Assignment 2: Journal Article Critique
Due Date: After you have completed Unit 8
Credit Weight: 10% of your final grade
Expectation: mandatory range between 625–700 words (excluding title page and reference pages), double-spaced, and word-processed, using standard Times New Roman 12-point font, and 1-inch margins all around. The paper must adhere to APA style (7th edition).
Instructions:
You are required to complete a journal article critique of an article chosen from the list provided in the Digital Reading Room. The assignment is designed to help you read a research article co
ectly and efficiently, and to practise using APA Style.
You are required to follow the Journal Article Critique Template provided, which includes the headings required, the questions that you must address, and formatting instructions. Your report must be in na
ative (paragraph) form.
The critique must be an original work; that is, not copied from someone else and not used in this course in a previous registration or in any other course taken at Athabasca University or elsewhere. Otherwise, this constitutes plagiarism and academic misconduct. For more information on plagiarism, please see Athabasca University’s Student Academic Misconduct Policy and the section on Academic Integrity in the Course Information.
You will not be permitted to re-write your journal article critique, so please follow the instructions carefully. Weiten and McCann XXXXXXXXXXgive an excellent introduction to journal articles and to APA Style in Chapter 2 in the Personal Application section.
Articles:
For this assignment, you must choose one article (different from the one you critiqued for Assignment 1) from the list provided:
Journal Articles for Critique (Assignments 1 & 2)
Journal Article Critique Template
FORMAT:
• Your paper must be double-spaced, using Times New Roman, 12-point font, and one-inch
margins all around.
• Your critique should be 625 to 700 words, NOT including the words on the title page and
eferences page. A 10-point reduction will be applied to the Writing Skills section if your
word count is not in range. These are mandatory requirements.
• Your critique must be in na
ative form, and your headings should be identical to those in
this template.
• See the APA Style Guidelines to assist you with the APA formatting requirements.
• Please see below for a template of what to include in the critique.
• Please submit your assignment in a
, , or
tf> document format.
https:
psych.athabascau.ca/open/apa7/standards.php
Leave the header blank (for student paper only, there is no running head in header)
insert pagination in right-hand side of header
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Title of Article 4
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Author(s) of article
Student Name (Student)
AU ID #________
Department of Psychology, Athabasca University
PSYC 290: General Psychology
Journal Critique 1 or 2
Tutor’s Name (Tutor)
Date of Submission: Month Date, Year
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NOTE: Student papers do not contain an author’s note. This is only a requirement for the 22
Professional title page, as per APA 7th ed. 23
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Note that there is no running head on a student paper only pagination. Page numbers begin on the first page and follow on every subsequent page without inte
uption.
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Title in bold font style starts on the 4th line below the header. There is one blank space below the title, and then the rest of the bylines are double-spaced below the title in the order illustrated.
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Your name that was registered with AU appears two lines below the title.
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Include your title here. (Student) after your name in parentheses.
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AU ID a
eviation is included before your ID #; otherwise, these numbers have no context as to their meaning.
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Your course tutor will indicate what salutation they would like. [Dr., Tutor, Mr. Mrs. Ms.]
Having these designations on the title page clearly identifies student, tutor or professor. Ask them what their salutation before their name should be. They may have indicated that in their introductory letter to you.
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After the title page, insert a page
eak before the body of the paper (which has the same title used on this page).
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Authors' names are written below the title, with one double-spaced blank line between them. Names should be written as follows:
First name, middle initial(s), last name
Adam Howorko
Adam Howorko
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Include your tutor's title after their name, i.e., (Tutor)
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Include the actual date of submission here, but don't include the phrase "Date of Submission:".
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Title of Article
I. Research Question or Problem
Ask yourself, “Is the question or problem clearly stated?” State the question or problem
in your own words. This will require two succinct sentences. Two succinct sentences will be
sufficient to answer the question.
II. Introduction
The introduction of a research article presents an overview of the problem studied in the
esearch. Ask yourself, “Is there a review of the literature related to the problem or question?”
“How many references were cited in the introduction?” Review and summarize the research
(e.g., theories and previous research) in your own words (paraphrase). Cite all sources as per
APA (7th edition, XXXXXXXXXXThe introduction should be no more than three or four succinct
sentences so that more emphasis can be put into the remaining sections.
III. Methodology
The methods section of a research article should be detailed enough to permit anothe
esearcher to attempt to replicate the study. Ask yourself, “Does the researcher explain the
methods used in the study?” “Who or what was the population studied?” “How were they
selected?” “What did the participants do for the study?” “What instruments were used to gather
data?” Paraphrase the methodology in your own words and cite from the article using APA Style.
NOTE: Your critique must be in na
ative form (not question-answer, question-answer),
and your headings should be identical to those in this template.
NOTE: Paraphrasing involves restating another writer’s text, explanation, argument, or
na
ative in your own words. Paraphrased material may be similar in length to the
original text, but is substantially different in wording and sentence structure. A
paraphrase is considered an indirect quote, so it does not require quotation marks.
However, it must be attributed/cited to the original source.
insert pagination in right-hand side of heade
https:
psych.athabascau.ca/open/apa7/standards.php
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Title of article you are critiquing is included on the first line after the header and is centred.
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IV. Results
The results section of a research article reports the raw data and statistical analysis
obtained in the study. Ask yourself, “Were the results clearly stated and understandable?” “Did
the author’s results answer the question or clarify the hypothesis?” “Were there tables or
graphs?” Paraphrase the results in your own words and cite from the article using APA Style.
V. Discussion/Conclusions
The discussion section of a research article includes the conclusions drawn by the
author(s). Ask yourself, “Were the results discussed?” “Were there suggestions for practical
implications?” “Were there recommendations for further research?” Write your answers to these
questions in your own words and cite from the article using APA Style.
VI. Critical Evaluation
The critical evaluation section is included here to enable you to critically analyze the
knowledge you gained about the topic researched, about the methodology, and about the
meaningfulness of the research. You should provide an integrated discussion of the strengths and
limitations of the article, based on your reading of the literature and on your own analysis. Ask
yourself, “What are some of the strengths of the article?” “What further questions did it
generate?” “What are some of the limitations of the article?” “Were the methods appropriate to
the research question?” “Were the statistics appropriate? “Should they have examined other
variables or a different sample? If so, why?” State your critique in your own words.
NOTE: This discussion section must be written in a detached, formal manner. Under
APA rules, you should not refer to yourself in the first person. Alternative ways to avoid
first person references (I, me, my, etc.) could be stated as follows: this author, this writer,
etc. For example, instead of saying “I think that the sample of subjects used by Smith and
Jones was biased...,” you would say “A major flaw of Smith and Jones’ research was that
that the sample of subjects was biased...”
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Add a page
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References
Name(s) of the author(s) (i.e., last name and initials). (Copyright/publishing date). Title
XXXXXXXXXXof article. Journal Name, volume number(issue number), page numbers, and doi.
(If the doi is not available, please provide the URL).
NOTE: The digital object identifier (DOI) can be used to cite and link to electronic
documents. A DOI is guaranteed never to change, so you can use it to link permanently
to electronic documents. If the DOI is not available, include the exact URL of the
journal’s home page. If you are having difficulty locating the DOI, click on the
following link: free DOI lookup. The doi is already included for your convenience with
the article in the PSYC 290 Digital Reading Room.
NOTE: Formatting the APA Reference Page
References is centered 1-inch down (first line after header), and pluralized even if there is only
one reference. It's upper and lower case, bold, and not italicized.
https:
www.crossref.org/guestquery
https:
www.crossref.org/guestquery
https:
www.crossref.org/guestquery
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Marking Guidelines for Assignments 1 & 2
Title Page Includes 10 elements: page number, title of article, author(s)
of article, student’s name, student’s AU ID, department
name, course number, assignment number, tutor, and date.
5 /5
Includes 6 to 9 of the 10 elements listed above. 3–4
Includes 1 to 5 of the 10 elements. 1–2
No title page. 0
Body:
Research
Question &
Introduction
The research question or problem is clearly stated in the
student’s own words. The research is accurately summarized.
5 /5
The