Critique of two research articles

PH2600 Research Methods

Essay: Critique of research articles

Guidance

2019/ 20

The purpose of this assessment is for you to demonstrate your understanding of research

methods by completing a critique of published literature. You will be required to critique

two research articles which have been chosen by the module team. One paper will

involve qualitative methods and one paper quantitative methods. The titles of research

articles will be released on Blackboard Learn in the folder titled Assessment Information.

Your critique essay should be up to 2000 words long and should not exceed this word

limit. The mark awarded for this essay constitutes 100% of the overall module grade.

Guidance for the critique

The quantitative research paper you are being asked to critically appraise is:

Rose, A., Birch, I., Kuisma, R. (2011) ‘Effect of motion control running shoes compared

with neutral shoes on tibial rotation during running.’ Physiotherapy, 97, pp. 250–255

The qualitative paper you are being asked to critically appraise is:

Sharma, H., Bulley, C., van Wijck, F. (2012) ‘Experiences of an exercise referral scheme

from the perspective of people with chronic stroke: a qualitative study.’ Physiotherapy,

98, pp. 336–343

For each paper identify and discuss 3 aspects of the study that you think represent either

a strength or a limitation of the study and explain why you think that is so. These could

include anything from whether the research question is well explained and justified,

whether the overall design is appropriate for the question, how specific aspects of the

design or conduct of the study might impact on validity (internal or external), coherence

or rigour, the approach taken to analysing data or whether the way that the authors of

the paper present and interpret the results is fair and balanced.

For both papers at least one of those 3 aspects must relate to the choice of data analysis

or the actual results section. You should structure your critique in the following manner:

Write it in 2 distinct sections of around 1000 words each. Each section should focus on

one of the papers. The text should read like a fully developed narrative. Bullet point lists

are not acceptable. This is an exercise in academic writing and constructing critical

arguments/ explanations.

For each section follow this format

Introduction. Open with a short section that describes the paper, its topic area and the

research question it seeks to answer. Offer some brief context.

Main body of the critique.

Identify 3 features from each paper that you think represent either strengths or

limitations. For each of these features justify your answers by explaining how these

features have impacted the study or affect our confidence in the conclusions. In this you

will need to show your knowledge of the relevant research methods.

Conclusion. This section should offer a concise and balanced summary of what you have

presented in the main body of the critique. It should summarise the main points that you

have made. You should not be presenting new information here; if something is

important, it should have been mentioned in the main body of the critique.

Wordage. Your essay should be up to 2000 words long with no allowance for extra words.

Your submission may be less than the maximum wordage. If you exceed the upper word

limit, the excess part of your critique will not be read or marked. All content (except for

any tables, charts and references within brackets in the main body of the text) between

the title and reference list is included in the word count.

Referencing.

You need to reference the research article that you are critiquing. Where appropriate you

should also use other referenced resources (i.e. research methods textbooks and journal

articles) to support the points that you are making but remember this is primarily a

critique of the papers themselves, so an extensive and lengthy reference list is not

expected. All references need to be presented in the Harvard style. For detailed guidance

on how to reference see https://libguides.brunel.ac.uk/referencing/overview. The link is

also available on BBL).

Formatting

Please pay attention to the presentation of your work. The work should have a clear title

and your student number should be present. The text should read like a fully developed

narrative. Bullet point lists are not acceptable. This is an exercise in academic writing and

constructing critical arguments/ explanations.

*Do not have your name anywhere on the documents.*

The work should be formatted as follows:

Font: Calibri, Arial or Times New Roman, size 11

Line spacing: 1.5

Margins: Normal (around 2.54cm)

Submission of your assignment.

The submission deadline for the critique is: 12pm midday on Tuesday 21ST April 2020

The submission will be made electronically on WISEFLOW. Further details to follow.

For the electronic submission, please submit your essay as a pdf.

LABEL YOUR FILES AS FOLLOWS:

studentnumber_CRITIQUE (E.G. 98765432_CRITIQUE)

Feedback

All students will receive provisional written feedback on this assessment during the week

beginning 11/5/2020.