Critique of Journal Article

Module 3 Assignment 1: Course Project Task II/Annotated Bibliography

During Module 2, you identified four journal empirical articles related to your research question. In this module, select two more articles related to your topic, totaling to six sources by this module that you would have gathered.

For the first assignment this module, select two of those six sources and using the guidelines provided on the Module 3 page 2 lecture page, create the annotated bibliographies of the two sources and submit to the M3A1 drop box. Each annotation must be no longer than 150-200 words.

This submission will automatically be reviewed by Turnitin software. You will receive an Originality Report for matching text sections that have been flagged by the software. Review the handouts in DocSharing to understand how to interpret the Turnitin report accurately.

As you revise, make sure you have cited your sources accurately and also paraphrased the original material in your own words. 

Once the revision is complete, submit to the M3: Assignment 1 Dropbox, by Monday, July 14, 2014.

 

Module 3 Assignment 2: Critique of Journal Article

This assignment will provide you with an opportunity to write a second critique of a journal article. This time, instead of a common article, you will select one of the sixarticles that you located in Modules 2 and 3. Make sure you identify your choice as a clear quantitative or qualitative empirical study containing the five basic parts of a research article similar to the Langer study that you critiqued in Module 2.

Read any ONE of the six articles and develop into a critique. Your critique of the journal article should reflect all the salient points presented in the DocSharing documents “Writing a Critique of a Journal Article”, “Suggestions for an Organized Paper”, and the “Sample Article Critique.” Be mindful of the feedback you received on the Langer article critique.

By wednesday, July 16, 2014, submit a double-spaced, four-pages critique in Microsoft Word to the M3: Assignment 2 Dropbox. 

 

Module 3 Assignment 3: Preliminary Thoughts about a Theoretical Framework

Due Thursday, July 17, 2014

Creswell (2009) described the theoretical framework as a rainbow arc, bridging the dependent and independent variables to provide an overarching explanation of how and why the independent variable may predict [or affect] the dependent variable. It will help to review Creswell’s definitions of dependent and independent variables [Chap.3, p. 50], which were also pointed out in the M1.A2 Discussion about setting up your potential research questions using the relational model. 

To further explain Creswell’s rainbow arc metaphor with an example: If theindependent variable in a relational research question is types of classroom educational practices and the dependent variable is student success in learning, envision how a theory like Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligencescould be the theoretical framework or rainbow arc a researcher might use as a possible explanatory link for how one variable predicts the other. In this case, the theoretical perspective is that multiple intelligence theory applied to classroom educational practices could impact student success in learning. Since there are many possible theories that could connect these two variables, can you see how focusing on a single theory might focus this research question?

Another example from your recent article critique: Consider how Langer (2002) used theories about the concept of reflection, under his heading, “The Concept of Reflection in Learning,” as a theoretical/conceptual framework, or lens, as a way to frame the concept of journals as a learning tool for adults (p. 338), citing definitions ofreflection from different researchers. He could have taken quite a different approach with different theories, for example, adult learning theories, for his ‘rainbow arc’ to connect the variables that framed the research question for his study.

As you read the literature on your own research topic, look at the different variables researchers have used in their research questions, and note how they have connected relevant theories to focus or frame the relationship between the variables. These are theoretical or conceptual frameworks at work!

The reading assignment for this week includes Chapter 3, “The Use of Theory,” in Creswell (2009), where theory is defined and framed, based on its uses in different kinds of empirical research, i.e. quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. Reviewing this carefully can help to give you a useful context for the concept of theory and theoretical framework, as well as his brief definitions of dependent and independent variables [p.50], as mentioned above.   

For this assignment, post your response, DIRECTLY to the Discussion, considering the following ideas about the nature of a theoretical/conceptual framework.

• Discuss why a theoretical framework is important for a research study and in developing a literature review.
• What were the key variables in Langer’s study and how did having a clear theoretical framework help Langer (2002) focus his study more effectively?
• Using the article you critiqued in Module 3 Assignment 2, identify the theoretical framework the author used to connect the key variables. Keep in mind that you should typically be able to find the theoretical framework in the literature review section if it is an empirical article.

 

Post your response directly to the Discussion in a narrative format. Respond to a minimum of two peer responses.