PYCL 507 Research and Evaluation
KPI Assignment
PYCL 507 Required KPI Assignment: Critique of a Research Article. Each student will review an empirical research study (e.g., quantitative, qualitative, mixed method) published in a professional counseling journal and write a 9-page maximum paper critique (one page should be the title page, another one the abstract, and another one the reference list). Selecting an article that relates to your top clinical interest area is recommended.
For APA style, please use the 7th edition of the APA Publication Manual or visit the NSU library for online APA style resources. Consult the grading rubric at the end of this for grading details and additional information on this assignment.
Once you find the article, make sure that the following sections are clear: literature review, research questions, hypothesis, research methodology (that is, you can tell that the study is empirical) results, and interpretation of results.
Example of a Journal Article Critique
Below is a published example of a journal article critique.
The ones that exist do not represent exactly what your professor expects, but reading through them may help give you ideas of how to approach your assignment.
It is also important to see how published authors react and respond to each other in the scholarly realm, specifically in the professional counseling, psychology, and education journals.
The following example of a published journal article critique was found in APA PsycInfo. The direct link requires you to type in your Shark ID and password to open the full text.
- Critique of Eliason, Amodia, and Cano's Article Spirituality and Alcohol and Other Drug TreatmentCarroll, J. F. X. (2006). Critique of Eliason, Amodia, and Cano's article: Spirituality and alcohol and other drug treatment. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 24(3), 143-148. http://dx.doi.org/10.1300/J020v24n03_09
Professional Counseling Journals
Article Databases
Library databases that contain articles you can use for the assignment.
Helpful Books and Articles
- "Publishing in High Quality Journals: Perspectives From Overworked and Unpaid Reviewers"This article includes a section on "common criteria used to rate articles" which contains information that you can use to make considerations on the article you have picked to critique.
- Publishing Your Psychology Research (book available online through the EBSCOhost ebooks collection database)This book is on academic writing, scholarly publishing, and psychology authorship -- it contains a chapter on "Quality problems and issues in major types of research."
Available through InterLibrary Loan:
Bol, L. & Hacker, D. J. (2014). Publishing in high quality journals: Perspectives from overworked and unpaid reviewers. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 26(1), 39-53.
McInerney, D. M. (2001). Publishing your psychology research: A guide to writing for journals in psychology and related fields. Crows Nest, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin.
Reviewing Scientific Works in Psychology by Call Number: BF 76.8 .R48 2005ISBN: 1591472814Publication Date: 2006Contains chapters on reviewing articles for methods and for theory.
