Access the article, “Reflecting on Practice: Using Learning Journals in Higher and Continuing Education” (Titled Module 2_Langer’s Article for Critique.pdf) from the Doc Sharing area.
Supplemental documents in Doc Sharing provide guidance, in complementary but slightly different ways. The ‘Suggestions for Writing Organized Papers’ document emphasizes how to organize and write an article critique. The ‘Writing a Critique’ handout emphasizes the purpose for writing an article critique, naming and describing the 5 elements that make up most research articles. The third piece is a sample introductory paragraph, where the author’s purpose for writing an article critique and a map that clearly identifies the 5 basic parts of a research article, are clearly shown. Your purpose statement is specific to the Langer (2002) article, so it will, of course, have different content. You might state your purpose somewhat like this: “The purpose of this article critique is to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the Langer (2002) article.” This could be followed by naming the 5 parts of a research article, and then you would have also created a map.
You can download all these documents, as well as the Scoring Rubric for this assignment, to Microsoft Word. Print copies and refer to them not just for this journal critique but for other assignments throughout this course.
1. Suggestions for Writing Organized Papers identifies the 3 basic parts: Introduction, Body, and Conclusion of all the assignments you will do [and all effective writing]. These 3 parts may contain somewhat different material depending upon the assignment. The details of how to apply the parts specifically to a research article critique are bolded.
2. Writing a Critique of a Journal Article states the basic purpose for writing a research article critique: to assess the strengths and weaknesses of each of the 5 elements, also giving you questions to guide your understanding.
3. Sample Introductory Paragraph with purpose statement and map
Note: Your analysis of the 5 elements form the Body of your paper, while your purpose, to critique the article, analyzing its strengths and weaknesses, is stated in the Introduction.
All research articles contain these 5 elements, in this order, generally:
1. Research Question/Problem—and, generally, the author’s Purpose for writing the article
2. Literature Review and/or a Theoretical/Conceptual Foundation
3. Methodology—data collection and data analysis section
4. Results or Findings
5. Discussion or Implications.
Download the assigned article. Look for the elements and mark them, if that is helpful, reflect on what you read, thinking of how you would analyze each part’s strengths and weaknesses. What is unclear? What is unanswered? What more would you have liked to know?
Because reading and analyzing journal articles may be new territory for you, a few points about this article might be helpful:
1. The Research Question and Purpose are located early in the Introduction. [note: while all articles have an introduction, it is not usually labeled, as such];
2. While not called Conceptual Framework, the section titled ‘The Concept of Reflection in Learning’ actually is that, while the Literature Review is called ‘The Uses of Learning Journals.’
3. What is usually called ‘Methodology’ is called ‘Research Methods’, while
4. the Results or Findings in this article are quite long and contains a number of sub headings;
5. the Discussion/Implications is broken into 2 parts in this article called ‘Implications and Conclusions,’ though you could put them in a single, heading.
Assignment Directions:
Submit a double-spaced, three-four-page paper in Microsoft Word with the following parts:
• An Introductory paragraph that states the author’s last name, date, and the central focus of the article. Then in this same paragraph: write a purpose or thesis statement—that is your purpose or intent in writing this critique [WHAT] and a brief ‘map’ or ‘preview’ statement of the 5 elements you intend to develop in the body, to support your purpose. Do not title the section as the Introduction.
• A Body that breaks the 5 elements of a research article into Level Two headers, starting the first sentence of each paragraph with a topic sentence that focuses on the strengths and/or weaknesses of that element. Be sure to support each point with evidence from the article—quotes, paraphrases [See Citations, APA, Ch 6 to check how to do this].
• A Conclusion that restates your purpose and summarizes the article’s overall strengths and weaknesses. You might also discuss briefly what you learned from this article and in what ways you found it interesting or useful to do this first article critique.
Other requirements:
• Include a Title page that contains your critique’s title and related information [See APA, p. 41]. Page 2, at the top, should contain the centered paper title again centered.
• Include a Reference page, fully citing the article, using APA Guidelines [References, Ch. 7] and other chapters as needed for editorial style, expression of ideas and format of text.
• Then, finally, consider these points:
o Use direct quotes sparingly—cite accurately, with quotation marks, etc.
o For any paraphrases, be sure to give credit to the author.
o Use correct grammar, spellcheck and proofread your paper.
All written assignments and responses should follow APA style in formatting and attributing sources.
Please make sure you review the elements of the grading criteria and associated points carefully and make sure your assignment has addressed all the elements and in enough detail to merit full points.
Assignment 2 Grading Criteria Maximum Points
Refer to the document “Module 2_Writing Rubric for W7000” in Doc Sharing. 40
Total: 40
For assistance with any problems you may have when completing this assignment—OR—to offer your assistance to classmates, please use the Problems and Solutions Discussion area located through the left side navigation link.
Writing a Critique of a Journal Article
A critique of a journal article requires an assessment of the journal article’s strengths and weaknesses. It requires an understanding of the primary elements of journal articles. It usually requires reading the article several times, taking the time to highlight sections and/or make notes, as well as the jotting down of questions about any unclear concepts or confusing material. It requires critical thinking.
Critical thinking requires the ability to analyze and evaluate. It also includes the ability to identify and evaluate multiple perspectives, as well as to comprehend flawed logic or a flawed argument. As you progress through your doctoral program at Argosy University, you will develop your critical thinking skills to much higher levels. Do not be surprised if, at some time during your program, you unexpectedly find
yourself saying, “Yes, my thinking has changed!”
To become more conscious about their critical thinking, some students become aware that they offer opinions, rather than statements that can be supported with facts or examples. This is also true for students who are new to writing critiques of journal articles. It may seem easy and concise to simply state, “This article was excellent and well written,” or “This article was confusing and never should have been printed.” However, from an instructor’s perspective, feedback would probably resemble the following: “Why did you think it was excellent?” or “What made the article confusing?” As stated in the first sentence of this page, an assessment is an integral part of a critique. What differentiates an assessment from an opinion is an assessment can be supported by facts and/or examples, not just feelings.
Some doctoral students approach a critique assignment with a bias, one that may be unconscious. If an article has been published, especially by someone who has conducted research, can there really be a weakness? The answer is yes, there can be weaknesses in research. Didn’t an editor or a peer review panel discover any weaknesses and require the author(s) to correct any errors? The answer is that editors and peer reviewers do not always identify weaknesses.
As mentioned earlier, it is important to understand the primary elements of journal articles. The following list represents the most common elements, with guiding questions:
??Research Question/Problem
_ Was the research question or problem stated clearly near the beginning of the article?
_ What was the research question/problem?
??Theoretical/Conceptual Foundation
_ Was a review of the literature included in the article?
_ Were there sufficient and current references included?
_ Did the literature review support the importance of the research question or problem?
_ Were there any gaps identified in the literature?
_ Were relevant theories and/or concepts identified and explained?
??Methodology
_ Was the methodology explained in sufficient detail?
Did the choice of methodology appear to be the best to address the research
question/problem?
_ Was the population identified as well as how the researcher(s) selected the population?
_ How was data collected? Instruments? Surveys? Observations? Tests? Interviews?
??Results
_ Were the results clearly explained?
_ Did the results address the research question/problem?
_ Were visuals such as charts or tables provided to aid in understanding?
??Discussion
_ How well were the results discussed?
_ Were there any recommendations for further study or research?
Hopefully, you have noticed the similarity between this list and the primary chapters of a dissertation.
As you prepare to write a journal article critique, remember you must write from a scholarly perspective. This requires you to apply the correct APA style and format to your critique and to include both a Title Page and a References Page. Pronouns should be minimally used. For example, do not use I, but refer to yourself as the reviewer or the assessor. Informal phrases and slang are not considered scholarly.
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