Assignment task:
Read: Carlan, P.E., Nored, L.S., & Downey R.A. (2010). Officer preferences for male backup: The influence of gender and police partnering. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 26, 4-10.
Critique of this article that addresses the following questions/areas (do not just indicate YES or NO, explain your response). Provide the response below each question:
Q1. What was the purpose/reason for this study? Was the purpose adequately explained? How so?
Q2. Is the research question in this study important? Why?
Q3. What are the independent and dependent variables in this study? Were the variables clearly defined and do these operational definitions correspond to what the researchers intended to measure? Explain.
Q4. What was the sample? Was the sample adequate and representative? How so?
Q5. What was the design (method of collecting data)? Was the design of the study well thought out and could anything have affected the internal validity (the findings made) of the study? Explain.
Q6. Do the conclusions follow from the results/findings presented? If not, where did they go astray?
Q7. Are the conclusions generalizable/applicable to other settings/populations (i.e., is there external validity)? If no, why? If yes, which settings/population?
Q8. Could flaws/issues in the study be the reason for the obtained results? Explain.
Q9. What could have been done differently to make this study better? (This question must be based on improving what was done here, not other approaches/procedures that could be used).
Q10. What could be done to continue this line of research (i.e., next steps/future research, based on the results/conclusions from this study)?