Critique a Qualitative Research Article
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Critique of a Qualitative Research Article (see attached)
Utilize research protocols in defining, researching, analyzing and synthesizing appropriate scholarly research
within the topic/issue selected.
The learner may utilize the sub-questions as a guide to what content needs to be addressed within each component.
Research Problems, Research Questions, and Hypotheses
What is the research problem? Has the researcher justified the scope of the problem?
What contributions will be presented from the data of the research?
Is the research question, purpose, or hypothesis communicated clearly and concisely?
Are hypotheses directional or non-directional? Is there a rationale for the manner in which they were stated?
Are hypotheses stated as research hypotheses or null hypotheses?
Strengths and Limitations of the study
Give specific examples of the study's strengths and limitations.
Are the interpretations consistent with the results?
What types of evidence in support of the interpretation does the researcher offer?
Are generalizations made that are not warranted on the basis of the sample used?
Does the researcher offer implications of the research for practical purposes?
The Ethical Aspects of a Study
Was there deception presented in the study?
What safeguard steps were taken for the participants?
Was there an approval process by an Institutional Review Board or similar ethics review committee?
Was any type of coercion or undue influence used in recruiting participants?
If your Study is a Qualitative Study, consider the following:
Qualitative and Integrated Designs
How well is the research design described?
What design elements might have strengthened the study (e.g., would a longitudinal perspective have been
preferable, although a cross-sectional design was used)?
Is the study exclusively qualitative, or were both qualitative and quantitative data collected?
Qualitative Sampling Designs
Is the setting appropriate for the research question?
What type of sampling strategy was used?
Is the sample size adequate
Data Collection Procedures
What collection biases was presented in the study?
Where and under what circumstances were the data gathered? Were other people present during the data
collection?
Did the collection of data place any undue burdens, if so, how might this have affected data quality?
Data Quality in Qualitative Studies?
What is the trustworthiness of the data?
Which techniques (if any) did the researcher use to enhance and appraise the credibility of the data?
Qualitative Analyses
What themes and codes emerged from the data?
Was the context of the phenomenon adequately described?
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Solution Summary
This posting examines an article done on teen gambling that was published in a journal. It breaks down how the researchers presented their qualitative analysis, but examining issues such as:
- data collection
- sample size
- examination of hypothesis
- strengths and limitations of the research
Solution Preview
Hi,
What I will do is answer as many questions as possible, and then you can formulate it into an essay.
What is the research problem? Has the researcher justified the scope of the problem?
Essentially, this article is interested in the impact that adult's behaviors have on youths. The research states how the media glamorizes adult behaviors in the eyes of youths, which will influence them to behave in a risky manner. A growing trend has to do with gambling, specifically stating how there are little social programs to help prevent youths from gambling. The paper would like to examine if using social marketing would be an effective way to curb childhood gambling.
I think that the scope of the problem was clearly stated, but I feel like more examples or studies could have been presented to further stress the importance of this research.
What contributions will be presented from the data of the research?
The contributions will be to help youths steer clear from dangerous or risky behavior.
Is the research question, purpose, or hypothesis communicated clearly and concisely?
No, I do not think that the research question is actually firmly stated.
Are hypotheses directional or non-directional? Is there a rationale for the manner in which they were stated?
This is more of an exploratory research, and no explicit hypothesis were stated.
Are hypotheses stated as research hypotheses or null hypotheses?
Neither.
Strengths and Limitations of the study
Give specific examples of the study's strengths and limitations.
Strength:
- there were 30 focus groups conducted, which gives a lot of data
- both urban and rural schools participated with extended our reliability factor
- data was analyzed by 2 different researchers, which allows increased the validity of the data collected
- there was a lot of agreement amongst the researchers on the results which also shows the strength of the data
Weakness:
-The studies were done during school hours, and perhaps the kids say it as an excuse for "freedom" and thusly did not take their participation seriously.
-Parental consent was needed, which though necessary, might skew our sample. Perhaps only the well-behaved youth's parents gave consent.
- There is no real hypothesis in this study.
- The focus groups were grouped by class, therefore, there might be a response bias. If a student had an idea that they perhaps thought would be embarrassed or against the popular thought, they might have not expressed it, since they were amongst their peers.
Suggest realistic alternatives that the researcher (or future researchers) might want to consider.
- Perhaps they should hold the focus groups outside of school hours, and randomize the youth into the different focus groups. It is ...
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