Women of Color

Article summary

The purpose of the article is to explore the need and advantages of conducting community based research with women of colour in the United States. The authoritative knowledge that these women can provide about their lives and their health could form the basis of collaboration between researchers and participants and lead to successful strategies to improve the health of African American women. The article provides the goals for improving African American women’s health before investigating the issues related to cultural sensitivity, reciprocity, accountability and authoritative voices in order to argue that the research on these women and their health must be attuned to the multiple identities the women possess that are associated with race, gender and class.

Article structure

The article was introduced with an abstract, which provided the stance or thesis developed by the article as well as a brief overview of main points. The rationales for the article and for the research it describes were also included. The paragraphs in the body were short and therefore the information in each paragraph was easy to access, however there were only 3 body headings, which meant that there was a lot of quite detailed information contained under each heading. As the article described a research study that was conducted by the author, the article contained the conventional information normally provided in such a study. For example there are sections related to the background and significance of the research, a review of the literature and the methodology as well as the data collection and analysis techniques used. The findings and conclusions were developed towards the end of the article however the conclusion was very short, lacking a comprehensive summary of the main points covered by the article. However the short conclusion did develop future policy and research directions. References were cited in-text and set out clearly in the literature cited section. The article’s structure was logically developed overall, with the use of short paragraphs helping the reader access the main points more easily. The article was HMLT rather than a scanned PDF document and included many links, which helped to make the information accessible. There were links to author, journal, subjects, citations and references which allow the reader to evaluate the article’s worth more effectively, however linked headings and subheadings may have allowed the reader to move through the paper more quickly.

Article critique

Authority:

The journal, the American Journal of Public Health, is a publication of the American Public Health Association, which is an objective unbiased public organisation. It was found on the scholarly Academic Search Premier through EBSCOhost, which is a highly credible research database.

The author’s credibility was established in a number of ways. These included her PhD; the fact that the article was a peer reviewed article; the fact that the author is an academic working at the School of Public Health, Emory University in Atlanta; the fact that the research described in the article was supported by an ASPH/CDC/ATSDR Cooperative agreement and a grant from the Ford Foundation; and the links to the author’s other articles in the Reference section.

Accuracy:

The source of the information in the article was a current research project. It was also backed up and supported by a comprehensive, recent reference list with these sources cited in-text to support both the literature review and the research itself. The strict editorial and refereeing processes also contributed to the article’s accuracy as did the links to other expert sources (the journal for example).

Currency:

The journal was published in April 2002, while the article was accepted for publication in December 2001. The research it describes was current and the article cites up-to-date references in the body of the text (ranging from 1990-2001). Therefore the article is current.

Relevance:

This was an academic journal on an academic database, which has high credibility in an academic context. It was written to inform researchers and students rather than to entertain or advertise. It would be relevant to both these groups but particularly any academic interested in nursing innovations and in health generally. It could be a difficult article to read and understand and therefore would be less relevant to first year nursing students.

Objectivity:

The information was objectively developed, well supported with a current research base and with all evidence acknowledged and referenced. There was no evidence of bias, a fact that was reinforced by the recognition that the article documents research, which followed the rigorous research processes, and the necessary ethical considerations demanded of such community-funded research. The article acknowledged the complexity of the issues discussed in a number of ways. For example, the literature review provided explanations of the key terms discussed (for example ‘gender’ and ‘identity’) and supported their research decisions with references to the appropriate and relevant literature. The participants were clearly defined – a sample of 545 African American women living in Atlanta - with the findings relevant to other African American women and would also be able to inform research conducted in other countries, for example indigenous women in Australia.

Stability: