Assignment Task 

1. Front Matter

a) Do you feel the authors (and their affiliations), the journal in which the article is published, and date of publication make this a credible source? Justify your answer with reference to the article.

b) State whether it is primary, secondary, or neither primary nor secondary research?

c) Is the title appropriate and illustrative (i.e. does it clearly refer to the topic, participants, and study design, and allow readers to infer the research question)? Justify with reference to the article.

2. Background

a) Does the background section of the article identify and discuss what we do know about the issue from previous literature? 

b) Does the background section of the article discuss what we don’t know about the issue, and justify the importance of conducting the research? Justify with reference to the article.

c) In your own words, write the primary research question being addressed in this article, making use of the Population, Intervention, Comparison/Control, Outcome (PICO) method?

3. Methods

3.1 Study Design

a) State whether the research is (1) quantitative, (2) qualitative, (3) neither or (4) both quantitative and qualitative.

b) Is this research (1) experimental, (2) non-experimental, (3) neither or (4) both? (1 sentence only)

c) Is this research (1) cross-sectional, (2) longitudinal, (3) neither or (4) both? (1 sentence only)

d) What level of evidence (as per the NHMRC framework) does this research study design fall under? (1 sentence only)

e) Describe two strengths and two limitations of the particular research study design you have identified in Q3.1d above (You do not need to align your response with your specific article).

3.2 Participants and Sampling

a) Describe the participants that made up the study sample in this research. 

b) Identify the sampling method used in the study. Justify with reference to the article. 

c) Is the sample size of the study appropriate to draw valid conclusions? Why or why not? 

3.3 Measurement

a) Describe how data was collected in this study. 

b) Identify two measures that were used to collect data in this study. Explain why these are subjective or objective measures. 

c) Do the measures you have identified in response to Q3.3b above seem valid and reliable? Why or why not? Justify with reference to the article. 

d) Overall, are the measures used in the study appropriate to address the research question you identified in Question 2c? Why/why not? 

3.4 Ethical considerations

a) Did this research receive ethics approval by an appropriate human research ethics review board? 

b) Identify two ethical considerations a human research ethics review board would likely consider if asked to consider approving this research. Why are these ethical considerations relevant to this particular research study? 

3.5 Statistics

a) State the primary study null and alternate hypotheses being tested in this study (if there are multiple measures contributing toward answering of the research question, you are welcome to focus on one measure in particular for this question). (75 words max)

b) Identify the specific dependent and independent variables utilised to test the primary study hypotheses you have identified in response to Q3.5a above. 

c) Are each of the specific dependent and independent variables you have identified in response to Q3.5b above continuous or categorical variables?

d) Identify the specific statistical test that was used to test the studies primary hypothesis you provided in response to Q3.5a above.

4. Results

a) Based on the result of the statistical test identified above (in response to Q3.5d), and in consideration of the primary study null and alternate hypotheses identified above (in response to Q3.5a), is it appropriate to accept the null or alternate hypothesis? Why?

5. Discussion

a) Do the authors in this section specifically relate study results back to the research question you identified in response to Question 2c? Justify with reference to the article. 

b) Are conclusions and recommendations based on study results or do the authors make recommendations that are not solely attributable to the results of their research? Justify with reference to the article. 

6. Generalisability

a) Identify and describe two limitations specific to this study that impact on our ability to generalise study results. Justify with reference to the article. (200 words max)

B. GRADE Recommendation

a) Based on your review of the article, and understanding of the GRADE quality of evidence ranking system, do you feel this article is of High quality, Moderate quality, Low quality or Very low quality?

b) Based on your review of the article, and answer to the above question, would you suggest the GRADE recommendation strength for this article to be (1) Strong, or (2) Weak, Conditional or Discretionary?

c) Based on your review of the article and answer to the above two questions, what recommendations would you make to other interested stakeholders considering implementing changes based on the conclusions of this article (consider the Harms vs. benefits and Cost implications from the GRADE framework in your response)?