The Experiences of AIDS Orphans Living in a Township - Qualitative Critique Essay Example

In this paper, the article entitled "The experiences of AIDS orphans living in a township" is assessed critically and impartially to deduce its strengths, flaws and applicability to the nursing research practice.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

The Article's Title

It does not sufficiently represent the actual study being conducted owing to some ambiguity in wording. It does not incorporate words such as "Determining", which would inform the reader what kind of research has been carried out, that is, whether qualitative or quantitative and where it was conducted. It is also unable to adequately assist the reader in determining the research approach used.

The Article's Abstract

Grove, Burns and Gray (2012) purport that the abstract should summarize the study's key areas. An elaborate summary of the study objectives and the qualitative methodology used are evident. However, the sample and recommendations have been described loosely thus one cannot identify the study participants and suggestions for improvement based on the conclusion's summary, leaving the reader with partial information of the research activities.

The Article's Introduction

Statement of the Problem

The phenomenon of interest is the AIDS orphan, who has been comprehensively elaborated in this section. A summary of the number of AIDS orphans and HIV-infected individuals is also detailed clearly. A statement of the importance of these research findings in planning care responses indicates the study's significance to nursing.

Purpose

No coherent addressing of the population and problem identification are evident. (Grove et al., 2012) acknowledge that the purpose statement pinpoints the study variables. However, the objectives of this article are stated vaguely and do not clarify the exact variables that will be evaluated in the research.

Literature Review

This article never included the literature review. Therefore, the study does not describe the known and known concepts around the phenomenon of interest. Also, no research gap is stated. There is no description of the objectives of reviewing literature, the approach for searching this literature, list of the databases searched, and substantiation of the problem to back the research purpose.

Conceptual Framework

No framework describing the relationship between the phenomenon of interest and study purpose was included. Likewise, no theoretical model or philosophical guide is evident. The concepts being investigated, albeit not in the conceptual framework, are too wide.

Research Aims or Questions

There are no explicit questions posed in this study. The only guiding question for this study is implicit and is consistent with the research problem and purpose stated. However, since a theoretical framework was omitted, there are no grounds on which to base its conceptual consistency.

The Article's Methodology

Research Design

The researchers have specified the study approaches used, that is, contextual, descriptive, exploratory and qualitative designs. However, there was no philosopher identified to guide these approaches. Nevertheless, the approaches used were clearly mixed, which are accompanied by a lucid description of the techniques of data collection involved in these designs. Based on the data collected, these designs were appropriate for the research question.

Sample and Setting

This article describes the purposive sampling strategy as the preferred sampling method. This approach is suited for this study since the researcher will employ his or her judgment to select the participants who meet the study's eligibility needs (Tongco, 2007). The researchers gave a description of the sample population and their inclusion and exclusion criterion with regards to their age, residence, and their fluency in speaking English. However, no account of the recruitment process is given. Moreover, the researchers did not identify the sample size used in the study although they described data saturation as having being reached after eight interviews. Nonetheless, the researcher's role in the sampling process was to identify suitable individuals for the study based on their past experiences.

Data Collection

The researchers identified and defined in-depth interviews as their data collection method. However, no account of the period of data collection and duration of each interview is given. Based on the example given on questions asked during the interview, data collected sufficiently addressed the research purpose. The description of the interview process is not properly defined to enable its replication while the IRB is also not mentioned. An ethical concern can be raised in the level of confidentiality of the information gathered since the study subjects are likely to still be traumatized by the loss of one or both of their parents.

Data Analysis

The researchers described in detail the Tesch method as their data analysis approach but never included an audit trail. No clear description of the coding method used is given. Nevertheless, they have discussed trustworthiness as the rigour and threat to this study.

Descriptive Vividness

Clarity and depth were observed in the descriptions even though factual accuracy was not prioritized. The researchers, however, reported on the data's trustworthiness and credibility but never employed bracketing for analysis.

Methodological Congruence

The researchers described the maintenance of rigour through peer debriefing, triangulation of data sources and lengthy participants' engagement. Not all study elements were precise and coherent and neither did the researchers maintain procedural rigour. Nonetheless, ethical rigour was maintained through ensuring the protection of the participants during the results' presentation and consent processes. The data collection methods were clear although not sufficiently described. Finally, auditability was involved.

Analytical Preciseness

The research data was verified through peer reviews from experienced field researchers. Likewise, interpretation corresponds with the results with the themes discussed exhibiting a logical sequence.

Theoretical Connectedness

The study's theoretical scheme is articulated coherently and logically and reflects the data collected. Also, it gives a meaningful view of the studied phenomenon although no conceptual map is derived.

Heuristic Relevance

The reader can recognize the study phenomenon, its theoretical importance and applicability to nursing. Consequently, the research assists in theory development.

The Article's Discussion

Interpretation

Study limitations were discussed and a theory derived. Also, the conclusions befit the analysis' results although were not linked to the theoretical framework.

Implications

Implications for the nursing research, education and practice were addressed with recommendations being proposed for the future.

Evaluation

Evident strengths were in the transparency of the sampling methodology, credibility and trustworthiness checks, participants' protection, auditability, discussion and conclusion. Also, the results and data collected were transferable to the nursing practice and analysis process respectively. However, evident weaknesses are an unspecified time frame for completing the research, and questionable truthfulness of the data collected since no visual representation of the results is given.

The study showed the kind of experiences that AIDS orphans are subjected to. These experiences can be used as the basis for future studies on bettering the lives of these orphans and improving nursing care on them.

References

Grove, S. K., Burns, N., & Gray, J. (2012). The practice of nursing research: Appraisal, synthesis, and generation of evidence. Elsevier Health Sciences.

Tongco, M. D. C. (2007). Purposive sampling as a tool for informant selection. Ethnobotany Research and applications, 5, 147-158.

Van Rooyen, D., Ricks, E., & Frood, S. (2011). The experiences of AIDS orphans living in a township. Health SA Gesondheid, 17(1), 1-11.