Reference no: EM133286764

Assignment Overview:

This is your final assignment for the course. It will incorporate all of the tasks you have completed to date, but it is also important to remember that as psychology and criminal justice students, it is essential that you understand how to read a scholarly journal article and take away key points, such as the purpose of a study and what the researchers found. While this assignment is an assessment of what you have learned this semester, also consider that the more thought and effort you put into this assignment, the more it will be helpful toward your future use of research in any classes you take.

Summarize the study, including each of the following elements:

a. The purpose of the study. Why did the researcher(s) conduct the 3 pts study? This is not the same thing as the hypotheses. This should describe the research questions the researcher(s) had.

b. The researchers' hypotheses. What did they predict they would find? Were these hypotheses based on pre-existing theories or research? Provide a brief overview of the literature and previous studies the authors discussed that were relevant to their current hypotheses.

c. The methods of the study. How did the researchers conduct the study? Describe any questionnaires or paradigms they may have used. If the study involved confederates or interactions with live participants, explain how this was accomplished. Who were the participants? How the study was ran?

d. The findings/results of the study. What did the researchers find? Integrate the results and discussion section to write this part. Also discuss whether these findings were in line with or disconfirmed the researchers' hypotheses. Do not simply copy their results and/or discussion section. Put the findings into your own words.

Critique the study. This part should reflect your own opinions. You are going to critically think about the strengths and weaknesses of the study, paying particular attention to the methods of the study to do so. This section should include the following:

a. The implications of the study. Discuss at least three real-world implications of the findings. What is the significance of the findings? What direction do they suggest for future research? Discuss at least three considerations for future research.

b. Strengths of the study. What did the researchers do well? How did they address an issue that has previously suffered from weak methodology or lack of literature? Describe at least three strengths of the research design. Was there anything you particularly liked about the study?

c. Weaknesses of the study. Did the researchers miss an important issue? Did they neglect to include something in their methodology that you think should have been there? Discuss at least three weaknesses of the study. What are the limitations of the findings? How generalizable are they? Discuss at least three limitations of the findings. Limitations of the findings are different from weakness of the methodology, so do not confuse the two. If a theory was mentioned, does the methodology of the study effectively test this theory? Is there anything you really did not like about the study?

d. Recommendations. Whenever we critique a study, we must provide recommendations, particularly when discussing weaknesses. For each weakness of the study that you discuss, provide a recommendation or suggestion for how to address it in future research, or how the researchers could address it in a follow up study

Reading: Vulnerable Decision Points for Disproportionate Office Discipline Referrals: Comparisons of Discipline for African American and White Elementary School Students by Keith Smolkowski