This assessment item requires you to write a critical review about the research design adopted for three empirical studies that relate to your proposed research topic. This assessment is designed to give you insights into methodological approaches that may be suitable for your own proposed research project. This assessment may also provide insight into mistakes previous researchers may have made concering their research design. You will also gain experience in searching for and retrieving academic literature that relates to your intended research project.
Requirements
You are required to search for and retrieve three separate pieces of empirical research relating to your intended research concept that have been published in peer-reviewed academic journals. You are then required to write a critical review about each piece of research explaining the appropriateness of each study's research design to your proposed research concept. Specific instructions are located below.
Be clear that you must review empirical research published as articles in peer-reviewed academic journals. Empirical research/studies are where the author(s) have collected and analysed data. Typically, such articles will exhibit a distinct methodology/methods section (though the actual heading will vary between articles), and a section presenting analysis of data. Empirical research articles contrast with the other main form of articles published in peer-reviewed journals – conceptual articles. Conceptual articles typically review the literature on a certain subject, or may develop theoretical ideas without analysing data. Conceptual articles are not suitable for this assignment. There is no date limit on the articles you review. Ask your lecturer if unsure.
Peer-reviewed academic journals are those held by university libraries. Students can search for relevant research articles by searching scholarly databases such as Google Scholar or Proquest (see the "Databases" section of the SCU Library website). Full-text articles may then be retrieved by searching in the SCU Library catalogue, or in some cases scholarly databases may provide a direct link through to the full-text. Contact the Library if you are unsure how to search for, or retrieve articles – it is not within your lecturer's duties to teach you how to search for such information. Note that trade/industry practitioner publications are not a suitable source of research for this assignment.
Structure
Your methodological review should be structured as follows:
Introduction: Include your research aim and objectives (or questions/hypotheses if applicable). You may use the aim and objectives from Assessment 1, or if you have refined your aim and objectives since then, you may insert the newer version. This is to assist the marker in understanding the context

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