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Chapter 1 – Types of Research
To better understand research, it helps to become familiar with the main classifications of research types. However, even before examining the types of…
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Chapter 2 – Background for Evaluating Research
Research articles published in academic journals are very different from news media or magazine articles. Reading and understanding journal articles is an acquired…
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Chapter 3 – Evaluating Titles
Whether looking for research articles in library databases or using a specialized search engine like Google Scholar, one is likely to find dozens,…
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Chapter 4 – Evaluating Abstracts
Whether looking for research articles in library databases or using a specialized search engine like Google Scholar, one is likely to find dozens,…
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Chapter 5 – Evaluating Introductions and Literature Reviews
Every research article starts with an introduction and literature review. This chapter presents evaluation questions to pay attention to when reading (or writing)…
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Chapter 6 – Evaluating Samples when Researchers Generalize
One of the most consequential decisions that researchers make about their studies is the selection of participants (or aggregate units such as schools,…
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Chapter 7 – Understanding and Evaluating Context-Specific Research
This chapter explores the realm of context-specific research, or those studies in which the goal of the work is not necessarily to generalize…
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Chapter 8 – Evaluating Measures
Besides decisions about how to select the sample, researchers’ decisions about how to measure key variables in their study are some of the…
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Chapter 9 – Evaluating Experimental Procedures
Experiments are different from all other study types in social sciences in that they test the effects of “treatment” on outcomes. The most…
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Chapter 10 – Evaluating Analysis and Results Sections: Quantitative Research
Most research articles published in social science academic journals are quantitative in nature. To be a knowledgeable consumer of research, it is essential…
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Chapter 11 – Evaluating Methods and Analysis Sections: Qualitative Research
This chapter explores how to evaluate the methods and analysis sections of qualitative research reports. Qualitative methods are best suited to exploring topics…
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Chapter 12 – Evaluating Analysis and Results Sections: Mixed Methods Research
Mixed methods studies are becoming increasingly popular in social sciences for a good reason. This type of research is unique in that it…
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Chapter 13 – Evaluating Discussion Sections
The Discussion section usually concludes a research article. One of the most important parts of the Discussion section is to outline the main…
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Chapter 14 – Evaluating Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: Towards Evidence-Based Practice
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses have become increasingly popular in social and behavioral sciences. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses synthesize information from multiple empirical studies…
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Chapter 15 – Putting It All Together
In the final chapter of this book, we come to the point of looking at a research article as a whole, bringing together…