Factors to consider when Evaluating Research

Is the research hypothesis...  sufficiently specific?  clearly stated?

Inspect for deliberate bias / distortion when  investigator has vested interest in results supporting a particular viewpoint  highly emotional issues are involved  states "this study was conducted to prove”  number of cases upon which percentages are based is either not indicated or is low

Inspect for deliberate bias / distortion when  figures are calculated to several decimal places  surprising or newsworthy findings reward the researcher with career-making publicity  objective findings are distorted by mass media to make them "more newsworthy"  only a few key studies are cited

Inspect for non-deliberate bias

Inspect for sampling bias when  the research is based on volunteers  there is high subject mortality  group selection criteria may be inappropriate

Inspect for sampling bias  in causal-comparative studies  experimental vs. control group  when subjects may not be representative of the population

Check for omission of  important variables

Undertake critical evaluation of measurement techniques  reliability  validity  appropriateness of the test norms

Inspect for observer bias

Developing the Research Proposal  Introduction & research problem statement Literature review Identify problems State significance of problems Research ideas Contribution to knowledge and practice  Formulating hypothesis  Selecting possible measures  Selecting research sources  Specifying research design  Selecting analysis procedures  Specifying research activities