ASSIGNMENT 1

The word limit for this assignment is 1500 words.

Question 1: CRITIQUE OF RESEARCH ARTICLE

Note to students: For the purpose of this assignment, you do not need to read the whole article. You only need to read the Introduction and Methods sections.

Your task in assignment 1 is to critique aspects of the journal article by answering the following questions:

1. Conceptualisation (650 words)

a. In the article, the authors defined ‘optimism' as dispositional optimism. Should dispositional optimism be the only representation of the concept of optimism? Critically examine it in the light of the study's aim to observe the role of optimism in high-ability students.

2. Sample (650 words)

a. Identify the sampling characteristics in this study.

b. Discuss the appropriateness of the sampling characteristics, and explain how errors in representativeness would affect the study's objectives.

3. Ethics (200 words)

a. Briefly debate the ethical issues in this study, and include recommendations for good research ethical practice.

(In answering the questions above, you would need to conduct research to support and justify your critique. Thus, you are expected to provide in-text referencing as well as a bibliography, according to APA standard.)

Additional notes/guidance/instructions:

• The intent of this assignment is to give you an opportunity to read an academic article in detail, to be familiar with the different parts of an academic paper, and to critique it.

• You are strongly encouraged to do additional research for relevant journal articles to support your claims and arguments.

Article: The Role of Optimism, Self-Esteem, Academic Self-Efficacy and Gender in High-Ability Students Christopher Tan • Liang See Tan