Help Needed

netpa6s1w

wk3team.doc

Home >Social Science homework help >Sociology homework help >Help Needed

Research Evaluation Form

CCMH/525 Version 3

University of Phoenix Material

Research Evaluation Form

Use this form for both your individual and Learning Team article reviews.

Name(s): ______________________________________________

Quantitative study: __________ Qualitative study: _____________

Location of Researcher’s Observation or Experiment

None _________ Home ________ Clinic _________ Lab __________

Residential facility _________ School _________ Hospital _________ Other __________

Were children involved? Yes _____ No ______ If your answer is yes, how many? _________

Introduction

Research hypothesis or research questions/problem behaviors: ________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Operational definitions:

Consider the following questions:

Is the need for the study clearly stated in the introduction?

_____________________________________________________________________________

Were the research questions and hypothesis clearly stated? Note that research questions are often presented implicitly within a description of the purpose of the study section.

Review of literature as relevant to the study: _________________________________________

Method

Sample size (total): ________________ Size per group or cell: _______________

Consider the following questions:

_______ Were the methods described so that the study could be replicated without further information?

Subjects

_______ Were subject recruitments and selection methods described?

_______ Were subjects randomly selected? Were there any biases in sampling?

_______ Were the samples appropriate for the population to which the researcher wished to generalize?

_______ Were characteristics of the sample adequately described?

_______ Are two or more groups being compared? Are they shown to be comparable on potentially confounding variables? If they are not comparable, is this incomparability handled properly?

_______ Was informed consent obtained?

_______ Was the size of the sample large enough for the number of measures and for the effect being sought?

Research Design

_______ Single group, time series study

_______ Multiple baseline (sequential) design: ______________

_______ Single group, no measurement

_______ Single group with measurement: Pre ______ During _____ Post _____

_______ Two groups classic experimental versus control group, randomly assigned

_______ (Quasi-experimental) two groups experimental versus control group,

not randomly assigned

_______ Correlation research, not manipulated, degree of relationship

_______ Descriptive research (qualitative study)

_______ Natural observation

_______ Analytical research

_______ Interview research

_______ Historical study

_______ Survey research

_______ Legal study

_______ Ethnography research

_______ Policy analysis

_______ Fieldwork research

_______ Evaluation study

_______ Phenomenology

_______ Grounded theory

_______ Protocol analysis (collection and analysis of verbatim reports)

_______ Case study, no measurement

_______ Case study, with measurement: Pre _________ During _______ Post _________

_______ Developmental research

_______ Longitudinal (same group of subjects over a period of time)

_______ Cross-sectional (subjects from different age groups compared)

_______ Cross-sequential (subjects from different age groups, shorter period of time)

_______ Correlation, more than two groups: control, treatment, and other treatment comparisons

_______ Factorial design, two or more groups: other treatment differences, no untreated controls

_______ Two or more dependent variables (MANOVA)

_______ Other design: __________________________________________________________

Consider the following Yes/No questions:

__no_____ If appropriate, was a control group used?

_______ Was the control method for the study appropriate?

_______ For what variable was being controlled?

___no____ In the case of an experimental study, were subjects randomly assigned to groups?

Measures

Type of dependent measures or instruments used: __Parents and eventually children were questioned about anxiety. The anxiety was reviewed in three intervals; ages 6, 10, 15. At 15 the child was able to self-report on anxiety levels. Up until that time it was parental discretion and their views on anxiety levels within the home. The study included stepfathers as well as biological. There was some video observation by trained researchers for problem solving skills. ________________________________

Measurement or instrument validity information: _Anxiety was appropriately measured with the parents during the first two intervals, as child was not old enough to self-report. Parents could report on environment, marital issues, etc.______________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Measurement or instrument reliability information: _The method appears to have been reliable, providing parents were honest in their answers. Various anxiety levels were present each set and varied per parent set as well; primarily based off of their own personal observations. ____________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Consider the following Yes/No questions:

__yes_____ For all measures—measures to classify subjects, dependent variables, and so forth—was evidence of reliability and validity provided, either through summarizing the data or by referring the reader to an available source for that information?

____yes___ Do the reliability and validity data justify the use of the measure? Specific evidence is particularly important if a measure is created just for this particular study.

__yes_____ Do the measures match the researchers questions and hypothesis being addressed?

_______ In the case that different tasks or measures are used, was their order counterbalanced? Do the researchers analyze for potential order effects?

_yes_____ Are multiple measures used, particularly those that sample the same domains or constructs but with different methods, such as self-report, rating scales, self-monitoring, or direct observation?

___no____ If human observers, judges, or raters were involved, was inter-observer or inter-rater agreement (reliability) assessed? Was it obtained for a representative sample of the data? Did the two raters do their ratings independently? Was their reliability satisfactory?

Independent and Dependent Variables

Independent variables: ________________________________________________________

Dependent variables: __________________________________________________________

Data Analysis

Scales of Measurement:

Nominal _______ Ordinal _______ Interval _______ Ratio _______

What type of statistical techniques are used?

What type of tables and graphs are used?

_____________________________________________________________________________

Consider the following Yes/No questions:

_______ Do the data fulfill the assumptions and requirements of the statistics?

_______ Were tests of significance used and reported appropriately, such as with sufficient detail to understand what analysis was being conducted?

_______ In correlation studies, did the researchers interpret low but significant correlations as though they indicated a great deal of shared variance between the measures? Are the correlations limited by restricted ranges on one or more measures? Are means and standard deviations provided so that you may determine this?

_______ Do the researchers report means and standard deviations, if relevant, so that the reader can examine whether statistically significant differences are large enough to be meaningful?

Limitations of the study: ________________________________________________________

Discussion

Summary and conclusions (usefulness): ____________________________________________

Consider the following Yes/No questions:

_______ Do the researchers discuss marginally or insignificant results as though they were significant?

_______Do the researchers over-interpret the data? For example, do they use casual language to integrate correlation findings or consider self-report of behavior to be equivalent to direct observation?

_______Do the researchers consider alternative explanations for the findings?

_______Do the researchers have a humility section that describes the limitations of the research?

_______Do the researchers point out aspects of subject selection, procedures, and dependent variables that limit generalizability of the findings?

Rate the writing style on a scale of 1 to 10:

Overall clarity? 1-------------5-------------10

Easy to read? 1-------------5-------------10

Organized? 1-------------5-------------10

Describe what you learned from the study:

__________________________________ ________________________________

Group member Group member

___________________________________ ________________________________

Group member Group member

___________________________________ ________________________________

Group member Group member

*Adapted from form created by Dr. Randy Buckner, University of Phoenix instructor