Instructions:
You have been provided with the following two published research articles:
1. The first is by Bishop, K and Whited, T 'A. (2022). Emerging Mental Health Issues in Children and Adolescents Secondary to the Coronavirus Disease2019 Pandemic.
2. The second is by Lane, J., Andrews, G., Orange, E., Brezak A, Tanna G., Lebese, L., Carter, T., Naidoo, E., Lavendal, E and Kats, A. (2020). 'Strengthening health policy development and management systems in low and middle- income countries: South Africa's approach.
Choose one of the two articles and write your essay following the instructions provided, also make use of the rubric which will be used to assess your work
Read your selected article thoroughly and write an essay critically appraising this article. Your essay should be written in a formal style, well-structured and flow logically. Do not simply answer the questions below in point form, but rather use the questions below to guide your thinking and ensure that all of those elements are addressed in your essay.
When writing your essay focus on the following points:
1. Write a brief introductory paragraph that outlines the problem the researchers identified, why it is important in that particular setting and what the research question or aim is.
2. What is the study design used in this study? Why do you think the researchers chose this study design? Do you think the study design was appropriate? Do you think the research question could be answered better with a different study design? In your essay, consider the benefits and limitations of the study designs that you include.
3. Review and consider the sampling strategy for the study. How was the sample selected? Are the inclusion and exclusion criteria clearly stated? How was the data collected? Do you think that the methodology described brings in any issues related to bias or error? Would you be able to repeat this study based on the description of the methodology?
4. If you were repeating this study in another setting and had to write a research proposal for the study, what are the specific ethical issues that you would consider? What are the risks and benefits associated with this study?
5. What are the most important findings of the study? Were the researchers able to answer their primary research question? Were any of the findings surprising to you?
6. When discussing the findings, did the authors contextualise their results to previous work in this area? What is different or similar about these findings relative to previous work that is presented? In your opinion, are the authors' conclusions justified by the data that they present? Would you have interpreted the findings differently or not? Are there any limitations to the study that should be considered?
7. Write a concluding paragraph or two in which you:
- Find 3-5 other articles related to this topic (which you must cite and reference) and compare their findings to that of your selected article or use their findings to potentially explain those of your selected article. Be careful not to purely summarise those articles, but to assimilate the information to inform your own opinion and explanation.
- Discuss, in your own opinion, the relevance, importance and applicability of the findings to your own setting or context.
8. Review the authors, their affiliations, any funding declared and consider if there are potential conflicts of interest related to the study, its findings or its setting.
