Critiquing the Research Design
Overview: Critiquing the Research Design
For assignments leading up to the final paper you will answer the critique questions and submit your responses in an informal format. You will aIDress each component thoroughly from the content of the article, providing rationale for each of your statements. If a research component is not aIDressed in the article, you must decide and explain whether or not this is justified. After receiving feedback from your coach on the weekly assignments (using the professor assigned article) you will begin to create your final APA paper. For your final paper, you will compile the individual pieces (components) you have written into one document, making adjustments according to (cumulative) feedback from your Coach or Instructor, and further learning and honing of your skills. Thus; the final written critique will follow the Guidelines for a Critique, and be in APA format.
This week’s critique steps involve examining the research Design followed by the author(s).
Performance Objectives:
€¢ Critique study objectives, questions, and hypotheses in research reports.
€¢ Demonstrate knowledge of methods to gather and organize information for a study.
€¢ Identify research problems generated from the practice setting.
€¢ Critique research problems and the purpose for a study.
€¢ Critique literature reviews for relevance, currency, and multidisciplinary sources.

Rubric
Use this rubric to guide your work on the assignment, Critiquing the Research Design.
Guidelines Expert Unacceptable
Research Design €“ 10 points 3 points €“ Correct design type selected as well as discussion of the best design to direct the study.
2 points- Discussion of the design in providing the means to examine the objective, question, or hypotheses from the purpose of the study.
2 points- Discussion of the treatment or intervention and the implementation with clarity.
2 points- Discussion of extraneous variables
1 points- Discussion of pilot study used to guide the major study Not the correct design type, no discussion regarding the best design for the type of study from the type of objectives, questions, or hypotheses that was used to drive the study. No discussion or without breadth and depth regarding the means to examine what was intended in the objectives, questions, hypotheses, and purpose. No clarity with depth and breadth of treatment, intervention, survey, and how it was implemented. No discussion or vagueness regarding extraneous variables. No mention or vagueness of the pilot study.
Sample €“ 18 points 2 points- Discussion of inclusion and exclusion criteria.
3 points- Stating the correct sampling method
2 points- Discussion of the sample representativeness of the study population
2 points- Discussion of potential biases with the sampling method used.
2 points- Discussion of sample size, power analysis, number and percent of potential subject participation.
1 point- Discussion of percentage of potential subjects refusing to participate.
2 points- Discussion of sample attrition, groups, equivalence of groups.
1 points- Discussion of IRB approval, informed consent, and HIPAA.
3 points- Discussion of setting, and appropriateness for study. No discussion or vague discussion of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Not stating the correct sampling method. Vague statements or no statements regarding sampling method and representation of the study population, and biases. No statements or vague statements about those refusing to participate, sample size, power analysis, number and percent of subject participation. No mention of vague statements about attrition, groups, and equivalence of groups. No statements or without breadth and depth regarding IRB approval, informed consent, and HIPAA. No statements or vague statements regarding setting, and appropriateness for study.

Quantitative Study Critique €“ Steps 6-7
Access the article provided by the professor and use the Guidelines for Critique to complete the assignment:
Review the article carefully, and then use the assignment rubric to critique each component of the research study.
Do not use the abstract for any of the critique components. If a research component is not aIDressed in an article, you must decide whether this is justified or not. Answer the questions in each section of the Guidelines for a Critique (reproduced in the rubric and also found in the Resources section of the courseware) and give examples of how and why to clarify each point you make. If a yes or no answer is specified, provide a rationale or include examples or content from the study to aIDress the question.
Refer to the examples in your textbook for aIDitional guidance. For the weekly assignments you may write informally. Once you have received feedback from your coach you will begin writing your responses in paragraph style, using APA format for the final paper. (The space below each question will expand as you type, and the initial amount of space provided does not designate the expected length of your responses.)
Guidelines for Critique of a Research Article
If a research component is not aIDressed in an article, the reviewer must decide whether this is justified or not. Answer the questions in each section below and give examples of how and why’ to clarify each point you make. Do not use the abstract for any of the following information in the professor assigned article. Use this guide for both the professor assigned article and the group chosen article.
7. Sample: (18 pts. Total/3 for correct type). Please do not answer the questions with a simple yes are no. You need to elaborate on each question and use specific examples.

a) are the inclusion and exclusion sample criteria described?
b) did the researchers indicate the method used to obtain the sample? What type of sampling method is it?
c) Is the sampling method adequate to produce a sample that is representative of the study population?