hat type of data do the authors use in this article? I

Sociology by Geoffrey

Sociological Research Article Review Assignment*

 

Overview: The goal of this assignment is to help familiarize you with sociological research in terms of reading academic journal articles and dissecting each part of an academic article. Be sure you have read “The Anatomy of a Research Article” on Canvas before you begin this assignment. Sociological research is published in academic journals specific to the discipline of sociology, but the process is similar for other academic areas of study. Many of these journals are free for us to access as members of the University of Memphis.

Directions:

 

Find a Research Article to Review

 

On Canvas, there are a number of articles for you to choose from based on your area of interest. These articles vary in topic, methodology, theories, data, and findings. Choose just one of these articles to review. To find these, click on Content, then Articles for Review Assignment.

 

Read the Article

 

Using the “Anatomy of a Research Article” as a guide, read the article you chose from beginning to end. There may be parts that you do not fully understand, particularly in the methods and data section, especially if the article uses quantitative methods, and/or if you have not taken a statistics or research methods class yet. That is ok. Hopefully, the findings of the article are written in language that can be interpreted by anyone, even if you do not fully understand what logistic regression (or other complex statistical methods) means! I find that printing articles and making notes in the margins helps me to digest all of the information presented. Use a highlighter or pencil and underline things you found interesting, confusing, or otherwise important.

 

Then, using the guidelines below, take apart each piece of the article, from beginning to end. Requirements & Formatting

You should not copy and paste any part of the article to complete this assignment, nor should you use any direct quotes. The goal is to write up your review in your own words.

Write your responses to each question (1-15) in the space provided. You can add more space if needed.

 

Be sure to use proper grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Use complete sentences. Proofread your assignment before submitting it.

 

Save your assignment as a .doc, .docx, or .pdf and upload it to the Dropbox on Canvas. Be sure you upload the correct file. Save it as something unique to this course/assignment.

 

This assignment should be your own, original work.

 

*This assignment was created in collaboration with Erin Anderson, Teaching with a Sociological Lens, and Stephanie Bradley, Florida State University.

 

 

 

 

Article Review – SOCI 3831

  1. Full Title:
  2. Authors and Affiliated Institutions:
  3. Journal Name, Volume, and Edition (if applicable):
  4. Year Published:
  5. What is/are the authors’ research question(s)?
  6. Timing – How old is previous research cited in the background/literature review section? Is it dated (do the authors appear to cite work that is up-to-date, considering the year that this article was published)? Do the authors make the claim that this topic needs to be studied again in light of contemporary issues or conditions?*
  7. Variables – According to the background/literature review, what variables have been considered in relation to one another on a topic of research? Should other variables be considered?*
  8. Methodology – How have previous studies collected and analyzed data? Are these procedures methodologically sound? Have important strategies for data collection or analysis and interpretation been overlooked? Have different sets of data yielded different results?*
  9. What theoretical framework(s) does this article use? That is, do the authors deductively draw on theory in structuring their research and, if so, what is the theory (or theories) from which they draw? What is/are the justifications given for using this/these theory/theories?
  10. Data – What type of data do the authors use in this article? Is this an existing data set (i.e. General Social Survey; Census data) or something they collected themselves (i.e. interviews)? Be as specific as possible.
  11. Methods/Analytic Strategy – What type of methodology do the authors employ in this article? Describe these methods.
  12. What are the key variables in the study from this article? Describe them. (In qualitative studies, the variables may be called “themes” or “narratives.”)
  13. What are the main results and findings in this article? Provide examples and detail from the study.
  14. From the conclusion/discussion in this article, what can we learn from these findings? How does it add to or challenge existing research? What are the limitations for this particular study?
  15. What suggestions for future research do the authors suggest in this article, if any?