Participation: Research Evaluation To earn up to 2 participation points, students may choose one of the following prompts, answer it, and submit their work to the appropriate D2L dropbox before the submission deadline.Please post questions to the ‘General Questions’ discussion area on our D2L site so other students have the opportunity to answer your questions and benefit from responses. Option 1: Seriously evaluate a recent research article Find a research article in a social science field from a peer-reviewed source that has been published within the past five years. Please note: You may not need to read the entire article in detail to accomplish this option! • Provide citation information • Briefly describe the following: o The research question: Topic, Question, and Rationale o The main concepts/ processes/ mechanisms under examination. o The sampling method o The data-gathering methodology: Survey, Experiment, Interview, Field Research, or something else. • Evaluate the fit between the data, research method, and research question. Given the data, methodology, and research question; o What are the strengths of this research design? o What are the weaknesses of this research design? Option 2: Seriously evaluate your own research Describe a completed or ongoing research project that you designed or participated in. • Briefly describe the following: o The research question: Topic, Question, and Rationale o The main concepts/ processes/ mechanisms under examination. o The sampling method o The data-gathering methodology: Survey, Experiment, Interview, Field Research, or something else. • Evaluate the research design: o What are the strengths of this research design? o What would you do differently if you could? Option 3: Compare and Contrast Two Articles/ Pieces of Research Option 3a: You have identified two pieces of social science research with similar research questions, but different research designs/ methodologies. • Provide citation information for each • Describe the Topic, Research Question, and Rationale of each • Thinking of the research design, what are the strengths and weaknesses of each method? Option 3b: You have identified two piece of research with similar methods, but different research questions. • Provide Citation information for each • Describe the Topic, Research Question, and Rationale for Each • In what ways are the research designs similar? • In what ways are the research designs different? Option 4: Ethical Analysis Find a piece of social science research within the past 15 years that raises ethical concerns. • Provide citation information • Give a brief overview of that research. Be sure to include the Topic, Research Question, and Rationale. • Describe, in detail, the ethical concern it raises. • Explain what could have been done to avoid or fix that ethical concern.
16 November, 2015
