Critique of Quantitative Research Article. Education Research Paper

The Effects of Poverty on Achievement Gap
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The Effects of Poverty on Achievement Gap
The research by Edwards (2012) was aimed at investigating the effects of poverty on the achievement gap for students. The study can be said to have been triggered by the issue of poor performance of American pupils when compared to students from other nations. The study was aimed at determining the factors that influence the achievement gap among students by focusing on the stratification theory, which incorporates the aspects of the class, status, and party (Edwards, 2012). The study is aimed at proving the hypothesis that students who come from poor families are taught to differing standards when compared to students who come from wealthy families.
The type of approach used by the researcher was quantitative. This quantitative type of research has incorporated the correlational research design. The correlational design seeks to identify the relationship between variables by use of statistical analysis (Johnson & Christensen, 2014). The study by Edwards is aimed at determining how factors such as poverty can affect a student’s achievement in school. The study mainly dwells on proving the relationship between the two variables without any alterations from the researcher. This means that the study does not aim at finding the cause and effect, but rather studying the relationship between two existing variables, which is poverty and achievement. The descriptors in quantitative research can include the purpose, topical scope-breadth and depth of the study, environment, and the level of perception. The reason for the study is to find out how the two variables are related. In this case, the variables are poverty levels and performance in school. The study relied on past statistical information recorded over a period of time from 1999 to 2008 and which was in accordance with age, sex, and race (Edwards, 2012). The data included the percentage of children under 18 years of age, who are living in poverty, an average reading scale score of students and the percentage of pupils who are at or above certain levels of mathematical proficiency (Edwards, 2012). The scope, breadth, and depth of the study can also be described as statistical since it aims at determining the characteristics of the entire student population in America by making an inference to a certain group of students or population. The research also depended on the actual environmental conditions. Since it aims at investigating the effects of poverty on the students, it relied upon the actual field setting. Relating to the level of perception, the students did not perceive any deviations from their daily routines. This meant that the researcher did not interfere with their daily routines, but instead, only studied their activities.
The sampling method used to identify the participants was the stratification method. This involved grouping the subjects economically and socially based on their status, party, a...