Research and find a journal article relevant to your particular study. This journal article must be a
scholarly article and peer reviewed. In 3 to 5 double-spaced pages and in APA format, write a
critique of your journal article. Your critique will either support or refute the authors work. In
your title page, provide the title of your critique and your name.
Introduction Use this heading and align center
This is a brief summary of the article. It provides the journal article name and the author. It
also discusses the authors purpose and the main idea(s) he/she is trying to convey. Was the
author able to clearly convey the purpose of the study? Were you confused by the authors
introduction? Is the title of the article reflective of the true nature of the study? Is the
abstract helpful?
Literature Review Use this heading in italics and align text left (left margin)
Does the author provide a literature review? If so, what work(s) and author(s) does he/she
describe? Are such works pertinent to the main points and concepts the author is trying to
convey? Were there any counterarguments, conflicting or contradictory research? Did the
author misrepresent or misinterpret facts? Challenge ambiguous statements! What
criminology theories, if any, were reflected in the literature review?
Methodology Use this heading in italics and align text left (left margin)
What, if any, were the research question(s) presented by the author of the study? Were such
questions clear or ambiguous? What were the hypotheses? Were they testable? Are there
any underlying assumptions? Biases?
Describe the independent and dependent variables in the study and how they were
measured.
What is the methodology used to test the hypothesis? Were surveys, questionnaires,
interviews used? How was the data collected? What was the sample used? What was the
sample size? What was the length or duration of the study? What were the results? If the
author did not conduct primary research but instead focused on existing studies, what were
the results?
Conclusions and Recommendations Use this heading and align center
Discuss the limitations (economic, time, prior research) of the study? Explain the strengths
and weaknesses of the study?
Did the author achieve his/her objective? What would you have done differently to enhance
the study?
Did the findings lead to more research questions? What were they?
Were there ethical challenges in the study?
Would you recommend this journal article to another student?
Reference page (The reference page is not included in satisfying the page requirement).
