Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is for you to show your understanding of peer-reviewed empirical articles through: 1) reviewing original research; 2) evaluating claims, methods, and conclusions; and 3) communicating your analysis in a way that translates scientific information into common terms for a general audience. In writing an article review, you gain skills in summarizing key points and findings, interpreting results, evaluating the validity of the methods used and results reported, and communicating information to an audience in ways they understand.
Course Outcome: This assignment aligns with and supports mastery of the following course outcome:
After completing this course, you should be able to differentiate methodologies and ethical considerations used in counseling psychology research
Step 1:
Read the tips from the UMGC library on Finding Experimental (Empirical) Research Articles. Pay special attention to the sections on Scholarly Research Articles the Structure of An Experimental Article
Locate information on QUALITATIVE research methods such as case study, phenomenology, and grounded theory.
Step 2: Using the UMGC Library electronic databases, find an article published in the last seven (7) years in an APA journal with a focus on Counseling or Psychotherapy (e.g., Journal of Counseling Psychology or Counseling Psychology Quarterly). The article should describe a qualitative research method. Normally in most every psychology course you are asked to locate a true experimental study. This time select a qualitative study. (Do not select meta-analyses, summaries, correlational studies, editorials, or theoretical articles. It is your responsibility to make sure that the journal article you select is appropriate. If you are unsure about the relevance of your article, contact me for approval.).
Step 3: Read the article starting with the Title and Abstract, which will give you a quick preview of the purpose and results of the article.
Step 4: Read the Introduction. Highlight the purpose of the article and the authors hypothesis (e.g., what was studied, what the authors predicted, and why they found the topic worthy of study). Pay attention to the context provided for the research (i.e., what research has been done previously in the field? what issue or problem is this study trying to address?)
Step 5: Read the Methods section. Note the description of the participants and any tests, surveys, questionnaires, apparatus, or other materials that were used. Pay particular attention to the steps involved in the qualitative research method. How were the variables assessed, measured?
Step 6: Read the Results. focus on the short descriptions that accompany the findings explaining what the researchers found (i.e., What did the researchers discover? Did the researchers find evidence that supports their hypothesis?)
Step 7: Read the Discussion. Pay special attention here to what the authors say about the importance of their findings or the lack of findings. Think about other things you could do to look at this issue.
Step 8: Prepare a 2 to 4-page summary of the article in your own words. Be sure to address the following questions in your summary:
What is the purpose of the research? (Address specifics regarding the overall purpose of the research in question.)
What is the research question to be examined? (Provide a clear statement of the researchers prediction.)
How was the qualitative research method used, steps/ procedures? (Provide details regarding the study methodology.)
What are the findings and conclusions drawn?
What is your opinion of the study conducted? Should it be repeated? What could be improved?
What are the implications of the study for the practice of counseling psychology?
Your paper should be written with succinct, accurate, well-cited coherent, paragraphs with a topic sentence for each paragraph. You may use titles for each section to indicate the sections above. You may include additional insights in your analysis, but you must address the key issues. What is the value of qualitative research for mental health? What about this study contributes to our understanding of culture and ethics and client-therapist relations?
Step 9: Prepare your Article Review according to the following guidelines:
Structure your paper utilizing APA style; this includes title page, headers, subheadings, in-text citations, reference page, and general paper format (1-inch margins, double-spaced, 12-point font, etc.). An abstract is not required.
Step 10: Submit to your Assignment Folder as a single document in either Microsoft Word, PDF, or RTF format.
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