Reference no: EM133126333 , Length: word count:2000

ED4U009 Research methods

Article - Teachers' work ability: a study of relationships between collective efficacy and self-efficacy beliefs.

Critique of Journal Article

Prepare for the first assignment - the written critique of a journal article. This guidance is just a series of prompts to help you structure your work - you are not meant to cover all the questions and certainly there might be questions you need to address which we haven't included.

Choosing the right kind of journal article is important - so you need to begin the search for a suitable one straight away. It should be an article written by the person or people who have themselves carried out the research they are presenting. It should be from an academic journal (paper or e-journal). It should offer you the opportunity to further your own thinking about your own choice of research topic. If you are unsure, then send a copy of what you intend to use to your Course Leader and they can check that is an appropriate choice.

Choose an appropriate research paper and show justification for this choice Give some background about the study:
What is the study about?

Did you chose this article because you were interested in the specific research questions being asked or because you thought the methodology was innovative/relevant to your intended project?

Identify (a) rational for research, (b) research aims & (c) key research questions / hypothesis Rationale: Why has it been done?

Who has carried out the study? What is their professional/academic background?

Aim(s): Is the purpose or main aim/objective for the study clearly stated? Are all of the terms in the study aim clearly defined?
Key research question(s) / hypothesis:

Is the hypothesis / research question(s) clearly stated?
If there is more than one research question, what is the relationship between them?

Present and evaluate the research methodology which was chosen Design: Is the study design described/justified?

What is the overall design of the study? ( eg. experimental, survey, grounded theory) Is it quantitative or qualitative or a mixture of both?

Is it an appropriate design to answer the study aim etc? If no - what other design might have been more appropriate?

Sampling: Who or what makes up the study population? How is the sample chosen from the study population?

What is the sampling strategy? Is this appropriate? What is the size of the sample?

Data collection: How have researchers obtained information from the study sample? Have the researchers justified their choice of data collection tool?

How have they assured the reliability and validity of their data collection tools? What are the strengths and weaknesses of their approach to data collection?

Ethical considerations:

Have the researchers outlined any ethical procedures for the study? Are these appropriate?

Are there any ethical concerns not addressed by the researcher?

Data analysis: How have the researchers analysed their data?

a. If the data are quantitative have they used any statistical analysis? Did they make use of descriptive or Inferential statistics? Did they make use of any computer software?

b. If the data are qualitative have they provided details of how the data were recorded? Did they make use of any computer software? Did they provide any details of how the data were coded, themed and/or categorised?

Have the researchers provided any details of how reliability and validity were established within the data analysis process?

Present and evaluate the research findings How are the results presented? Are they easy to interpret and follow? Quantitative data: Are there any tables, charts or diagrams present? If yes are these accurate and are they easy to interpret?

Qualitative data: Are examples of the transcripts/ narrative/quotations provided? Have the researchers presented the data under themes?

Are all results presented? What are the main findings of the study?
Discussion of findings: Do the researchers discuss the findings in a balanced way? Do they compare their findings to other research studies?

Have the researchers answered their research questions / discussed their hypothesis?

Have they discussed the limitations of the findings? Can you identify any weaknesses?

Critically evaluate the conclusions Do the researchers draw accurate conclusions based on the study findings? Do they make any recommendations for practice or for further research?

Have the researchers reviewed any other relevant research and if so, do they discuss the relationship with their research (confirms, challenges, extends)?

Are there any other studies on this topic that they might have referred to?

Was there a need for this study? What does this study add to the body of knowledge? How has the research added to the theory base of the topic?

How has the research added to practice/policy?

Identify the implications for your intended dissertation research project How easy was the study to read / interpret? Were findings applicable to your research? Could you replicate the methodology?

What aspects of the methodology might you incorporate into your project?

Demonstrate effective expression / grammar / structure of written account Leave plenty of time to proof read your written account