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Pages:
6 pages/β‰ˆ1650 words
Sources:
1 Source
Style:
APA
Subject:
Social Sciences
Type:
Research Paper
Language:
English (U.S.)
Document:
MS Word
Date:
Total cost:
$ 31.1
Topic:

Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS) : A Reliability and Validity Evaluation

Research Paper Instructions:

here is the article:
http://utdr(dot)utoledo(dot)edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1555&context=theses-dissertations
here is the assignment:
The purpose of the assignment is to critically analyze an article about a research project for its validity. In this process, is required to review a published social work study, and is guided through the critical review process with a series of questions. 
Author’s perspective & problem formulation
1. What is the problem, concern or issues for exploration/investigation in this study?
• Vague or clearly articulated?
Literature Review
1. Describe the type of literature review in the context of the findings (contextual), before the research (theoretical), about the methodology (methodological), or throughout the entire article (integrative)?
2. What is the scope of the literature that was reviewed?
• Types of publications
• Disciplines
• Time-line
• Appropriate location in the article?
3. How is the literature used to develop, formulate or elaborate the problem for study? Is the literature used appropriately?
4. Do the author’s critically analyze the literature they use?
• Is the literature assessed
• Strengths & Limitations cited?
• Methodologies discussed
• Are studies contradictory to perspective cited and discussed?
Research Design and Sampling
1. What is the research question?
• Clearly stated and consistent with problem formulation?
• Hypothesis stated? Is that appropriate?
• What are the hypotheses?
2. What is the study design? (historical analysis, in-depth interviews, focus groups, participant observation, ethnography)
• Is it quantitative or qualitative
• Is the design prospective (looking forward) or retrospective (looking back)?
• Cross-sectional or longitudinal design?
• Make a list of steps author(s) followed
3. Strengths & Limitations of the research design
• Critique article based on the paradigm (Qualitative or Quantitative)
• Trustworthiness for Qualitative
4. What are the sampling strategies? (random, purposive, quota, convenience)
• Where did they get their sample?
• What is the relationship between the target population and the sample?
• Have the authors discussed and explained sample size?
• Is sampling bias discussed?
• Are gender and culture discussed?
• Is the sample appropriately discussed?
Quantitative Data Collection (Answer only for quantitative articles)
1. Describe the methods and source of data collected (mailed out questionnaires, interviews, records etc., source – individual, group, archives etc.)
2. What are the data collection procedures and are they clearly described?
• How are the data obtained
• Recording instruments
• Timeframe and location
• Who collected data, their training and qualifications
• Are potential sources of bias identifies?
3. What types of analyses did the authors do? Explained clearly and are they appropriate for the type of data used? Eg. Nominal, ordinal, interval, ratio.
4. Are the analyses consistent with the research design and questions?
5. Is there sufficient detail to follow, understand and assess the analyses? 
6. Are procedures and results clearly described? Graphs? Tables used?
7. Were their expectations confirmed or not?
8. Did they provide evidence that supported and/or refuted hypothesis?
Qualitative Data Collection (Answer only for qualitative articles)
1. Describe the method, source and type of data collected, eg. historical, ethnographic, interviews, source and type
2. What are the data collection procedures and are they clearly described?
• How are the data obtained
• Recording instruments
• Timeframe and location
• Who collects data, training and qualifications
• Potential sources of bias?
3. What type of analyses are used?
4. Are these clearly explained and do they fit the types of data?
5. Did they provide a rationale/explanation for their choice of data analysis?
6. Is there sufficient detail to follow, understand and assess the data analysis?
7. How do the authors present their data (images, maps, charts)?
8. Do the authors present findings consistent with their expectations or findings?
Discussion, Conclusion & Implications
1. What are the limitations of the study and are they discussed?
2. Document how the results are interpreted with respect to the existing literature?
3. What are the conclusions and are these limited to the findings?
• Are the conclusions supported by the findings?
• Are claims discussed that are not supported by the findings in the study?
• Do the authors discuss unexpected or inconclusive findings in the conclusion? 
4. Do the authors generalize the findings and is this appropriate?
5. Do the authors claim the study contributes to knowledge, research and practice?
• How responsible are these claims?
• Do they accurately reflect actual findings of the study?
If the articles is qualitative, answer only those relevant qualitative questions. If the article is quantitative, answer the quantitative questions. 
The list of questions is thorough. If your have answered a question in a previous section, it is not necessary to answer it again.
In your final write-up, bold the terms which indicate you have answered that question.
For example:
“The scope of this study involved looking at all children under the age of 6….
“The literature review in this study included articles through the years 1940 to 1999. This is inappropriate because……..
“The limitations of this study might include a lack of generalizability because it only about Hispanic people……

Research Paper Sample Content Preview:

Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS)
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
E- Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale
Author's perspective & problem formulation
The scope of the study involved updating literature on the validity and reliability of information on the Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS) within a child justice population (Bodine, 2011).The study intends to find out whether the current CAFAS is adequately reliable and valid in assessing the behaviour change among the juvenile population. If the study confirms that CAFAS is unreliable and invalid, it will provide the basis for the changes to the protocols so that the agencies would affect the necessary changes (Bodine, 2011).
The problem is formulated well since the author begins by identifying a gap in the knowledge as to whether the CAFAS can be appropriate to juvenile populations. The author also derives the problem from misleading information by Hodges and intends to feel the gap created by the misleading statement. The author articulates the problem clearly by indicating the point from which to start, head to and the final destination being the outcomes of the study to answer the research questions.
Literature Review
The author reviews theoretical literature from previous studies conducted on the topic. The author reviews the literature to introduce the aspects of the research question such as the reliability and the validity. The author reviews how these aspects were determined before so as to choose the right methodology for the current study. The review on these aspects also gives the author a rough idea of how these aspects have been measured before in other areas such as the psychiatric units. The author reviews the various components of the CAFAS that have been used in the past in different parts of the world.
The author also employs integrative literature review throughout the study where the knowledge and definitions, as well as explanations of other scholars, are used in explaining the concepts in the study. An integrative literature review was suitable in this study since the researcher derives more knowledge from the existing body of knowledge (Bodine, 2011).
The author uses peer-reviewed journals mostly in the study as literature review sources although there are some few articles and books. Peer reviewed journals are reliable sources of information to be used in the research and provide quality to the researcher. The journals used to cut across several disciplines which are related to the research topic (Bodine, 2011). These include psychology, health, gender, mental health, family issues, sociology, juvenile issues, crimes, and behaviours. Most of the sources were psychological.
The literature review in this study included articles through the years 1973 to 2011. This is inappropriate because it gives a wider context from which the changes have been observed in the use of CAFAS among the children. It gives a chance to the researcher to track the changes over time and modifications that have occurred to CAFAS. The use of recent sources helps the author to convince the readers to believe o the information since it is within the confines of today's tec...
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