The paper will summarize and critique a peer-reviewed research article on a topic pertaining to the course syllabus. Write about ONE of the two attached articles. Paper 1 due by the beginning of class on Weds 3/20.
Your paper should be 3-4 pages in length, double-spaced, with 12-point Times New Roman font, and 1” margins all around. Please include your name, the course name, the assignment due date, and the instructor’s name on your paper.
Summarize the theory and conclusions of the paper (~40% of paper grade) What ideas/hypotheses were the authors testing? What theory (or theories) do they present to justify their idea? Briefly, what did they do? Was their hypothesis supported or not? What were the main findings for the hypotheses? Go light on the statistics, and instead summarize in your own words what was found. What is the common sense interpretation of these results (i.e., what does it really mean, and how does it relate to real life?)
Connect the research to class topics (~10% of paper grade) How does this article relate to topics we have discussed in class? Be specific in describing the relationship between the article and class topic(s).
Provide a critique (~40% of paper grade) Do you agree or disagree with the article’s conclusions? Explain why you feel that way. Focus on what the authors did well, as well as one criticism you have about the theory, method, or conclusions drawn in the paper. In other words, what did they miss or what did they do poorly? Explain how your criticism poses a problem for the study; how might the results differ if your critique was addressed? What would be one future extension of this research? In other words, if you were going to conduct a follow-up study, what would you do to enhance our scientific understanding of this topic?
Clarity, grammar, spelling, formatting, proper length, etc. (~10% of paper grade)