Evaluating Use of Literature and Problem Statement

QUESTION

Evaluating Use of Literature and Problem Statement

Post a critique of the research study in which you:
• Evaluate the authors’ use of literature.
• Evaluate the research problem.
• Explain what it means for a research study to be justified and grounded in the literature; then, explain what it means for a problem to be original.

Researchers use scholarly literature for various purposes in their work, such as, but not limited to, establishing the need for and importance of their study or describing a theory. The problem statement is typically tied to the literature, and for this reason, these two components of research are presented together this week; this connection among research components will be a recurring theme throughout this course.

For this Discussion, you will evaluate the use of literature and problem statements in assigned journal articles in your discipline to understand what it means for a research study to be justified, grounded, and original. You will use the Use of Literature Checklist, the Problem Statement Checklist, and the Litmus Test as guides for your post.

With these thoughts in mind, refer to the Journal Articles document for your assigned articles for this Discussion. If your last name starts with A through L, use Article A. If your last name starts with M through Z, use Article B. Follow the prompt below for your program.

THIS IS THE ARTICLE ASSIGNED TO ME:

Ibarra, P. R., Gur, O. M., & Erez, E. (2014). Surveillance as casework: Supervising domestic violence defendants with GPS technology. Crime, Law and Social Change, 62(4), 417-444. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10611-014-9536-4

Post a critique of the research study in which you:

Evaluate the authors’ use of literature.
Evaluate the research problem.
Explain what it means for a research study to be justified and grounded in the literature; then, explain what it means for a problem to be original.

The Use of Literature Checklist and Problem Statement Checklist serve as guides for your evaluations. Please do not respond to the checklists in a Yes/No format in writing your Discussion post.

Be sure to support your Main Issue Post and Response Post with reference to the week’s Learning Resources and other scholarly evidence in APA Style.

Problem Statement Checklist Use the following criteria to evaluate an author’s problem statement:

. • Look for indications of the following ways the author used literature:

Introduce a problem
Introduce a theory
Provide direction to the research questions and/or hypotheses
Compare results with existing literature or predictions
Did the author mention the problem addressed by the study?
Is the purpose of the study stated?
Are key variables in the study defined?
Is information about the sample, population, or participants provided?
Are the key results of the study summarized?
Does the author provide a critique of the literature?
Are sources cited to support points?
Are the citations to recent literature (within the past 5 years with the exception of seminal works)?
Does the literature justify the importance of the topic studied?

(USE THESE INSTRUCTIONS)

Evaluating Purpose Statements

There is a link between understanding the purpose of one’s research and selecting the appropriate methods to investigate the questions that are derived from that purpose.

–(Newman, Ridenour, Newman, & DeMarco, G. M. P., Jr., 2003, p. 169)

For this Discussion, you will evaluate the purpose statements in assigned journal articles in your discipline and consider the alignment of theory, problem, and purpose. You will also explain your position on the relationship between research and social change.

Alignment means that a research study possesses clear and logical connections among all of its various components. To achieve these connections, researchers must carefully craft the components of their study such that when they are viewed together, there is a coherent interrelationship.

As you read the authors’ purpose statements, consider how well the intent of the study, and its connection to the problem and theoretical framework, is presented. Also consider if the purpose statement reveals the study’s potential for engendering positive social change.

As you know, social change is a distinguishing feature of Walden University’s mission. Positive social change implies a transformation that results in positive outcomes. This can happen at many levels (e.g., individual, family systems, neighborhoods, organizations, nationally and globally); and positive social change can occur at different rates: slow and gradual or fast and radical.

With these thoughts in mind, refer to the Journal Articles document for your assigned articles for this Discussion. You will switch your journal article assignment from Week 3.

THIS IS THE ARTICLE ASSIGNED TO ME:

Post a critique of the research study in which you:

Evaluate the purpose statement.
The Purpose Statement Checklist serves as a guide for your evaluation. Please do not respond to the checklist in a Yes/No format in writing your Discussion post.
Analyze alignment among the theory, research problem, and purpose.
Explain your position on the relationship between research and social change.

Be sure to support your Main Issue Post and Response Post with reference to the week’s Learning Resources and other scholarly evidence in APA Style.

Problem Statement Checklist Use the following criteria to evaluate an author’s problem statement:

. • Look for indications of the following ways the author used literature:

Introduce a problem
Introduce a theory
Provide direction to the research questions and/or hypotheses
Compare results with existing literature or predictions
Did the author mention the problem addressed by the study?
Is the purpose of the study stated?
Are key variables in the study defined?
Is information about the sample, population, or participants provided?
Are the key results of the study summarized?
Does the author provide a critique of the literature?
Are sources cited to support points?
Are the citations to recent literature (within the past 5 years with the exception of seminal works)?
Does the literature justify the importance of the topic studied?

Subject	Research Analysis	Pages	4	Style	APA

Answer

Evaluating Use of Literature and Problem Statement

Evaluating the Purpose Statement

Ibarra, Gur and Erez’s (2014) study entitled, Surveillance as casework: Supervising domestic violence defendants with GPS technology, is directed toward instituting defendants of domestic violence via the employment of GPS technology. The authors argue that there has been constant determination to ignore the significance of traditional approaches that are directed towards supervising human beings, an aspect that intrigues critically the need for a surveillance approach that is embedded within the judicial system casework. Therefore, the authors of the article carry a comparative assessment with the objective of demonstrating the manner in which the population under study differs across various segmented community association agencies in the employment if the surveillance administration. Ibarra, Gur and Erez (2014), therefore, conducted a research to determine the manner in which surveillance styles imitate agencies’ capacity directed towards managing risks and curbing crimes, an aspect that offers treatment and assistance via an observed process. The study’s purpose statement summarizes the specific objectives, goals, and topic of the study (Burkholder et al., 2016). The researchers employ this statement to announce the paper’s scope, objective(s), and direction. Ibarra, Gur and Erez (2014) maintain that past studies of Electronic Monitoring (EM) have failed to address the surveillance processes that come along with the EM. Consequently, their study compares how various community correlation officers use EM as a surveillance method.

The study’s purpose statement is

“…to examine styles of surveillance among community corrections officers using EM, employing a specific and comparative analysis of how the tools of surveillance are integrated into local agendas and routines, variegated traditions and ideologies, and legal and extralegal considerations associated with social control and rule enforcement” (Ibarra et al., 2017, p2).

From the purpose statement, the authors begin with signaling words, mentioning some of the participants, and are structured in a manner that is in line with the study’s problem. Additionally, the researchers state that they would be applying the comparative analysis technique, yet it is not vivid if they will employ qualitative or quantitative comparative analysis. Despite failing to provide a theoretical framework, the study offers an extensive review of existing literature in validating the authors’ views. The authors communicate vividly the need for examining surveillance styles among various community correlation officers via the employment of EM via a comparatively assessment that institutes the studies’ objectives via a review of numerous literatures, an aspect that employs and builds upon the existing literature in instituting the goal of the study (Babbie, 2017). Conversely, the material offers a research methodology that is not completely suitable since it only gives detailed information regarding the data collection methodologies and fails to detail the study’s research methodology in gathering and analyzing data (Burkholder et al., 2016).

Evaluating the Research Problem

The research’s problem is vividly indicated just after the study’s purpose as “…Specifically, we examine how a “second generation” EM technology—GPS—is implemented through interactive surveillance with domestic violence (DV) defendants in three U.S. jurisdictions” (Ibarra et al., 2017, p2). While the researchers fail to explicitly state whether they will or not employ a qualitative comparison analysis; the fact they would only study a phenomenon (how GPS is adopted via interactive surveillance) signposts that it would be a qualitative research (Gentles et al., 2016). Similarly, the employment of the verb “we examine,” GPS is defined, and the language employed is neutral. Therefore, the study’s purpose and problem statement are aligned to show the reader the direction the researchers are heading in. Taking into consideration the numerous biases noted in the study, the research fails to provide sufficient control measures in tackling some of the study biases noted, depicting the fact that the research never took into consideration the use of a paradigm solution in discarding the biases, a thing that intrigues the need for an approach that tackles the study’s validity. The study may, therefore, be replicable, taking into consideration the fact that knowhow evolves and various surveillance systems are bound to undergo changes with time. The study’s limitations are evident in its ineffectiveness and inefficiency in instituting the differences between ambient and interactive systems, a view that effaces the roles and responsibility of human labour in the employment of surveillance systems.

What it means for a research study to be justified and grounded in the literature; what it means for a problem to be original

According to Walden University: Center for Research Quality (2015), a research study is said to be justified if it offers proof that there is a substantial challenge existing public health. Snyder (2019) explains that a research is said to be grounded in literature if it has solid proof which modifies findings of past research or offers ground work for future studies. An original problem for a study, according to Babbie (2017), is described as a gap in research practice or literature that the study is aiming at bridging.

This question has been answered

References

Babbie, E. (2017). Basics of social research (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Burkholder, G. J., Cox, K. A., & Crawford, L. M. (2016). The scholar-practitioner’s guide to research design. Baltimore, MD: Laureate Publishing. Greenwood, D. J., & Levin, M. (2006). Introduction to action research: Social research for social change. SAGE publications.

Gentles, S. J., Charles, C., Nicholas, D. B. et al. (2016). Reviewing the research methods literature: principles and strategies illustrated by a systematic overview of sampling in qualitative research. Syst Rev., 5, 172. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-016-0343-0

Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, 104(C), 333-339.

Walden University: Center for Research Quality. (2015). Research planning & writing. Retrieved March 18, 2021, from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/researchcenter/resources/planning

Appendix

Appendix A:

Communication Plan for an Inpatient Unit to Evaluate the Impact of Transformational Leadership Style Compared to Other Leader Styles such as Bureaucratic and Laissez-Faire Leadership in Nurse Engagement, Retention, and Team Member Satisfaction Over the Course of One Year

Answer

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