Science Question

Journal Article Evaluation and Critique Guidelines

DUE by November 28 11:59pm submitted on Canvas
You must select
THREE
related research articles in social psychology focusing on a
social network topic/issue that pertains to socialization or self/identity.
That means
“networks
” should appear in the title/abstract of each article.
To be clear, social
media or social networking sites are not interpersonal networks (see week 1
lectures).
It may be helpful to add an additional description, such as “social
network size” (“composition”, “changes”) to your search term.
NOTE: You must include with your report a copy-paste of the title page with the
abstract for each article (3 in all; a screenshot works best).
Do NOT copy/paste or
type in the text of the abstract.
Papers will NOT be graded without these.
Suggested length for the paper is
8-10 pages, typed, double-spaced (12-point font,
1” margins) not including the title pages, with page numbers and headings.
Late
papers will not be accepted unless the course policies are followed (see syllabus).
SELECTED JOURNALS
The journals on the following list are strongly recommended, but others may be
approved by special consent:
Social Networks / Social Psychology Quarterly / Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology / Journal of Social Psychology / Personality and Social Psychology
Bulletin /
American Sociological Review / American Journal of Sociology / Social Forces /
Journal of Social and Personal Relationships / Journal of Applied Social Psychology /
Basic and Applied Social Psychology / American Journal of Community Psychology
You may use no more than one (1) of the assigned articles for the course, and
articles should be published be within the last ten-fifteen years.
First Read: “Appendix: How to Read a Journal Article in Social Psychology”
PART 1
. Selection and approval of articles.
Submit the title page with the abstract
for each of the three articles (if you include a link to the article, make sure it is
active), and a paragraph describing your network (and socialization/identity) topic.
You may need to re-submit if your first set does not meet the guidelines, and this
must be within two days.
Deadline for OPTIONAL approval submission to dropbox November 14
(11:59pm).
(continued next page)

© Schuster 2023
PART 2
. Evaluation and Critique
You will first address each article separately (label Article #1, #2, #3).
Again: copy/paste the title page with abstract for each article into your document
at the end.
For EACH article address the following [22 points for each article]:
1. Provide the author, year, title, and citation, using standard ASA/APA style.
Describe the research question/hypothesis under investigation. [2]
2. Which of the four theoretical perspectives in social psychology is the author
using [4]?
You need to be explicit about WHY you think the theoretical model used in
the paper isdrawn from one of the main perspectives.
3. Briefly (!) describe the sample and the research design/type of data. What
were
the major
findings; was the hypothesis supported? [4]
4. What do YOU think of the quality of the research reported?
Do you think the author’s reported theoretical findings are a valid
interpretation of the
data (why/not)?
What does the research contribute to your understanding of
networksand socialization/identity (be specific)? [6]5. What might you do differently if you wanted to replicate (or improve) this study
?
Whatalternative theoretical perspective might you take? Why? How would the
study(hypothesis, data) differ as a result?
[6]THEN, the CRUCIAL essay section synthesizes the articles and should address
these questions:
6.
How are the articles complementary and/or contradictory? Compare and
contrast the perspectives and research designs.
If the findings are in conflict,
which makes the stronger argument or provides stronger evidence, and why?
What more do you understand about the issue by combining the approach and
findings of the articles together? [34]