Close Read of Empirical Article

Answer the following questions based on the attached article.

Question

1. What is the diffuse, “big picture” research question? (one sentence)

2. What is the specific, “small picture” question addressed in the research question? (one sentence)

3. What is the connection between the “big picture” and “small picture” questions?

Alternatives

1. What is the authors’ main hypothesis?

2. What are the other, alternative answers to the research question?

Logic and Design

1. What is (are) the specific dependent variable(s)?

2. What is (are) the specific independent variable(s)?

3. What is the deductive logic statement (“if-then”) for the research question that will demonstrate how an experiment will determine which of the possible answers is the best one?

Method

1. Who are the participants?

2. How do the authors measure the dependent variable(s)?

3. How do the authors measure the independent variable(s)?

4. What is the procedure? (What are the study instructions, what do participants see/do, how are data collected, etc.)

Results

1. What were the results?

2. If there were differences, were they significant?

Inferences

1. How do the findings relate to the “small picture” research question?

2. How do the findings relate to the “big picture” research question?

3. What are the limitations to the study? How could these limitations be overcome?

4. What could a researcher do to study this topic further?

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