Assessment : CRITICAL REVIEW  (applications and evaluationsof real world research)

Overview

The second assessment (Critical Review #2) is an exploratory exercise in which students further their skills as critical consumers of research in addition to developing their own research skills. In the second assessment, students review media reporting of quantitative social research as well as the original research being reported.

Step 1: Students must find a media article (newspaper report, magazine article, television/radio transcript) that has reported on published quantitative research.

The media article should be relevant to their area of study (policing, criminology, social work etc). The media article (and the research being reported) cannot be one used in tutorials for teaching purposes. Students must find their own media article/research report.

Step 2: Students must find the original published quantitative research that was cited in the media article. The original published research MAY be in the form of a journal article or report.

Step 3: Students are required to write a 1,200 word critical review. The review must: 1. Discuss how the media article has used the published research including:

- What information/data did they use from the published research and why?

- What message is the media article trying to communicate?

- Has any data/information of the published research not been included in the media article?

- Why do you think this information has been excluded? Does the author provide justification? - Has the media article provided adequate insights into the published research?

2. Evaluate the strengths and limitations of the original published research. Your evaluation should make reference to:

- the research question

- the research method (e.g. sampling, procedures, analysis)

- the results

- whether or not the strengths and limitations you identified were addressed in the media article.

3. Propose alternate methods of data collection and/or analysis that could address the limitations of the original published research

4. Use at least 5 relevant and well chosen academic sources to support arguments made.