Evidence-based Nursing - How To Critique A Research Article - Evaluating The Conclusion

Evaluating The Conclusion

A conclusion can be identified as paragraphs that state the main claims that came out of the findings that were read earlier in the article. It should have a summary of the findings (strengths and weaknesses), status of the hypothesis, limitations, and recommendations, implications, or applications. In each section the best and worst needs to brought forth. In a quality conclusion section the author will only state what has been found, or not, without adding anything extra. The hypothesis will be proven true or false and nothing in between. Limitations will be discussed such as the statistical framework or design errors made in the beginning. The researcher should also present the limitations or weaknesses of the study. This presentation is important because it affects the studies generalizability. The generalizations or inferences about similar findings in other samples also are presented in light of the findings. Recommendations will be few in quality research. If no loopholes or oversights are made at the beginning, then these will not have to be expressed at the end. When all of these come together in a simplified manner, then a conclusion can be considered strong.

A limitation is an admission of how certain aspects of the study, such as the sampling, were not as unbiased as they should have been. This lets the reader know that improvements can be made from what was accomplished in the article.

The last thing the conclusion should do is give the reader a recommendation. This recommendation should be derived from the results gathered earlier in the article. Based on the results, the reader will be able to judge whether the data and hypothesis should be applied to nursing practice.