Assessment 2. Critical Reflection
Write a 2000-word critical reflection on the research you have completed and written up for assessment 1 – Does it offer good quality evidence for practice? (learning outcomes 2 and 3).
The following format is suggested to enable you to provide a structured approach to this work;
Title
A short and concise title, which clearly explains the study, is what is aimed for. Does
your study fulfil these criteria?
The paper’s introduction and literature review
Comment on whether the background literature provides clear understanding of work previously done in this area, whether there is a clear rationale offered for doing the study. Finally, comment on the clarity, appropriateness and transparency of the aims and objectives/hypotheses.
Methods
Identify the research question and comment on its clarity. Is the method used the best approach to answer this question?
Using the support of appropriate research references, analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the;
1. Design
2. Sample / subjects
3. Data collection methods
4. Data analysis and results
5. Ethics
Review the results, discussion, conclusion and recommendations.
Following this, considering the literature search you conducted for the study, does your study fit in with the body of evidence? Discuss whether there are any previously reported studies in the same area and whether these studies offered similar understanding or very different research and understanding. Discuss the above critical reflections in light of the nature of evidence based practice by discussing what evidence based practice is and whether the study you completed along with other papers, offers sound evidence or poor and the reasons for your conclusion.
