Qualitative Article Critique: Tiredness of Life in Older Persons

Research Article Critique: Qualitative Study – Tiredness of Life in Older Persons
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Introduction
Understanding the differences in methodological choice and the aim of a study is essential for any researcher. It allows for a more effective and appropriate approach that would increase its feasibility, effectiveness, and transferability in future studies or in real-life applications. Accordingly, this article would focus on analyzing the aspects of qualitative methodology as embraced in Van Humbeeck et al.'s (2020) study entitled 'Tiredness of Life in Older Persons: A Qualitative Study on Nurses' Experiences of Being Confronted With This Growing Phenomenon.'
Review of Introduction
Background
The researchers in this study provided a concise yet coherent discussion on the nurses' experiences on Tiredness of Life and the perception, attitudes, and ways of dealing with this phenomenon. Notably, the authors have outlined the background and objectives, research design and methods, results, and the discussions and implications (Van Humbeeck et al., 2020). One of the main points of the study regarding the cognitive processes of adults suffering from ToL was also outlined in the abstract.
Problem Statement
The problem statement in this article was explicitly stated and can be easily delineated from the background and objectives of the study. Notably, the background and objectives of the study specifically state that the study is based on the imperative for nurses to be more aware of the existence of Tiredness of Life (ToL) among older patients and that the primary goal of the study was to "gain insights into nurses' (a) perceptions of, (2) attitude(s) towards, and (3) ways of dealing with ToL in older patients" (Van Humbeeck et al., 2020).
Purpose
The purpose and research questions were provided early on, which helped guide the reader on what to expect throughout the article. As stated earlier, the primary purpose of the article was to increase awareness and perception and improve understanding about ToL among nurse practitioners.
Research Questions
The purpose were provided early on the article. The questions specifically pertain to the perception and awareness of the patient’s ToL from the point-of-view of the Nursing professional, as well as the various coping mechanisms that were utilized by them.
Congruence to Research Tradition
Congruence to research tradition refers to the 'fitness' of the study to the specific methodology that it aims to conduct. Accordingly, the three main elements for congruence in a qualitative study are the following; (1) delivery of the research questions, (2) significance of harmony among the research questions, and (3) the methodology for answering these questions. In this study, the authors met all of these requirements. In fact, all of these were already clearly identifiable from the introduction itself.
Review of Literature
The Review of Literature for this study was sufficient in quality and quantity. On the one hand, the authors have utilized peer-reviewed research journals that are highly relevant to the topic. Almost all (if not all) of the sources used were Academic Articles that are either experimental, cohort studies, or qualitative studies connected to the topic of ToL, medical ethics, geriatrics, and palliative nursing, to name a few.
However, one of the main issues regarding these journals' usage was their time of publication. Upon perusal of the time of the publication of this topic and the time of publication of these references, it could be seen that there is a significant difference in the period between the publication of the two. In fact, a significant number of the publications used were more than 5 years from the publication of the research. This is a crucial point to consider since the Literature Review must provide background knowledge that is highly relevant and up-to-date relative to solutions, treatments, or diagnoses determined in the study CITATION Pol10 \l 1033 (Polit & Beck, 2010). In fact, one of the oldest journals used was the one written by Ayres, Kavanaugh, and Knafl (2003), which was about within-case and across-case approaches to qualitative data. Fortunately, most of the older journals were not detrimental to the main topic of analysis, for it refers to general points of the study.
Review of Theoretical or Conceptual Framework
The researchers in this study have utilized a more flexible approach concerning their analysis. This is why they employed a Constructivist Grounded Theory, which is effective, especially for researchers who do not have a specific theoretical framework and those who aim to develop their own paradigmatic framework CITATION Kha14 \l 1033 (Khan, 2014). Nevertheless, the ideas were sufficiently interconnected with the concepts and the variables that were intended to be measured.
Review of Methodology
Description of Ideological Perspective
The authors have stated that their ideological perspective would be based on a Constructivist Grounded Theory. As stated earlier, this ideological perspective for measuring a complex phenomenon like ToL perception and awareness is crucial for understanding this study. Overall, however, the authors have also based this ideological framework of this study to emphasize the lingering problem of ToL perception and awareness among nursing professionals.
Design
The research design was an explorative, qualitative, and constructivist grounded methodology. Polit and Beck (2010) noted that the Constructivist paradigm "is not a fixed entity but rather a construction of the individuals participating in the research; reality exists within a context, and many constructions are possible." Given this assumption about the variation of realities by individuals experiencing ToL, the author believes that the combination of a Constructivist and Grounded Theory is an excellent approach.
Limitations
The study also recognized several limitations such as; (1) the reliance on nursing staff's verbal accounts and (2) the lack of its generalizability for the whole nursing population. Indeed, this limitation may be expected considering that the constructivist theory believes that perceptions of realities are different among nurses and that the sample population is small enough to make it representative of the whole population (Polit & Beck, 2010). Nonetheless, this qualitative understanding could serve as an essential baseline for future studies (i.e., quantitative studies) that can be conducted on the subject matter.
Methodology
Sampling Methods
The sampling method of this study initially utilized purposive sampling, which was then converted into theoretical sampling upon the progress of the study. In contrast to purposive sampling, the theoretical sampling explicitly employed tried to find individuals who have "varying experiences of the phenomenon." Accordingly, this is also one of the most utilized sampling methods in grounded studies, according to Polit and Beck (2010).
Setting
The study was conducted within the territory of three provinces of Flanders, Belgium, specifically in thr...