Social & Community Development Research

Assignment Questions

Assignment AS1

Critical Review & Appraisal of one published Research Study on either domestic violence or child abuse.
This article found must be peer review and no more than 5 years old

Instructions: Write a standard 2500 word academic assignment.

You must cite at least 8 references which must be accurately referenced using the Harvard system of referencing. Your reference list must include at least 2 Journal articles.

Good Harvard referencing and NO PLAGIRISM.

THE PUBLISHED DOCUMENT FOUND MUST BE A RESEARCH STUDY DONE IN THE UK AND NO WHERE ELSE.

Assignment Guidelines

• This assignment task encourages you to develop your skills in searching for and retrieving credible sources of research relevant to social and community development issues in paper and electronic form.

• You are expected to select one of these research documents and demonstrate the processes associated with searching for this work. You also need to justify the practice relevance of the research you have selected and why it may be indicative of your emerging professional interests and identity.

• You will need to critically appraise the content, credibility, and adequacy of research methods used and the practice utility of the research you have selected. Also

• You must provide at the start of your assignment a full Harvard reference for the work you are about to appraise. If your selected research article/ report is taken from an on- line source you must include the date it was accessed.

• You must comment upon the accessibility and credibility of the online source/academic search engines you have used to locate your chosen work.

• Was it easy to find and read? Is it from a reputable source, and how do you know?

• Why did you choose this research? For example is it reflective of your emerging sense of researcher identity?

• What was the research question and aims of study? What were the main findings

• Discuss the methodological approach drawn upon and the methods used, this should also include a focused discussion of issues relating to ( why that research was chosen, researchers identity, Where the research took place, the results of the findings, triangulation, sampling, piloting, ethics, and the nature and limitations of the particular research instrument (s) drawn upon) and conclusion, reference list.

 
• Are there any ethical issues raised in your appraisal of your selected work and what was the ethical stance of the work you are reviewing, for example did these researchers recognise and discuss research ethics? Did they make claims to the desirability and possibility of valve free social research?

• Evaluation of the usefulness of the study to social & community development issues.

In the essays you will be expected to demonstrate:

1. Your skills in information retrieval and in identifying credible sources of information.
2. Your skills of critical reading, appraisal and evaluation of published research.
3. Your awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of various research methods with particular reference to practice needs, including the development of anti-oppressive
practice.
4. General presentation skills and use of the Harvard system of referencing

Assessment criteria:
Evidence of reading and other preparation, critically appraised and integrated into the body of the essay
• Independence of thinking and quality of analysis
• Discussion of anti-oppressive issues supported by an understanding of inequalities of power, integrated into the body of your answer, where appropriate
• Coherence and clarity of argument and structure
• Presentation: written style, grammar, sentence construction, paragraphing, referencing