Assessing Research – Write a 1000 word essay addressing each of the following points/questions. Support your ideas with at least three (3) scholarly citations in your essay. Use strict APA guidelines to format the paper. The cover page and reference page do not count towards the minimum word amount and an abstract and table of contents are not necessary and if included are not part of the overall word count. Assessing research and peer-reviewed work is considered a standard for quality and best practice. Describe the importance of peer-review and how to determine if information is peer-reviewed. Choose two other criteria for determining quality information and develop a discussion similar to the peer-review requirement. Be detailed on how the information is assessed and why you chose those criteria. Assessing Research Essay Paper
Assessing Research
Importance of Peer-Review
Peer review refers the process where the research of an author is subjected to the analysis of other authorities in similar fields (Masic, 2016). The purpose of a peer review is to act as a filter by ensuring that only good high-quality research studies are published, particularly within the reputable journals (Masic, 2016). This is achieved by establishing the validity, reliability, implication, and originality of the study. In addition, peer review helps in improving the quality of manuscripts that are perceived as appropriate to be published. This is because peer reviews give their recommendations to the authors regarding how they can improve and enhance the quality of their manuscripts, and at the same time helps to identify errors that should be corrected prior to publication (Kelly et al, 2014).
Therefore, peer review is the basis of the scholarly publication since the work of the author is subjected to the analysis of other scholars and experts within the filed. Therefore, peer review encourages and ensures that authors produce research that is of high-quality and that contributes to the field. Kelly et al (2014) also add that peer review ensures integrity and authenticity in scientific advancement. Assessing Research Essay Paper
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How to Determine if Information is Peer-Reviewed
In order to establish whether information has been peer-reviewed, one can look up to the Ulrichsweb, which is a directory with information of more than 300,000 periodicals, that include information about journal articles that have already been peer-reviewed (Kelly et al, 2014). A person, therefore, logs in into the Ulrichsweb system through an organizational login such as a university, and then enters the search terms, titles of journals or the ISSN numbers into the search bar. After searching the database, the title, publisher as well as the country where the journal was published is provided and it is indicated if the publication of the journal is still active. The black book sign (branded ‘refereed’) indicates that the journal article has been peer-reviewed (Kelly et al, 2014).
Another method used to establish if the journal has been peer-reviewed is by examining the publication information. There are databases that provide information regarding the journal and at times by just clicking the journal’s title after locating the article or through the description of the journal, one can tell if the journal has been peer-reviewed. For instance, when one locates a journal article within an EBSCO database, one can click on the title of the journal article to find out regarding publication details, and this includes the information if the journal article has been peer-reviewed (Kelly et al, 2014).
Criteria to Determine Quality Information
1. Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP)
CASP enables an individual to systematically evaluate the reliability, validity, relevance, and findings of the published research articles (Singh, 2013). The CASP tool contains 10 questions that are used to examine the quality of specific research. The first question as about evaluating the aim of the study while the second question assesses the suitability of the methodology used to conduct the study. The third question covers the appropriateness of the research design while the fourth question examines the suitability of the recruitment strategy by examining if the sampling techniques used were suitable (Singh, 2013). The fifth question examines if the data collection methods used were appropriate by evaluating if the researcher was justified to use certain data collection methods such as focus group, questionnaires or interviews. This is because some data collection methods are suitable is some research designs while others are not. The sixth question evaluates the link between the researcher and the study participants in order to rule out any potential bias or influence throughout the study. The seventh step involves analyzing if ethical considerations were observed because research studies are supposed to respect ethics such as seeking informed consent from the study participants and respecting their confidentiality. The eighth step is to analyze the rigorousness of the data analysis while the eighth step involves if the findings are explicitly represented and clear. The last step involves examining the value, implication, and significance of the research (Singh, 2013).
2. Examine Threats to the Validity of the Research
Another way that can be used to evaluate the quality of research studies is by examining if there are possible threats to the validity of the research. This is because research that is valid provides an answer to the research questions in a scientifically and rigorously (Flannelly et al, 2018). Threats to the validity of research can be identified within the internal, construct and external validity. Internal validity is determined by examining if any change to the outcome can be attributable to other explanations that were not investigated in the research study. External validity is examined by assessing the level to which the findings of the research can be generalized while construct validity is examined by examining the relevance and rationality of the questionnaires and other instruments used in the study (Flannelly et al, 2018).
References
Flannelly J, Flannelly L & Jankowski K. (2018). Threats to the Internal Validity of Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Research in Healthcare. J Health Care Chaplain. 24(3), 107-130.
Kelly J, Tara S & Adeli K. (2014). Peer Review in Scientific Publications: Benefits, Critiques, & A Survival Guide. EJIFCC. 25(3), 227–243.
Masic I. (2016). Peer Review – Essential for Article and Journal Scientific Assessment and Validity. Med Arch. 70(3), 168–171.
Singh J. (2013). Critical appraisal skills programme. Journal of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapeutics. 14(1). Assessing Research Essay Paper