ASSESSMENT TASK:
A 2000 word report taking a student-found research article, critically
evaluating the methods used and creating an argument for an alternative
approach.
BREAKING THE TASK DOWN:
A) Choosing your own, student-found, research article.
● You will be pointed to examples of appropriate research articles
to help you make your own choice during workshops and on the
VLE. You cannot use any of the research articles that are used
as examples during workshops/on the VLE – you must choose
your own article that you have found yourself – this is very
important!
● Your module leader, Natalie Paleothodoros, will help you choose
your research article and will need to approve your research
article is appropriate as part of your formative feedback.
● To be ‘appropriate’ the research article needs to clearly explain
what methods have been used. To test for whether your
research article is suitable, look for these four aspects of
research:
1. data collection methods
2. data analysis techniques
3. presentation of results
4. findings claimed
● If you can clearly identify these 4 aspects of research in the
research article (i.e. if the author clearly explains these aspects
to you and you understand them) then you have an ‘appropriate’
research article (i.e. you have enough information to
successfully complete your assessment task).
● As long as you can identify the above 4 aspects, your research
article can be on any topic of your choice; can use one or
more methods; be based on primary and/or secondary data; be
based on qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods.
● You can only base your assessment on 1 research article
about a topic (not on multiple articles about a topic).
B) Critically evaluating the methods used.
● In your summative assessment you will need to clearly explain
the methods in the research article and then critically evaluate
them.
● Ensure you do this for all 4 aspects of methods:
1. data collection methods
2. data analysis techniques
3. presentation of results
4. findings claimed
● You will therefore need to describe what methods have been
used by the author(s) for each of the 4 aspects…
● …and then critically evaluate the appropriateness of the
choices made for each of the 4 aspects for the research
undertaken. Think about:
○ The strengths and weaknesses of each of the 4 aspects
(data collection, of analysis, of results, of claims…)
○ The extent to which the 4 aspects are transparent (how
clear they are in the research article or whether they are
potentially misleading)…are there any ethical concerns,
for example?
○ Whether overall the choices made have contributed
towards good, useful research… or not?)
● This is a methods module so it is really important to read into
each of the methods used by the author(s) so you understand
them and can critique them. You should reference the methods
literature you have read to support the points you make.
C) Creating an argument for an alternative approach.
● You then need to create an argument for an alternative
approach which would support/extend/develop the research
further (i.e. make it better/stronger overall).
● You should address the limitations/weaknesses that you have
identified via the critical evaluation of your research article (this
should, again, address all 4 aspects of methods).
● An ‘alternative’ approach means putting forward an alltogether different way of conducting the research. A few
‘tweaks’ (minor adjustments) on each bit of what the original
research article did will not suffice.
● The alternative approach is just as important as, and
therefore should be just as developed, as your critical
evaluation. Think your alternative approach through and
engage with how a different way of thinking about the research
theoretically and conducting it practically, might lead to different
forms of knowledge on the research topic and how we might
come to think of the topic differently as a result.
Consider the alternatives to the choices the author has made.
For example, if your research article is mainly based on
qualitative methods, consider a more quantitative approach for
your alternative, and vice versa. Consider different ways of
sampling, different methods of data collection, collecting data
from more or other people/sources, trying different analysis
techniques, different ways of displaying and interpreting
findings/results etc. etc.
● You may find it useful to collect and include additional
evidence related to your research article for inspiration. (i.e.
your topic may have been researched and written about by other
authors too – how did they approach the research? what
methods choices did they make? what did they find out that is
different?) – Whereas your assessment will be based on the
evaluation of 1 research article, you can still look at other
articles for ideas for your plan for an alternative approach.
● Again, you should reference the methods literature you have
read to support the points you make. If a more qualitative
approach would add more depth to the research, for example,
who says so/how do you know that? Follow the experts’
recommendations when designing your alternative approach
and reference them to help justify/add strength to your
decisions.
ADDITIONAL TIPS:
● Make use of formative feedback!
● It is really important to make use of formative feedback.
● You can receive formative feedback informally throughout the
module during workshops via discussing your ideas with your
module leader and each other.
● In week 5 of term, we will have a formal formative feedback
workshop to approve your research article and give feedback
on your overall plan for the summative assessment. You must
come to this workshop prepared with:
○ Your chosen research article
○ Your 1-page poster which showcases what your chosen
research article is about, what methods have been used,
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what your ideas are for critiquing those methods and
what ideas you have for designing an alternative
approach for the research.
● Increase your chances of having your research article and
summative plan approved by your module leader by coming to
workshops, being prepared and having informal conversations
about your ideas throughout. You should start thinking about
your research article early on in the term!
● You should use the Assessment Audit Form to guide you
through your assessment – this is on the VLE.
Practical tips:
● This assessment must be written in a report format.
This is different to an essay and we will cover this in class
It must include subheadings
It may include appendices (and no, these are not included in
the word count!)
Referencing:
The principle of referencing is to assume that the reader has no knowledge.
You must reference!
This is a methods module – you must reference your methods!
When you first introduce a technical term, you should describe
it/explain it and reference it so readers can read into it further if
they want to. So, when you first explain/define any research
methods terms you should reference them using a text book or
journal article.
When you introduce your research article, you should provide a
full reference to it and the link to the article so the reader can
locate it and read it. The full reference should also be in your
reference list.
All references should comply with the Harvard Referencing
System.
