A5-Article Critique

EDCO 747

Article Critique Template

Format your article critiques in a double-spaced Word document as follows:

Article Critique Assignment Instructions

Overview

Creswell and Poth (2023) state, “We have always felt that the best way to learn how to write a qualitative study is to view a number of published qualitative journal articles and to look closely at the way they were composed” (p. 135). Thus, you will be given the opportunity to examine articles about two different research approaches and write critiques about each of them in two separate modules/weeks (the first one in module 3:week 3 and the second in module 5: week 5).

Instructions

First, you must select a research approach that you would like to understand better from the Creswell and Poth textbook:

· Narrative (Appendix A)

· Phenomenological (Appendix B)

· Grounded Theory (Appendix C)

· Ethnography (Appendix D)

· Case Study (Appendix E)

Choose one of the above research approaches for the first critique and select a different approach for the second critique. You cannot do the same approach for both critiques.

After selecting the approach you want to study, read the corresponding article (e.g. one of the appendices in the textbook) for that approach and the accompanying textbook summary of the approach you selected (pp. 135-153).

Next, you must choose a research article that corresponds to your selected research approach from the lists in Chapter 4 of the text.

· Narrative (pp. 86-87)

· Phenomenology (pp. 95-96)

· Grounded Theory (pp. 105-106)

· Ethnography (pp. 113-114)

· Case Study (pp.122-123)

NOTE: You MUST choose an article from the text, found in the list above.

Critique this article by following Creswell and Poth’s written model and the format in the template provided. Reread how Creswell and Poth carefully interject quotes from the article into their clear and concise article summaries to help you write your own summary.

· Remember: The First Article Critique is due in module 3: week 3 and the Second Article Critique is due in module 5: week 5

· Please see the Article Critique Template for specifications on length

· Follow APA formatting

Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.

NARRATIVE ARTICLE CRITIQUE 1

Narrative Article Critique: Ruohotie-Lyhty’s Professional Identity Study

Abraham De La Cruz Doctor of Education - Community Care and Counseling- Marriage and Family, Liberty University EDCO747: Qualitative Methods of Research

Dr. Fred Milacci June 07, 2026

Narrative Article Critique: Ruohotie-Lyhty’s Professional Identity Study

Ruohotie-Lyhty (2013) studied the process of professional identity construction of two newly qualified foreign language teachers in the initial years of their full-time teaching careers. There was a lack of research on the reasons some beginning teachers find induction painful while others find it comparatively manageable, and the study addressed this gap. The author adopted a longitudinal narrative approach in Finland to compare the teachers' narratives and demonstrated how each teacher brought a starting point to their profession that affected their interpretation of the realities of the classroom, expectations of the workplace, and the support they received (Ruohotie-Lyhty, 2013). Thus, the article considers teaching as a process of identity formation rather than merely a transition to employment.

The article describes two conflicting narrative trends. One teacher had a challenging start, characterized by “praxis shock,” uncertainty, and a lack of professional identity; another teacher developed a more stable identity, with continuity between previous experiences and the realities of teaching (Ruohotie-Lyhty, 2013). The study suggests that external induction conditions are not the only factors in the process of professional identity development. Rather, it arises from a dialogue among previous identity, told experience, and significance-making. This conclusion aligns with the purpose of narrative inquiry, which is to highlight temporality, personal context, and how people create their experiences through stories (Creswell & Poth, 2025). Furthermore, the study employs comparison to help make sense of the divergent stories of becoming a teacher in similar professional contexts.

The following information depicts how this study uses the narrative approach:

· The study focuses on the lived experiences of two individuals rather than a broad sample, which matches the narrative aim of exploring individual lives and stories (Creswell & Poth, 2025).

· The author organizes findings around two experience narratives, a painful beginning and an easy beginning, and this structure highlights chronology and turning points.

· The study treats professional identity as something constructed through storytelling, so the participants' accounts become both the data source and the interpretive focus.

· The analysis connects each teacher's story to personal, professional, and contextual conditions, which reflects narrative inquiry's attention to place, social setting, and meaning-making.

References

Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2025). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (5th ed.). Sage Publications. Comment by Milacci, Fred (Community Care and Counseling): Book and report titles should be in italics (Chapter 9, 9.28).

Ruohotie-Lyhty, M. (2013). Struggling for a professional identity: Two newly qualified language teachers' identity narratives during the first years at work.  Teaching and teacher education,  30, 120–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2012.11.002 Comment by Milacci, Fred (Community Care and Counseling): The first letter of Each significant word in the periodical should be capitalized (e.g., The Journal of James River Fauna)(Chapter 9, 9.25).