JOURNAL ARTICLE CRITIQUE

Objective: Write a 3-4 page college-level paper in APA format, in which you analyze one scientific, peer-reviewed article in the discipline of psychology and discuss how the results of the study may benefit the surrounding community and/or society as a whole.

CRITERIA FOR JOURNAL ARTICLE CRITIQUE

TOPIC

Article topics must be selected from topics within the discipline of psychology.

SOURCE

The journal article…

must be current (no earlier than January, 2012)

must come from professional, scientific journals.

must be a research article (MUST HAVE SECTIONS LABELED “METHODS”, “RESULTS” & “DISCUSSION”)

GUIDELINES

Specific guidelines are listed on the next page.

Any further details will be provided by your instructor.

FORMAT

You must use APA format. The format directions can be found on the following web site: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

APA format requirements include a cover page, reference page, in-text citations, etc. (*you do not need an abstract page for this paper.)

PLAGIARISM WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. All information must be stated in your own words.

HOW TO TURN THIS IN & DUE DATE

Each student must turn in their critique and a complete copy of the journal article to receive credit.

All critiques will be submitted electronically in D2L (Turn It In).

The due date is 11/19/2020

GRADING

Introduction: 10 points

Uploaded Empirically valid journal uploaded with critique at time of submission: 10 points

Main Body: 40 points

Summary/Conclusion: 40 points

*Students will lose points for not following APA style (cap 10 points)

*Students will lose one point for EACH grammar/spelling error. (cap 20 points)

STRUCTURE OF JOURNAL ARTICLE CRITIQUE

Introduction (10 points) (PURPOSE: to educate the reader on the topic/concept)

will define topic and other key terms

will include symptoms, statistics of occurrence and current information in the field

Main body (40 points) (PURPOSE: to explain the research conducted in the article)

will state what you found in the journal article

HYPOTHESIS or PURPOSE:

What were the researchers trying to discover (i.e. what was the hypothesis or purpose)?

This is usually found at the beginning of the article. Usually the hypothesis or statement of a problem appears at the end of the review of the literature, most often in the last or next to last paragraph. The words that indicate that it is a hypothesis are, “We will examine. . .” or “Our hypothesis is . . .” In a statement of a problem, the researcher may say, “We plan to see if a relationship…,” “We proposed to observe…,” or “The problem we proposed to study…” (You must use your own words—do NOT use quotes).

METHODOLOGY:

How was the research conducted (research design or type of study)?

Is the research descriptive (case study, naturalistic observation, laboratory observations, surveys, tests), correlation, experimental, or developmental? For more information on research methods, refer to chapter 1 of your text.

When and where the research was conducted?

How long did the study take?

Who were the participants? (number [N], age, sex, criteria to be a part of study)?

RESULTS/DISCUSSION:

What did the researchers actually find in relation to their hypothesis/purpose?

ARTICLE MAY STATE: The researchers found that . . .

What limitations did the researchers reveal?

Summary/conclusion (40 points) (PURPOSE: to show critical thinking in regards to the research)

How does the information in the article integrate with information from class discussion, the text, and/or other information in the discipline?

TIP: It is a good idea to use the subject index in your text to look up the topic in your text.

What is your opinion of the research findings?

EXAMPLE: was this research well done or not and why?

Why is this topic/research important? (relevance/benefits to community and/or society)

EXAMPLE: A conclusion to a study that suggests a new therapy/treatment for children with ADHD might help the child struggling to perform successfully in school, which then improves her confidence, her relationship with her parents, siblings, and classmates. Write about the implications of this new treatment.

In what ways does this topic relate to your own personal experience and how is your experience in agreement or disagreement with the outcome of this study?

How has your opinion of this topic changed since your review of the study?