In the library's full-text databases, locate an article about marketing, advertising, or consumer behavior. The article must end with a large reference list (more than 10 articles) and must contain citations or footnotes in the body of the article. The article will describe a primary research study with human subjects. A description of the survey, methodology, data collection, analysis, and conclusions must be included in the article. Once you have located an applicable source from AIU's library, save a copy in Word or PDF. It will be uploaded as part of the assignment.
A reader should be able to understand your critique without having to read the original published study. Therefore, you will need to briefly summarize the study. However, your analysis must go beyond this summary! Consider the following questions in your analysis clearly, succinctly, and in your own words. Be sure to support your statements with thorough explanations and cited references.
Your critique will include the following:
1. Bibliographic Entry for the article in APA format. (Do not copy the whole reference list. Simply create a reference list entry for your article.)
2. Start with a summaryof the article. This does not mean copy word for word or explain every detail. No direct quotes should be included.
Question being investigated and why the authors think it is interesting
Hypothesis being tested, and how it was operationalized (i.e., methodology: independent and dependent variables, control conditions, etc.)
Summary of the findings, and how the authors interpreted them
The conclusions presented by the authors.
3. Discuss the merits as well as deficits of the article:
Do you think that they asked the question right, and is it an interesting question?
Is the hypothesis testable, and does the operationalization make sense? Were the independent and dependent variables well-chosen?
Was the report of the findings complete and clear? Do you agree with the interpretations? Why or why not.
Was there enough support for the conclusions?
4. Making connections: Does the article add to knowledge in the field? Is it well-balanced or is there bias in the findings? Are there unanswered questions in your mind? What future research would you suggest and why?