Critique a research article

Critique of a Research Article

Stress in women with postpartum depression : a phenomenological study

Introduction

The objective of conducting a critique to a research article is to verify that the conclusions reached are valid and that any claimed empirical evidence has been identified as a result of applying the conventions and procedures of empirical research that lead to such evidences . This , of course , requires evaluating the article from a number of angles , e .g . design methodology , the selection of participants and the ethical issues related , interpreting data empirically and

reaching the valid evidences

Therefore , in to criticize objectively this research , I am going to review the report and write a summary of the research report . Then I am going to look at the research report critically in to identify strengths and weaknesses of the report

While this requires reading extensively in the literature , it would not be appropriate to cite all the readings in this critique . However , all literature referred to thoroughly or skimmed through will be included in the bibliography

Review (Summary of the Article

Introduction

Postpartum depression , a worldwide problem , is thought t be caused by stress experienced after childbirth in adjusting and adapting psychologically , socially and culturally . Higher levels of depressive symptoms are reported for women exposed to stress events during pregnancy and early puerperium . In the literature it is reported that cultural customs and rituals combined with the roles of family members can reduce postpartum stress

Literature review indicates that postnatal stress up to date have deployed quantitative approaches in collecting data for research . Postpartum stress in relation to postpartum depression is cited as an important issue in literature , however the detailed of stress experienced by women with postnatal depression leaves room for further research . Therefore the is designed to report an in-depth investigation of this problem

Background

A number of stress factors were reported in literature as evidentially associated with postpartum depression . In addition to the list of stress factors , another list stressful events both antenatal and postnatal have been cited in literature . As a result of previous studies five most stressful events of the postpartum period were identified : having a sick baby , an unhappy experience of delivery , caesarean section delivery concern about body shape and baby 's welfare . Stress itself was also categorized into four types : role , tasks , relationship and resources . However , all earlier studies were limited to quantitative data analysis . Therefore , the present study of in-depth investigation of stresses using a qualitative approach is justified

The Study

The aim is stated as the of lived experience of postpartum stress among depressed Chinese mothers in Hong Kong The design is too briefly described to adopt a phenomenological approach

Participants

A purposive sample of 11 recruited from a larger group of a larger study . Screening for postpartum depression at the sixth postpartum week was done using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS

Data Collection

Data was collected by in-depth interview conducted using open-ended questions supported by prompts . During the...