4-2 Activity: Read a Research Paper

Overview

In this activity, you will practice the skill of reading a research study. This activity builds on the Module Two Activity assignment and prepares you for Project Two, where you will critique a research study.

Each rubric criterion below contains a word-count goal. These are guides to help you respond at the right level of depth and specificity.

Prompt

1. Summarize the research study’s purpose. Your response should be about 25 to 50 words.
2. Describe the relevance of the publication dates of the citations referenced for the research study. Your response should be about 25 to 50 words. Consider the following:
   • Are some of those cited sources recent (relevant to date of publication)?
3. Identify the type of claim the research study makes. Explain your response. Your response should be about 25 to 50 words. Consider the following:
   • Is the claim frequency based, association based, or causal?
4. Describe the research method used in the research study. Your response should be about 25 to 50 words. Consider the following:
   • Is the research method qualitative, quantitative, or mixed?
5. Describe the research study’s data collection method. Your response should be about 50 to 100 words. Consider the following:
   • Possibilities for data collection include surveys, observations, interviews, archive review, objective or biological measures, or some combination of those listed.
6. Describe the research study’s sample. Your response should be about 50 words. Include the following in your response:
   • Sample size
   • Sample characteristics
7. Describe one type of statistical analysis conducted in the research study. Your response should be about 25 words.
8. Describe one limitation from the research study. Your response should be about 25 to 50 words.
9. Describe how this research study could be used in personal and professional practice. Your response should be about 25 to 50 words. Consider the following:
   • How can the findings from this study be used by people in their work, personal lives, or to help others?

Guidelines for Submission

You will use your Soomo webtext writing template to complete the activity and download for submission. Sources should be cited according to APA style.