Critical Analysis Paper Guidelines
This paper accounts for 20% of course grade (100 points possible),
And should be approximately 6-7 typed pages in length
(12-point font, 1 margins, double-spaced)
You will need to find TWO items: a popular media report OF a scholarly research article, and the scholarly article on which the report is based. Acceptable media sources include newspapers, magazines, television/radio news reports, etc.. Please notice that narrowly focused or university newsletters, database clearinghouse publications (e.g., medicalnewstoday) that briefly summarize research reports are not appropriate.
After selecting a media report of a scholarly article on a topic you can relate to the course material, you must also locate the actual scholarly journal article. Media reports that do not cite a scholarly study are not acceptable. If multiple articles are cited, you may select one of them to obtain and analyze. If a link to the article is not provided in the media report, you must locate the research referenced in the report. To find scholarly journal articles, you can search the library databases
Articles with only a URL citation, blogs, and Wikipedia are NOT acceptable.
Approval of your sources should take place in a virtual meeting with the Instructor or via email..
Read: NYTimesReadThisFirst posted in this module
After careful thought, you will write up a critique.
Begin with 1) a paragraph summarizing the content/issue(s) in the article, and 2) a paragraph describing the original research source. (20 points) The bulk of the write-up will critically evaluate the material, comparing the article to the original research, and relating it to information/themes covered in the class.
Then, among the questions you should consider:
1. What models of health, illness, or healing are used? Why? (12 points)
2. Generally, does the data presented seem to support the conclusions that are drawn. Note that by nature the summary news bytes will not provide sufficient information for a detailed critique, and research reports tend to be very technical. Stating this is not sufficient. (12 points)
3. How might the results be interpreted differently? How might an alternative sociological perspective or health model approach the topic or interpret the data differently? (16 points)
4. What kinds of information are still unknown — what further research remains to be done?
(12 points)
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5. How accurately does the article represent the original research report (or research in the area)? (16 points)
6. A final paragraph will describe why you personally find the article/issue interesting. (12 points)
Links to the media source and the scholarly article must be included in your paper.
