The problem that was investigated was adequately described, in that the reader gained a sense of the issues that were to be investigated. The problem, however, was not stated in the article in researchable terms. At a later point in the article, the author did, in the discussion of the research design, provide the reader with a researchable statement.
The author did place the study problem within the context of existing knowledge. The author described in the article the situation for elderly patients in institutional setting wherein their own cognitive loss inhibits their ability to communicate to the extent that agitative and disruptive behaviors appear to them to be their only recourse to make their desires known. The author pointed-out that mealtimes frequently are focal points of disquiet for such patients, and that intervention strategies, including the music therapy addressed in the research reported in the article, may create an environment that will lead to reductions in the frequency and intensity of agitative and disruptive behavior.
The study findings may not solve a problem related to nursing practice; however, the findings of the study most certainly do provide information that will be useful to nurses in the development of strategies designed to minimize disquiet among elderly patients at mealtimes. One major problem with the findings of this study with respect to the solution of nursing problems is that the study findings are not generalizable beyond the sample of patients from which data were collected.
The author provided in the article a clear statement of the research purpose. The purpose statement noted that the study sought quantify data relevant to the issue investigated within the context of the sample, as opposed to a broader population.
The author delineated theoretical concepts related to the significance of agitated behaviors by patients in relation to the care and well being of patients. W...