Discussion:
Research Review: Critical Analysis of a Published Article
Locate one primary source research article that deals with behavior or psychology in general. The article should not be more than four years old.
After your research, answer the following questions:
1. What was the purpose of the research? (Hint: In a typical research paper, this will be located in the introduction.)
2. What were the methods used to conduct the research? (Hint: The methods section contains details about the participants in the research, the measurement tools or apparatus used in conducting the research, and the methods on how data would be collected.) Explain how the research was conducted.
3. What were the results of the research? (Hint: The results usually depict only the data of the research, not its interpretation. Often, the results are described in terms of the research questions [hypothesis].)
4. What were the conclusions of the research? (Hint: This is where the researchers conclude and discuss the results and how it supported or didn't support the research questions.)
5. In your conclusions, if you were to grade the research article, what grade (A through F, with A being the highest grade) would you give the researcher? Explain, based on what you have learned so far, your reasons for giving the grade.