Consider the following scenarios: You are interested in buying a new car, but you cannot decide between two models. It is time to vote, and you must decide which candidate you will support. You are reading a research article, but you question the validity of the study. In each of these situations, you must rely on your ability to think critically.

Critical thinking skills are essential in both everyday life and academia. Your ability to comprehend, refine, and accept or reject the work and ideas of others will allow you to expand your own ways of learning. Understanding what to critique, and how to do it, is an important skill as it allows for informed debate.

 

To prepare:

Identify two research articles related to your chosen profession. For example, if you identified the role of a developmental psychologist, one of your articles might be a study that researched how babies respond to novelty in their environment. Note: Research articles should be no more than five to seven years old.

 

To Complete this Assignment:

 

By Day 7, submit a 4 page paper that analyzes two research articles of your choosing. Your analysis should include a description of the purpose and methodology of each study and the authors’ interpretation of the findings. Be sure to address the following issues as they apply to your particular chosen studies:

• Explain the purpose of the study, including the theoretical frame of reference (if any).
• Identify variables and hypotheses.
• Explain the method of the study.
• Describe the research design used.
• Describe the sample that was studied.
• Explain which type of sampling was used. Note the sample size.
• Provide information on the data collection procedure(s) and operationalization of variables. Note the type of data-gathering instrument.
• Describe the techniques used for analysis and interpretation of data.
• Provide a brief summary of the findings of the study and the authors’ interpretation of the findings.

For the critical analysis portion of this paper, do the following:

• Identify and explain the strengths and limitations of the research design, data analysis used, and the author or authors’ conclusions.
• Describe any variables that were not included in the study that you think could have been included.
• Offer any alternative or additional explanations of the findings that the researchers did not consider.

Note: Support the responses within your Assignment with evidence from the assigned Learning Resources. Provide a reference list for resources you used for this Assignment.

 

Resources:

• Lilienfeld, S. O. (2012). Public skepticism of psychology: Why many people perceive the study of human behavior as unscientific. American Psychologist, 67(2), 111–129.

  Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

• Foundation for Critical Thinking. (2007). To analyze thinking we must identify and question its elemental structures. Retrieved from http://www.criticalthinking.org/ctmodel/logic-model1.htm#
• Huitt, W. (1998). Critical thinking: An overview. Revision of paper presented at the Critical Thinking Conference, Barnsville, GA [March, 1993].  Retrieved from http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/cogsys/critthnk.html
• Bell, B. (n.d.). Critical thinking. Retrieved April 11, 2016, from http://www.psychologyandsociety.com/criticalthinking.html
• Thagaurd, P. (2012, May 28). What is pseudoscience? [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/hot-thought/201205/what-is-pseudoscience
• Raff, J. (2013, May 17). What’s the difference between science and pseudo-science? [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://violentmetaphors.com/2013/05/17/whats-the-difference-between-science-and-pseudo-science