Topic: Quantitative Analysis

For this Assignment, you will critically evaluate a scholarly article related to ANCOVA.

RESEARCH ARTICLE - Effectiveness of the IMPACT: Ability Program to Improve Safety and Self-Advocacy Skills in High School Students With Disabilities

In paragraph form, write a 2-3 page critique of the article you were assigned to read for the assignment.  In this section you should consider the items asked in the directions for the assignment but do not copy and paste the questions into your paper and answer them one after another.  A critique is not a summary (retelling) of the article and what the authors did. A critique is a combination of a short summary of what you are critiquing and then a critique of it (Was what they did appropriate? Why or why not? What would you have potentially done differently? Why? Did they follow best research practices?  How do you know?).

Critique of Literature Review

• Was the problem clearly articulated and was ample evidence provided to support the problem being addressed?
• Was the theoretical or conceptual framework present, was its relationship to the present study described, and was it appropriate to the problem being addressed?
• Was the literature cited appropriate to the topic?
• Was the literature primarily from current sources (within 5 years of the article publication date)?
• Did the author choose citations judiciously, or were did it appear that quantity of citations was emphasized over quality?
• Does the literature review present a clear and non-biased approach to the topic?
• Were the research questions and / or hypotheses clearly stated? Do they logically derive from the literature review?

Critique of Methods/Research Design

• Were the participants adequately described in terms of population, inclusion and exclusion criteria, and sampling strategy?
• Is the sample representative of the population?
• Is there support that the sample size ensures adequate statistical power?
• Was there a statement indicating that IRB approval was obtained?
• Were procedures for protecting participant rights included?
• Were the procedures for executing the design carefully described in a way that you or other scientists could replicate the study?
• Is the role and activity of the researcher in the data collection setting/sites described?
• Were reliability and validity measures of questionnaires, scales, or other measurement instruments presented? Do measures exhibit adequate reliability and validity?
• Were instruments used in populations for which they may not have been normed? Was there effort made to ensure reliability and validity in the study sample?
• Was the design appropriate to test the hypothesis(es) or address the research questions?
• Was random assignment used? If not, what are the potential flaws to internal and external validity?

Critique of Results Section

• Are the important characteristics of the sample described?
• Are participation rates (and attrition rates in longitudinal studies) described? For longitudinal studies, was differential attrition determined?
• Were key descriptive statistics provided for all variables?
• Do the results address the hypotheses under question?
• Are tables and figures used effectively? Were tables not used when they would have been very helpful to the reader?
• Are effect sizes and p-values reported for all inferential findings? Were they appropriate?

Critique of Discussion Section

• Are the results discussed in the context of the research presented in the literature review section?
• Are methodological limitations adequately addressed? Think in terms of sample representativeness, generalize ability of results, and potential threats to internal and external validity.
• Are implications for further research described?
• Are implications for practitioners described?
• Is the contribution/significance to the field in relation to the continuum of inquiry clear?

Attachment:- Assignment Files.rar