be used in this essay. Information sourced from the provided references needs to be integrated to support the ideas presented in your essay. APA style is required for in-text citations and the reference list.