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In the article entitled Consumption of sweetened, dried cranberries may reduce urinary tract infection incidence in susceptible women -- a modified observational study, the authors decided to conduct a quantitative study. A descriptive research design was used in the study particularly an experimentation approach to research. According to a book in nursing research, an experimental research is one that is focus on identifying the cause (Burns & Groves, 2010, p.237). A quasi-experiment research similar to the subject of this critical appraisal implored the use of a pretest and post-test design within a controlled group (Burns & Groves, 2010, p.233). In the study, the authors had 20 participants with history of recurrent UTI . The goal of the study was to determine whether sweetened, dried cranberries help reduce urinary tract infection among women. To establish this, a correlational design was applied. A correlational research helps determine the relationship between the variables set in the study. In this particular study, the relationship between consumption of sweetened, dried cranberries and the incidence of UTI among the selected sample population needs to be established. In the study, the authors had been able to establish the efficiency of consuming sweetened, dried cranberries in reducing the incidence of UTI among susceptible women. This was determined with 53% of the respondents reporting no trace of UTI within the next six months following the onset of the study computed at p = 0.004, mean difference = 1.26 ±0.38SE .
In analyzing the methodologies and procedure of Burleigh, et al (2013), the selected methodology was more experimental than it was observational as the study claims. The difference lies in the fact that the study tried to apply an intervention that would validate the impact of consuming sweetened, dried cranberries in reducing the incidence of UTI. Nevertheless, the authors had been able to establish the reliability and credibility of the study by using a correlational analysis with a significance level of 0.05 at 95% confidence interval.
References
Burleigh, A., Benck, S., McAchran, S., Reed, J., Krueger, C., & Hopkins, W. (2013). Consumption of sweetened, dried cranberries may reduce urinary tract infection. Nutrition Journal, 139-155.
Burns, N., & Groves, S. (2010). Understanding Nursing Research: Building an Evidence-Based Practice. Philadelphia: Saunders .
