is female gender as harmful as bacteria?

Order Description

Purpose:

The purpose of this assignment is for the student to:

• Demonstrate their ability to perform a comprehensive statistical research critique

• Demonstrate their ability to identify key principles of statistical inference

• Demonstrate their ability to document a critique in an organized and professional manner

Instructions:

• Student will conduct a literature search and identify a recent research article from a peer-reviewed journal that addresses an area of interest to the student

• Student must review chosen article with professor for approval

• Assignment is to be typed and presented in APA format

• Student will complete and document a comprehensive statistical research critique utilizing the general guidelines outlined below

Guidelines for Statistical Critique of Research Studies

Title of Research:
1. Identify research question(s), purpose and/or hypothesis
2. Identify variables and measurement levels
3. Identify research design – experimental, quasi-experimental, non-experimental, sample
4. Identify measurement tools used and their validity and reliability
a. Does the validity information sufficiently describe the instrument’s validity?
b. Does the reliability information sufficiently describe the instrument’s reliability
5. Identify descriptive statistics used – frequency distributions, central tendency, variability
a. Do these statistics sufficiently describe the major characteristics of the researcher’s data set?
b. Were indices of both central tendency and variability provided in the report? If not, how does the absence of this information affect the reader’s understanding of
the research variables?
c. Were the correct descriptive statistics used (e.g., was the median used when a mean would have been more appropriate)?
6. Identify inferential statistics used – parametric, nonparametric
a. Was the selected statistical test appropriate, given the level of measurement of the variables?
b. Was a parametric test used? Does it appear the assumptions for the use of parametric tests were met?
c. If a nonparametric test was used, should a more powerful parametric procedure have been used instead?
d. Was a statistical test performed for each of the hypotheses or research questions?
e. If inferential statistics were not used, should they have been?
7. In general, does the report provide a rationale for the use of the selected statistical tests? Does the report contain sufficient information for you to judge
whether appropriate statistics were used?
8. Describe results and conclusions.
a. Were the results of any statistical tests significant/non-significant? What do the tests tell you about the plausibility of the research hypotheses?
b. Was there an appropriate amount of statistical information reported? Were important analyses omitted, or were unimportant analyses included?
c. Are the findings and conclusions clearly and logically organized?
d. Is the researcher sufficiently objective in reporting the results?
9. Were tables used judiciously to summarize of statistical information? Are the tables clearly presented, with good titles and carefully labeled column headings? Is
the information presented in the text consistent with the information presented in the tables? Is the information in the text and tables totally redundant?
10. Discuss the assumptions, interpretation and limitations of the statistical techniques used
11. Discuss implications of the reported findings for evidence-based practice or scholarly inquiry
12. Evaluate overall researcher’s presentation and style of writing of the report

Student: ________________________________ Grade: ________

Assignment: Critique of Research Study Grading Criteria

_____ Identification of research question, purpose and/or hypothesis (5pts)

_____ Identification of variables and measurement levels (10 pts)

_____ Identification of research design (2 pts)

_____ Identification of measurement tools used and validity/reliability of tool (5 pts)

_____ Identification and critique of descriptive statistics (10 pts)

_____ Identification and critique of inferential statistics (10 pts)

_____ Identification and critique of rationale for use of statistical tests (10 pts)

_____ Description and critique of results and conclusions (10 pts)

_____ Description and critique of tables utilized in study (3 pts)

_____ Description of the assumptions, interpretation, and limitations of statistical techniques utilized (10 pts)

_____ Description and critique of researcher’s presentation and writing style (5 pts)

_____ Implications for practice or scholarly inquiry (10 pts)

_____ Overall (10 pts)
(APA, grammar/spelling, organization, preparation, clarity, synthesis of study and presentation)