Analyzing

Overview: 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.
PLEASE NOTE: You are not required to use any new references in this section, but if you do, make
sure to cite them in APA style in the reference list.
Guidelines for Submission: Your paper must be submitted as Microsoft Word document with
double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, a running head, a title page,
and at least three sources cited in APA format. This submission should be approximately 3–4
pages (not counting title or reference page). It is anticipated that you will use the same title page
and reference page as submitted in Milestone One, with any feedback from your instructor
incorporated.