Critique of Johnson’s Quantitative Research Article

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An article called “The Use of Music to Promote Sleep in Older Women” was published in the twentieth volume of the Journal of Community Health Nursing in 2003. It was written by Julie E. Johnson, who is the dean and a professor for the College of Nursing at Kent State University in Ohio. She is a registered nurse who holds a PhD and is a member of the FAAN. Being a member of the FAAN suggests that she has contributed to the field of nursing in a positive way. Johnson’s article attempts to find out whether listening to music at bedtime positively affects the sleeping habits of older women suffering from insomnia. She tested this by observing fifty-two older women for twenty nights in total; ten nights to establish a baseline and ten nights to see how music affected the women. There didn’t seem to be any conflict of interest in the study, mainly because Johnson worked for a school and no company was benefiting from her research conclusions. She was not trying to promote the use of any specific tool to help sleep, like someone working for a drug company might do. Johnson publishing the article in a community nursing journal seems appropriate because many community nursing patients are older adults. The following essay will be a critique of the quality of Johnson’s research process in her study of whether music promotes sleep in older women.

The title of the article, “The Use of Music to Promote Sleep in Older Women”, is clearly stated at the top of the first page of the article. Although it gives the reader some information about the article, it is not very specific about the variables involved or the population of the study. For example, one would have to read to the end of the second page of the art...

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... maintain a scientific undertone throughout, but never seems to have an unbiased or impartial tone. Right from the introduction, the only literature used was to support the researcher’s idea that music is beneficial to older women. The report would benefit from identifying discrepancies in the literature, and then proving or disproving them with the research results. The fact remains, though, that Johnson is very qualified to carry out this research. Her qualifications as a registered nurse with a PhD and a member of the FAAN give her findings and recommendations for practice additional credibility.

Works Cited

Fain, J.A. (2009). Reading, understanding, and applying nursing research. (3rd ed.).

Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.

Johnson, J.E. (2003). The use of music to promote sleep in older women. Journal of Community

Health Nursing, 20, 27-35.

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