critical analysis:
- What is one research question or hypothesis in this article? (If there is no research question or no hypothesis stated, describe what the research is about.)
- What was the major purpose of the study – exploratory, descriptive, explanatory? Give support for your answer.
- Pick two of the variables or concepts that are studied. For each concept or variable, give a conceptual or theoretical definition.
- For each of the concepts or variables from question 3, give the operational definition, focusing on the indicator(s). If the indicators form a scale or an index, describe it. In other words, describe how they measured the variables.
- Comment on the validity and reliability of the operational definitions you described in question 4. Did the article mention this? If so, what was said.
- Was the study qualitative or quantitative? How do you know this? How can you tell the difference?
- Describe the study’s population, sample, study population and the kind of sample used. How did they get their sample? Be thorough here!
- Comment on the generalizability of the study, supporting your statements.
- What kind of study design was used? was the study design appropriate to the purpose of the study? Would another design have been better?
- What method(s) of data collection were used? What were the advantages and disadvantages of using this method or methods? Would different method(s) of data collection been possible or better? Comment on the practicality of methods.
- Evaluate the extent to which this research was conducted in an ethical manner.
- Describe the study’s major findings. What statistical tests did they use in the paper? (Discuss even if you aren’t sure what they mean.)
- What is your reaction to this research? Do you think this study will be useful or helpful to others in some way?
