Purpose part of the research
For each critique you will address each of the bulleted points in the form of a narrative, NOT by simply stating answers to questions below. These are formal papers to assess your knowledge of the research process, APA format, and writing skills. They are to be written as a paper, with introduction and conclusion.
Remember–a critique is not meant to be criticism, nor praise, but an objective evaluation of the contents of an article. If a component is missing, do not try to “read between the lines”–it is either there, or not.
Expect to identify both strengths and weaknesses.
Items to Address
- Why does the qualitative study likely NOT contain a hypothesis?
- What is the purpose of the research?
The research question (if one is stated)?
Review of the Literature
- Is the literature review comprehensive?
Explain what you mean by comprehensive.
- How current (in years) are the sources?
- Does the lit review include background material that seems to show more than one aspect of the issue being studied? Explain and give examples.
Theory or Conceptual Framework
- Is a theory or conceptual framework identified?
If so, what is it?
Is it appropriate for the research question?
- Is a tradition or methodological underpinning described or stated for the qualitative study?
(phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography) If yes, which?
Do you think the author’s selection is appropriate for the purpose of the study?
- If not explicitly stated, can you identify one?
Explain why you think this is appropriate.
Research Design: Be careful. Design and methodology are not the same thing.
- Was there justification for the research tradition or design?
Was the design appropriate?
Was it stated clearly?
- Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the research design for the stated purpose of the study.
Populations and Samples
- How many participants were there?
- Is this an appropriate sample size?
Discuss and explain why you think so.
- How were the participants selected?
- Were there any omissions in the sample that may have influenced the
results?
Explain.
Methods & Results
- How were the data collected?
Was more than one method of data collection
used?
Identify the methods of data collection.
- Were methods described clearly?
What were they?
- Were methods appropriate for the research purpose?
Why or why not?
- Was computer software used to analyze the data?
If so, describe how it was used and name the computer software if possible.
- What did the data reveal?
Give examples and discuss.
Discussion & Conclusions
- Is the discussion/conclusion
section consistent with the data?
Give examples.
- Discuss the transferability of the findings.
- Discuss who is likely to benefit from the findings.
Solution Preview
The main reason why the chances of a qualitative research not having a hypothesis is because it is exploratory in nature and usually goes into the unknown realms. Therefore, coming up with a hypothesis in this type of research is usually counterproductive and often makes the research very difficult, hence leading to most qualitative research studies lacking hypotheses…
(2262 Words)