There are several aims of this assignment: first to get you familiar with using a database such as Sociological Abstracts . Second, to give you an introductory framework to asking critical questions of the research (both academic and non) you read. Third, to give you a set of questions that will help you discern the important information in the article and hopefully read more effectively.
It is to be 7 to 10 pages in length, double spaced….
Develop a topic of interest (this can be related to your field of study but not required) ? do not use articles that have been assigned in courses.
locate a social sciences journal – the article you choose needs to be peer reviewed. Please make sure that the article presents research results and is not a review of literature (in this course we are going to examine several different types of methods and you should be able to work with them – see course outline).
search website (only use this one)is :https://uottawa.libguides.com/c.php?g=265102&p=1771510
and click : Sociological Abstracts
Identify the general problem being studied – what is their research question?
What is the theoretical orientation that informs the research – how do you know?
What are the major concepts discussed in the literature review? What are they and how are they defined?
What type of research methods were used in the article? What was the process (eg. who, where, when, how?)
What are the results/findings?
How are the results used to answer the original research question(s)?
Were there any ethical issues? How were they addressed?
What are the general strengths/weaknesses of the article? Describe.
What is/are the methodological strengths and weaknesses of the article? Describe.
Do you have any other questions about the research, the process, the concepts, that you feel need further explanation?
