Analysis of Research Design in Selected Studies: Methodologies, Validity, and Conclusions

Task:

 

For this milestone, you will begin your analysis of the studies that you have selected by continuing the work you began in Milestone One. Your analysis 
will focus on the research design of the studies and how the conclusions are or are not supported by the results of the studies. Use the same three articles you 
selected for Milestone One and expand upon the methodology. 
Be sure that your submission addresses the following critical elements: 
Compare the research methodologies used in your chosen studies and explain why these methodologies were used over other methodologies. In other words, in your comparison you could include why methodologies are informed by the hypothesis created by the author of the study. Be sure to support your response with examples and support from the chosen studies. 
Explain why the research designs of your chosen studies ensure that the study is or is not valid. Be sure to support your response with examples and support from the chosen studies. 
Explain why the research designs of your chosen studies ensure that the study is or is not reliable. Be sure to support your response with examples and support from the chosen studies. 
Explain why the research designs of your chosen studies ensure that the study is or is not credible. Be sure to support your response with examples and support from the chosen studies. 
Explain how the results of your chosen studies appropriately support the conclusions that were reached. If the results do not support the conclusions reached, briefly describe the more appropriate conclusions given the results presented. In other words, you could consider the results section and how the authors used that information to reach their conclusions, even if their claims are inaccurate. 
For more detailed instructions, see the following steps: 
1. First copy and paste the title page and reference list from Milestone One into a new document. Hopefully the running head copies over as well, but if it 
does not, add that back in. Be sure to address any feedback from your instructor on these sections so you have the best version moving forward. 
2. Next, begin the new narrative by comparing and contrasting the research methodologies from the three articles. In Milestone One, you simply described 
the articles. Now you will begin to integrate them into a larger discussion, using material you have learned in this class. How are the methodologies 
similar? How are they different? Why might the authors have made these methodological choices, given their stated hypotheses? Be sure to incorporate 
specific points from all three articles to support your arguments. 
3. Then, discuss each article in terms of reliability and validity. Do you think their methodology leads to credible results? Why or why not? It is certainly 
possible that you will reach different conclusions for some of the articles. Talk about how the individual methodology led you to those conclusions. Again, 
be sure to incorporate specific points from all three articles to support your arguments. Also make sure that for each article, you talk specifically about 
reliability, validity, and overall credibility (That is, should we trust these results? Beyond reliability, are the results logical? Current? Anything else that 
might concern or impress you?). 
4. Close by discussing the conclusions reached by each of the articles. Again, you described this in Milestone One but now you are using the information 
developed in Milestone Two to critique the conclusions. Are those conclusions supported? If so, what specifically makes you believe the conclusions are valid? Are those conclusions not supported, given the information provided above? If so, cite specific reasons as to why we should question the given 
conclusions. 
Helpful hints for Milestone Two: 
Use citations appropriately so the reader can distinguish between each of the articles and your original thoughts. 
Remember this is a methodological discussion in a research methods course, so while it is OK to use some other information if you feel that is important 
for your argument, your primary focus should be on the methods themselves. 
If you are making any claims that are not directly from the articles or are not common knowledge, you should use scholarly research to support these 
claims. For example, you should not make claims such as “Addiction to alcohol comes from a genetic predisposition” or “Children respond better to an
authoritarian parenting style” unless you can support them with a peer-reviewed research article. Feel free to reference your textbook if you need to 
define research terms or other basic methodology. Note that using this additional information or making additional claims is not a requirement, but an 
option for those who want to further support their arguments. The point is that if you are going to include this information, you are required to cite it.