INTRINSIC SPIRITUALITY AND GRIT j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j
j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j 1
In response to your request for a peer review of your manuscript on the relationship
between intrinsic spirituality and grit, I have addressed what I believe to be two areas
of strength and three areas of potential improvement.
Strengths
1. The variables of interest are plainly stated. The null hypothesis is clearly
stated and accurately rejected, based on the results of a Pearson’s r
correlation, which was the appropriate statistical test to use with these two
scale variables.
2. The use of percentages is a meaningful way to represent the demographic
data collected, clearly showing the breakdown of participants by age group.
The sample size and method were also presented concisely.
Weaknesses
1. Presenting the mean and standard deviation for age groups is not
particularly meaningful and it was unnecessary to include the SPSS output
for the demographic data, per the assignment instructions (Harris, 2022).
2. Although you correctly rejected the null hypothesis, as supported by the
SPSS output, there were multiple errors in the statistical write up, including:
incorrect degrees of freedom, switching the values for r and p (which
indicates that the results are insignificant [0.49], when, in fact, they are
significant), inclusion of confidence intervals, and failure to include both
directionality (one or two-tailed) and the coefficient of determination.
Finally, because correlation does not infer cause and effect, it would be
more appropriate to conclude, “The null hypothesis is rejected. There is a
relationship between intrinsic spirituality and grit” (St. Peters, 2022).
3. Throughout the manuscript, there are numerous errors related to American
Psychological Association (APA) style and formatting.
• “Results,” “Discussion,” and “References” are presented with Level 2
headings, but they each require the use of Level 1 headings (APA, 2.27).
• The tables and figures are incorrectly formatted. Both the number and title
should be above the table, following specific formatting instructions
regarding the use of bold or italic font, title case, and spacing (APA, 7.9). j
• In regards to in-text citation, the ampersand is used in parenthetical citation
with two authors (APA, 8.17); three or more authors requires the use of “et
al.” (APA, 8.17). All information based on others’ work must be cited. For
example, the manuscript states, “One theory suggests that because
gratitude is…” Which theory? According to whom (APA, 8.1)?
• In regards to the reference list, the first entry is missing an author; entries 1,
3, and 5 are presented using title case, but sentence case is appropriate;
entry 3 is missing a DOI (APA 9.7, 9.19, 9.35).
INTRINSIC SPIRITUALITY AND GRIT j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j
j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j 2
• Defining “Grit” every time that it used, is redundant (APA, 4.5).
• Revealed is misspelled (“reveled”), in the Results section (APA, 4.3).
As you continue to prepare for publication, I hope that this feedback proves useful.
In reviewing your writing, you have a couple of strengths and weaknesses that I have
identified and would like to bring to your attention. One of your very apparent
strengths is the professional tone of your article, which makes the paper easy to read.
Your second strength is that your supporting articles are relevant to your topic. They
provide additional information on previous findings. The relevant information also
assisted in keeping my attention and making me desire to continue reading. However,
your areas that need improvement are related to APA formatting that is either missing
or incorrect. First, your Results section should follow directly behind the Methods
section and be Level 1 headings. Level one headings are bold and centered with the
title case heading. Also, your Discussion section should follow the same format as
Level one heading, see Section 2.27 (American Psychological Association, 2020, p.
47). Second, your figure components are also not APA formatted.
The figure number should be above the figure in bold, not below; see section 7.23
(American Psychological Association, 2020, p. 225). Also, in Figure 1, to make your
information more concise, you should have three columns of data, j the participant's
age group, the number of participants in the age group, and their weighted percentage
in the survey. The arrows may require the reader to go back up to the information to
ensure they understand what you are relaying. Lastly, your parenetical and in-text
citations need to be double-checked to ensure they are APA 7 formatted. For instance,
you have the authors written as (Chopik, Newton and Jarden 2017); however, this
should be (Chopik et al., 2017). APA 7 guidelines indicate that three or more authors
should be shortened using et al. as a replacement for the remaining authors; see
Section 8.12 (American Psychological Association, 2020, p. 263). Therefore, I suggest
that you double-check your APA formatting throughout your article and spelling and
make any necessary corrections.
j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j References
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American j j j j j j j
j j j j Psychological j Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
Harris, D. (2022). Discussion thread: M6 research project review. Research Methods
j j j j and Statistics in Psychology II. Retrieved April 22, 2022, from
j j j j https://canvas.liberty.edu/courses/336469/discussion_topics/2028942?
j j j j module_item_id=25799396
INTRINSIC SPIRITUALITY AND GRIT j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j
j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j j 3
St. Peters, M. (2022). Correlation and Regression in SPSS. Research Methods and
j j j j Statistics in Psychology II. Retrieved April 22, 2022, from
j j j j https://canvas.liberty.edu/courses/336469/modules
