Quantitative Research Critique
[WLO: 4] [CLOs: 2, 5, 6]
Prior to beginning work on this assignment, review the assigned course textbook readings, the instructor guidance for the week, the Ashford Writing Center resource Writing an Article Critique (Links to an external site.), and the Ashford University Library tutorial How to Read a Scholarly Article (Links to an external site.). Your instructor will post an announcement with the reference for the quantitative research study to be critiqued in this assignment. After reading the posted study, use the Quantitative Research Critique Template to compose and organize your assignment.
In your paper,
- Summarize the research question, hypothesis, methods, and results of the assigned quantitative study.
- Determine whether the study used an experimental or non-experimental approach.
- Evaluate the appropriateness of the research methods and analytical approaches used in the study. Support the position with evidence cited from the textbook and at least one other scholarly/peer-reviewed source about the research design or method.
- Analyze ethical issues pertaining to how the study was carried out.
- Critique the strengths, weaknesses, and limitations of the study.
- Recommend a research question and methods for a follow-up study on the topic.
- Utilize the provided template with section headings.
The Quantitative Research Critique paper
- Must be four to five double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references pages) using the template provided and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center (Links to an external site.)’s APA Style (Links to an external site.) The template is a Word document that is pre-formatted in APA style. If unable to use the pre-formatted template, see the following instructions for formatting.
- Must include a separate title page with the following:
- Title of paper
- Student’s name
- Course name and number
- Instructor’s name
- Date submitted
For further assistance with the formatting and the title page, refer to APA Formatting for Word 2013 (Links to an external site.).
- Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic Voice (Links to an external site.) resource for additional guidance.
- Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. Your introduction paragraph needs to end with a clear thesis statement that indicates the purpose of your paper.
- For assistance on writing Introductions & Conclusions (Links to an external site.) as well as Writing a Thesis Statement (Links to an external site.), refer to the Ashford Writing Center resources.
- Must use at least one scholarly/peer-reviewed source in addition to the study being critiqued and the course text, for a total of at least three references.
- The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.
- Must document any information used from sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center’s Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.)
- Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. See the Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.) resource in the Ashford Writing Center for specifications.
