Compare and Contrast Two Pieces of Research

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The aim and objective of this piece of work is to critique and compare two pieces of research concerning similar topics. One piece will be a quantitative approach and the other a qualitative. This essay will bring out the differences between the methodologies used throughout. Finally, the application of the research to current clinical practices will be considered. Firstly, a critique of the quantitative study carried out by Chao et al (2007) titled “Pain relief by applying transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on acupuncture points during the first stage of labour: A randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial”. A quantitative piece of research is one which is objective and systematic using data that can be analysed numerically. It aims to test relationships between characteristics and examine the cause and effect interactions between variables (Crookes & Davies, 2004). The titles of research papers are greatly important as they provide the reviewer with the initial persuasion required to read on and can also influence the believability of the research. According to Bluff & Cluett (2006) a title should be clear and concise whilst reflecting the content of the study with no ambiguity. The title of this study does provide a clear indication of the purpose of the study as well as the methodology used but, it does not convey the outcomes of interest. However, this study’s title is already considerably lengthy and therefore adding the outcome would have made the title excessively long. Too Long or too short titles can be misleading, confusing or have a detrimental effect in off-putting the reader (Coughlan et al, 2007). When critiquing this article the credibility can be assessed in a number of ways but the authors’ qualifications and job titles can provide a useful indicator in this matter (Conkin, 2005). Smith (1997) believes that decent
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