Journal Article Review Instructions

student in many respects is their ability to consume and understand the peer reviewed empirical research in their particular area of interest. A regular review of such literature refines the student’s acuity and challenges their assumptions on a daily basis. The following assignment challenges the student to move beyond anecdote and learn more about how other scholars succeed at failing to disprove their theories. This is the essence of research and highlights the purity of academic freedom. At the very least, a regular consumption of academic peer reviewed material makes the student a much better writer.

For this assignment, the student will select a peer reviewed journal article[1]. The article will relate in some way to the reading material the student has reviewed for this particular module. After the student reads the article, they should download the Journal Article Review Template. The student will then complete a Journal Article Review of the article they read. The assignment is not to be too much shorter or longer than the example in the template. Ensure that you focus on discussing implications the article has on criminal justice as this is the most important aspet of this process. How does the article’s content relate the field of law enforcement? This can be accomplished in the conclusion of the assignment.

[1] A peer reviewed journal article is an article written by experts and is reviewed by several other experts in the field before the article is published in an academic journal in order to insure the article’s quality.

topic (law enforcement response to mental illness)

REVIEW OF A JOURNAL ARTICLE: AN EXAMPLE

· Bibliography (in APA format)

Author, F. (1776). Effects of classroom testing by microcomputer. Journal of ABCDE, 99(9), 9-19.

· Problem

Microcomputers are being used for a variety of purposes, but research about their instructional effectiveness lags behind adoption rates for the technology. Further, there is a limited research base about the effects of microcomputers in vocational agriculture on learning in the affective, cognitive, and psychomotor domains. The research base is even more shallow when effects of testing students by computer technology are explored.

Comments: The problem statements agreed with the title and seemed to be of educational significance. The problem was not clearly visible to the average reader, and it required several readings to establish why the researchers felt this study needed to be done. It was limited to the researchers’ capabilities and resources.

· Review of Literature

· The author cited no clear review of literature; however, several appropriate references were used in the introduction section. These statements contributed to the overall understanding of the subject and to the reasoning for establishing the problem statement. Suggested section titles would have been: (1) competencies vocational education teachers need to use computer technology effectively; (2) effects of microcomputers on learning; and (3) effects of testing students by microcomputer.

· Hypothesis

This research tested hypotheses about how effectively microcomputers could be used to administer an objective classroom test to students who had studied and used computer technology.

Comments: The purpose was clearly and concisely stated and agreed with the title. It was limited to the researchers’ capabilities and resources.

· Objectives

Specifically, the study sought to determine: (a) the effect taking an objective final examination by microcomputer would have upon student cognitive performance; (b) the effect this method of testing would have on student attitude about computers immediately after the examination; and (c) whether this method of testing would require more time than conventional paper and pencil testing procedure.

Comment: The author’s objectives were answerable, and they chose to obtain them by testing null hypotheses. These hypotheses were testable and served to help explain the problem.

· Methodology

The treatment followed the post-test only control group design; consequently, the study involved two replications. Both replications were conducted during a Nostate State University course. A two stage random assignment was used in assigning groups and treatments. The three dependent variables measured in this study were: (a) minutes to complete the test; (b) score on the test; and (c) score on the attitudes about computers.

Comments: The methods used to gather the data for this article were clearly explained. The instruments and development were explained, and the reliability coefficients of all possible tests were given. The population used was adequate. No discussion of the statistical techniques was given in this particular section.

· Findings

Personal data by treatment and control group was provided in table form and explained with a short narrative.

Hypothesis one: A one way analysis of covariance revealed that the two groups were not significantly different in terms of their scores on the 35 item final examination.

Hypothesis two: The mean attitudinal scores of the two groups were positive in both replications, and there was no significant difference in the two groups’ attitudes about computers.

Hypothesis three: There was a significant difference in minutes required to complete the exam in replication one; however, there was no significant difference in replication two.

Comments: The findings were well organized, sectioned, and reported objectively. The tables were well organized but, due to the difficulty of the statistical tests employed, would not stand alone to the average reader.

· Summary

There was no summary given. Or the author’s summary was misguided because…

· Conclusions

Conclusions and implications were formulated with the knowledge that subjects for this study used microtechnology extensively during a computer applications course. In this investigation, final examination scores were independent of the method of testing. The method of testing was not a determinant of how students felt about computers. Since time required was not consistent over the two replications, the methods of testing as well as other factors appear to influence the time requirements of test completion.

Comments: The conclusions were based on the findings and logically stated.

· Recommendations

“Additional research is needed in other classroom settings to see if consistent findings about cognitive performances, time requirements, and attitude are achieved.”

Comments: The recommendations were limited to a call for additional research in the area.