Article Critique

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ARTICLE CRITIQUES

o Students will select two research articles and complete a critique of the articles using a selected criteria set. Each team member will critique a different article and each team member will use a different criteria set. The criteria sets are provided in your course packet. Critiques written on articles that are not research articles will receive no points (0). If you are not sure if your article is a research article, check with your instructor. Use of the same article set by two or more team members will result in a loss of 10 points for each critique. (Note: Articles used for critiques may also be used for the assigned exercises.)

o Select research articles related to your project topic. Students may select articles from the textbook that have not been assigned for class discussion.

o Students must provide copies of the articles (if the article is on the World Wide Web, you need only submit the http address; if the article is in the course text, simply note which article and the page number). If a copy of the article is not provided, no grade will be given, resulting in no points (0) for that critique. The copies of the articles will be returned to the students with their graded critiques.

o Research articles chosen by the team must reflect at least two different research designs (i.e. qualitative, experimental, descriptive, causal-comparative, correlation, historical, evaluation, meta-analysis, etc.).

o Critiques should be 1-3 pages in length and may be submitted in person or via fax, e-mail, or "snail" mail. Each critique should follow the format outlined in the steps listed on the next page.

Grading Criteria for Article Critiques

Correct completion of Step 1 = 2 point
Correct identification of Step 2 items = 12 points
Correct completion of Step 3 = 2 point
Writing mechanics (spelling, punctuation, etc.) = 4 points

Applicability of comments to criteria = 30 points (these points will be divided into the number of sections covered in your criteria set and will be based on your responses to the criteria)

STEPS IN WRITING YOUR ARTICLE CRITIQUES

Step One

Identify the research article using the APA reference format

Example
Sorensen, C. (1995). Evaluation of Interactive Television Instruction: Assessing Attitudes of Community College Students. DEOSNEWS: The Electronic Journal on Distance Education, 5(9).

Step 2

Identify BRIEFLY

(1) the research problem

(2) the research design

(3) subjects

(4) instruments

(5) method of analysis

(6) major conclusion(s)

Example
Research problem - satisfaction of community college students with interactive television instruction
Research design - quantitative survey research
Subjects - community college students in Iowa taking summer courses on interactive television
Instruments - researcher developed attitude survey
Method of analysis - frequencies, t-tests, and regression analysis
Major conclusions - overall, students were satisfied with interactive television instruction; remote students were less satisfied than origination site students

Step 3

Identify the criteria set selected for the critique

Example
Romig criteria used

Step 4

Use the criteria to evaluate the article.
Prepare a written critique according to the format of the selected criteria and covering the points in the criteria set. You do not need to answer each specific question. Summarize and cover the relevant points.

Example
1. The research focus is clearly defined. We know the study is intended to study the satisfaction of students with interactive television instruction.

2. The literature review is generally focused on the problem but seems to introduce some extraneous variables. It appears that references were up to date at the time of publication. The review seems to be fairly complete and does lead into the research plan.

3. Using quantitative methodology (survey research) seems appropriate to the problem and seems to follow many of the studies in the literature. The subjects and instruments seem appropriate and although the instrument is author developed, the author gives us information about its reliability and validity. I wonder whether the author should have used multivariate analysis rather than the simplistic t-tests when comparing the population on several variables (gender, age, location, etc.).

4. The findings are reported clearly and the article is easy to read. The findings seem believable. They match my own experiences with distance education.

5. The author could have done a better job of putting the findings into perspective and providing better implications for the research. Readers are not given a clear direction for further research.

Criteria Sets