Write a 5-8 page (not including cover or reference pages) critique of a peer-reviewed research article that you had chosen (NOT one of the assigned articles) in Module 1 or in Module 2. The Submission must be double-spaced, 12-point font, and adhere to APA style. It must include a cover page and a reference page and must be submitted as a Word document via the IC system.
A critique is a detailed analysis – not a recap or summary. This critique is to incorporate the topics we have covered in the course thus far. You should assume that information from the course is well understood and instead just perform application and analysis. You should not rehash TD discussions or course material and should not be citing course readings.
Number and Label the following headings and be sure to address each item thoroughly:
- Introduction: Identify your article
- Purpose: Briefly describe the purpose of the research study
- Variables: Identify and explain the Independent and Dependent
Variable(s) used in the research study you have selected (Module 1). You must explicitly state, “The independent variable is…” and “the dependent variable is…”
- Sample: identify and explain the strengths and limitations of the sample of participants used in this research study (Module 3)
- Validity: identify all the possible internal and external threats to validity from the research study you have identified (Module 4)
- Comparison with the Literature: Compare and contrast the research findings from the research study you have identified with at least two other research articles on the same or similar keyword(s).
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The leading reason for a reduced grade on this assignment (or a request to resubmit a revision before grading) is not focusing on the analysis of research and instead providing terminology definitions or recounts of course content. There should not be an explanation of different types of variables (i.e., do NOT give definitions of independent and dependent variables), you should not write generally about what research is, you should not write about why proper sampling is important, you should not write about what validity means, etc.
If you received feedback on your TD posts that your article did not have appropriate variables, you may email me with a new article choice, but it will need to be approved before you can switch. Please do not switch articles without approval or you will be asked to resubmit.
Module 3: Threats to Valid research
In this particular Module, we will be learning about and discussing issues related to sampling bias and experimenter bias in psychological research.
Module 4: Criteria Measures: Validity and Reliability
In this particular Module, we will be learning about and discussing issues related to the differences between Validity and Reliability of the measures and methods used in applied psychology research studies. Furthermore, you will be synthesizing what you have been learning so far in this course through your Case Assignment.
Science Behind The News: Opinion Polls & Random Sampling [Video file].Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAufq8y20d4 (4:08)
Pros and cons of public opinion polls – Jason Robert Jaffe [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubR8rEgSZSU (4:24)
Eckman, S., & Koch, A. (2019). Interviewer Involvement in Sample Selection Shapes the Relationship Between Response Rates and Data Quality. Public opinion quarterly, 83(2), 313–337. https://doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfz012
TD2 Reading and Video :
Trust in research — the ethics of knowledge production | Garry Gray [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSV4VZ8gdUQ (12:24)
Weber, E. J. (2019). Publication bias begins at home. Emergency Medicine Journal : EMJ, 36(9), 518.
Sharma, H., & Verma, S. (2019). Is positive publication bias really a bias, or an intentionally created discrimination toward negative results?. Saudi Journal of Anesthesia, 13(4), 352–355.
Critique Of A Peer-Reviewed Article
The relationship among nursing deans’ leadership styles and faculty job satisfaction levels is a peer-reviewed research article that examines the correlation between nursing faculty job satisfaction and dean leadership styles. The primary driver of the article’s research is the scant literature on job satisfaction and leadership in higher education and notably the nursing discipline. The scholars note that academicians have conducted considerable research on the relationship between teacher satisfaction and principals’ leadership practices in K-12 contexts. However, scant data exists on the correlation of the two variables in higher education (Worthy et al., 2020). Therefore, the study targets to bridge the niche in literature by examining the two key components within public universities in the United States involved in intensive research activities.
Purpose
The study’s core purpose is to identify the correlational patterns between nursing deans’ leadership styles and the nursing faculty job satisfaction. For the scholars to achieve the identified research purpose, they base the study on four key research questions that examine leadership styles exemplified by nursing deans as perceived by the nursing faculty, the workforce job satisfaction, the relationship between leadership and work satisfaction, and the extent to which the faculty perceived leadership styles as a prediction of job satisfaction (Worthy et al., 2020). From a research perspective, the study’s purpose is valid because it develops leadership and job satisfaction knowledge. As the literature suggests, a research’s critical objective is to create or design new knowledge (“The purpose of research” n.d.). In this scenario, the purpose of the selected article is to develop existing knowledge on leadership styles and job satisfaction in the high learning nursing context.
Variables
Like other research studies, the selected article has independent and dependent variables. The study’s independent variable is leadership style, while the dependent variable is job satisfaction levels. Job satisfaction level qualifies as a dependent variable because its results vary depending on the independent variable’s changes. Arguably, variations in leadership styles, such as adopting transformational, transactional, and laisse-faire, is likely to cause a change in job satisfaction level in the nursing faculty. The inclusion of independent and dependent variables is also vital because they provide a focus for the study. Notably, the variables determine the critical areas of study that the researchers should dwell on and prevents time-wastage associated with attempts to cover several elements in a single research. Moreover, the core variables’ determination is vital because it explains the research’s effects and causes. In this scenario, a reader can easily determine the cause- leadership styles- and its effects- job satisfaction levels- in the nursing faculty.
Sample
The selected research article utilizes a sample of 303 participants, 270 and 32 of whom are women and men, respectively. This sample group is randomly chosen from 24 targeted public universities in the United States. One of the key strengths of the sample of participants used in this research is adequacy. Often, scholars consider ten percent of the total population as an adequate sample size for research. In this case, the article utilizes 303 participants out of the 1,626 recruited individuals, a sufficient sample for the study.
Moreover, the adequacy of the target institutions is a strength for this study. As is evident from the article, the researchers piloted their research in 24 out of the 73 public universities identified using the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (Worthy et al., 2020). Among the core benefits of using an adequate sample size for this study are reducing margin errors and providing accurate mean values during analysis.
Moreover, the random selection of participant’s sample is a core strength for the selected research article. As is evident from the research article, the sample size is obtained from a random selection of five universities from established geographical regions. The random selection of the sample of participants is a potential strength because it helps minimize sampling bias. Arguably, selecting the sample group by chance increases the probability of choosing any public university and the balanced likelihood of every nursing faculty in the institutions being selected for participation in the study.
However, there are also limitations to the sample of participants used in the selected research article. Among the sample’s shortcomings is the lack of inclusivity. As is evident from the research paper, the researchers mainly used a study sample from public universities involved in high research activities (Worthy et al., 2020). Therefore, the research findings do not include views from participants in private institutions, implying that it may not be generalized in the overall population.
Validity
While the selected research article contributes significantly to current literature on the effects of leadership styles on job satisfaction levels in the nursing discipline, it is evident that its findings may be prone to internal and external threats to validity. Among the possible internal threats to the study’s validity is maturation. Notably, the research reveals that some of the faculty members had a lower interaction with the nursing dean, which might have influenced their response to questions regarding their dean’s leadership style (Worthy et al., 2020). Therefore, interaction in this scenario may limit the researchers from drawing a conclusive link between nursing dean leadership and job satisfaction.
The other potential threat to the research’s internal validity is attrition. As is evident from the article, the researchers only utilized 303 participants out of the 1,626 recruited individuals (Worthy et al., 2020). This information suggests that the study findings may be biased because the researchers obtained results from a sample that chose to remain in the study because of some unique traits. Arguably, the 303 participants may have proceeded with the study because of their high interaction with their nursing dean. Similarly, the participants who withdrew from the study may have been influenced by low interaction with their dean. This common attribute may have led to biased results that may not be common among the nursing faculty.
Besides the threats to internal validity, the research article may be susceptible to external validity threats such as sample features. The article’s information reveals that the researchers selected their sample population from public universities with high research activities (Worthy et al., 2020). This information implies that the perception of nursing faculty from the community and private nursing institutions, and those involved in moderate research activities, about the effect of their nursing dean’s leadership style on job satisfaction level is not captured in the study. Therefore, the study findings of the selected article may not be generalizable.
Comparison with the Literature
Besides Worthy et al.’s (2020) research, other studies also explore the relationship between nursing leadership styles and faculty job satisfaction levels. One such piece of literature is a study by Boamah et al. (2018), which examines transformational leadership, job satisfaction, and patient safety. Like the selected article, Boamah et al. (2018) reveal that transformational leadership style increases nurses’ job satisfaction and decreases the frequency of adverse patient outcomes. However, this study differs slightly from the selected article because it does not determine the degree of correlation between leadership and job satisfaction using the linear regression analysis. Therefore, it is somewhat difficult to determine whether the positive correlation between the two variables is weak, moderate, or strong, as established by Worthy et al.
Besides Boamah et al., Giddens (2018) conducted similar research to evaluate transformational leadership and advise nursing deans on the leadership traits and styles they should adopt in practice. Like Worthy et al., findings from Giddens’s (2018) study reveal that nursing deans mainly exhibit transformational leadership styles rather than transactional and laissez-faire leadership. Moreover, the study results indicate a positive correlation between dean’s transformation transactional leadership style and job satisfaction.
The trivial contrast and considerable similarity between findings from Giddens, Worthy et al., and Boamah et al.’s research substantiate the validity of the research’s findings. An analysis of the three articles shows a similar pattern of results whereby transformational leadership is positively related to job satisfaction. The similar pattern of findings in the three studies has some implications in the nursing academic context. First, the study findings imply that nursing deans should adopt a transformational leadership style that positively affects job satisfaction and avoid a laissez-faire management style. The study results also suggest that academic nursing institutions should train their leaders adequately to ensure they have the appropriate leadership skills to promote job satisfaction, productivity, and performance in the nursing faculty.
References
Boamah, S. A., Spence Laschinger, H. K., Wong, C., & Clarke, S. (2018). Effect of transformational leadership on job satisfaction and patient safety outcomes. Nursing Outlook, 66(2), 180–189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2017.10.004
Giddens, J. (2018). Transformational leadership: What every nursing dean should know. Journal of Professional Nursing, 34(2), 117–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2017.10.004
“The purpose of research” (n.d.). Sage Pub. https://us.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-assets/83269_book_item_83269.pdf
Worthy, K., Dawson, R. M., & Tavakoli, A. S. (2020). Relationships among nursing deans’ leadership styles and faculty job satisfaction levels. Journal of Nursing Education, 59(2), 68–75. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20200122-03