The primary goal for this assignment is to explore the implications of the methodological choices that social researchers make. No research design is perfect; researchers try to select the most appropriate method for the questions or problems they are exploring, the resources they have available, the adequacy of previous work in the field, etc.
In this assignment, you will need to do the following:
Select one of the articles you retrieved for part two of your research proposal assignment. (If you wish to use another article, please consult me.) Read it so that you become familiar with the research questions, the conclusions, and the research methods.Critique: Analyze the method(s) used by the researchers in the article, exploring the strengths and weaknesses of the research desing as an approach to the question(s) that the researchers seek to answer. Why (or why not) is this method appropriate? Why have they selected the particular method? What do the researchers gain and/or lose by employing this method?
Comparison: Explain how a different methodological approach would explore the same research question. Would different data be required? Would new concepts be necessary? What would you gain or lose by redesigning the project in this way? How might this methodological change influence your findings?
This paper should be approximately 5-6 pages long. Be sure to include a copy of the original article you evaluate.