To complete this assignment you will select a peer-reviewed article that focuses on phonation in healthy participants completing a speech-related task. The participants in the study need to be human beings who DO NOT have speech or language disorders. Participants must also be engaged in a speech-related task as part of the study. Reviews turned in that do not meet these criteria will receive a grade of zero. No exceptions.
The following guidelines should prepare you for how to read and review a research article.
Please include each of the sections below under a separate heading. This will assist me in accurately and efficiently identifying each component in your article summary.
HOW TO READ AND REVIEW A RESEARCH ARTICLE
1. INTRODUCTION AND PURPOSE
Typically, this section of an article describes the problem and gives a brief review of the literature pertaining to the topic. Your job is to read and comprehend this section and determine how well it sets up the experiment or investigation. In your summary of this section, you must include
A concise statement of the purpose of the research that begins with the words, “The purpose of this study was . . .” The purpose of the author’s research study should be stated clearly.
A brief statement that summarizes why the authors feel this study needs to be done. What background information has been provided to justify doing this study?
An opinion statement of whether or not the author(s) have provided you with adequate background material to understand the purpose of their study. Did they explain their purpose clearly?
2. METHODS
In this section, the authors indicate how they completed the study. Your summary of this section should include the following components
A description of the subjects/participants
A description of the equipment/materials
A description of the procedures used to complete the study.
Your description of each of these components should be complete. In other words, provide enough information for me to understand precisely who the subjects were (gender, age, race, health status, etc.), what equipment was used (exact brands and models), and what the subjects were required to do.
Identification of the dependent variable(s) that describe what was measured and the independent variable(s) that describe what was controlled in order to make the measurements (i.e., age, sex, and health of the participants).
3. RESULTS
This is the statistical section of the paper in which the author(s) indicate what was found. Your summary should provide clear answers to the following questions. You should notice that these questions are in terms of your understanding. Do not try to interpret how I or anyone else would understand what is written. Honestly provide your understanding.
Are the results stated clearly? Do you know what the results mean based on the author’s explanation of their findings?
Do the tables and figures help you better understand the data? Include an explanation of how they helped you to better understand or what about them was misleading or confusing.
Is there a clear delineation between results for which the author(s) find statistically significant differences and those for which they do not? In other words, do the authors clearly state that all the results presented were statistically significant? *** Statistical significance is a mathematical concept represented by a number and is not the same as the importance of the findings. So you need to carefully read this section to determine whether the author(s) found statistically significant differences among their data groups. It is important that you DO NOT simply state whether the results were significant/not significant. Instead, you should identify whether the variables had positive or negative influences on what is being measured. For example, if increased exercise improves (positively influences) breath support during speech tasks in healthy adults and that improvement is calculated to be statistically significant, you need to say that.
Finally, please include a summary statement (3-4 sentences) of the overall results of the study. Based on your understanding, what did the authors find?
4. CONCLUSIONS
In this section, the author(s) relate their findings to previous studies and make conclusions based on their findings. In your article summary, you should answer the following questions.
Do the authors generalize their results appropriately? That is, given the methods and results, do the authors stay within the boundaries of the limitations or scope of the study, or do they overgeneralize? For example, do the authors measure data from 10 children and then conclude that their results are true for all children? That would be an example of over-generalization.
Have the authors answered the questions they proposed or provided insight concerning their stated purpose? Did they answer their research question as a result of the experiment?
Lastly, include a final reflective statement (3-4 sentences) regarding how your knowledge of the topic was changed as a result of this assignment.
SCORING THE RESEARCH REVIEW
The research reviews are worth 25 points each. Specific information on how the points are awarded can be found in the Research Review Scoring Rubric.
FORMAT OF THE RESEARCH REVIEW
The research review must be written clearly and concisely. Proper sentence structure and word choices are expected.
The research review should be two pages (+/- 5 lines) long. Any research review over two pages long will lose five points for each half-page of text.
The pages should have one-inch margins on each side of the type.
You should use 12-point font.
Double-space the entire research review.
The research review must be submitted as a .docx file. No other file formats will be accepted.
At the top of the first page please include your name. Below that, provide the citation of the article using the American Psychological Association (APA) style (7th Edition). If you do not use APA style, you will lose points. If you are unsure how to format your citation using APA style please visit this website: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/general_format.htmlLinks to an external site.
Once you have uploaded your review to Canvas, please check the upload to be sure that you have uploaded the correct paper, using the correct file format, and that the summary has not been corrupted/reformatted in any way during the process. This is your responsibility to correct. If your paper is not readable or not uploaded in accordance with the above directions you will lose points.
Rubric
Research Review Rubric (1)
Research Review Rubric (1)
CriteriaRatingsPts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeFormatting: Correct citation of the article in APA format
2 ptsFull Marks
0 ptsNo Marks
2 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeIntroduction #1: Statement of purpose
1 ptsFull Marks
0 ptsNo Marks
1 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeIntroduction #2: Description of background information
3 ptsFull Marks
0 ptsNo Marks
3 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeIntroduction #3: Indication if the background material was adequate for you to understand the purpose of the study
1 ptsFull Marks
0 ptsNo Marks
1 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeMethod #1: Description of subjects
1 ptsFull Marks
0 ptsNo Marks
1 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeMethod #2: Description of equipment/materials
1 ptsFull Marks
0 ptsNo Marks
1 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeMethod #3: Description of procedures
3 ptsFull Marks
0 ptsNo Marks
3 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeMethod #4: Description of dependent and independent variables
1 ptsFull Marks
0 ptsNo Marks
1 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeResults #1: Statement on the clarity of the results
1 ptsFull Marks
0 ptsNo Marks
1 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeResults #2: Statement on the helpfulness of the tables and/or figures
1 ptsFull Marks
0 ptsNo Marks
1 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeResults #3: Statement on the statistical significance of the results
2 ptsFull Marks
0 ptsNo Marks
2 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeResults #4: Summary statement of overall results.
3 ptsFull Marks
0 ptsNo Marks
3 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeConclusions #1: Statement on the appropriateness of generalizing in the results
1 ptsFull Marks
0 ptsNo Marks
1 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeConclusions#2: Statement on whether the author(s) answer the questions that they had proposed
1 ptsFull Marks
0 ptsNo Marks
1 pts
This criterion is linked to a Learning OutcomeConclusions #3: Reflective statement regarding how your knowledge of the topic was changed as a result of this assignment.
3 ptsFull Marks
0 ptsNo Marks
3 pts
Total Points: 25
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