Article Critique

Article Critique

Introduction

When a research is examined or reviewed a conclusion has to be made on its soundness and dependability and if it has implications for further research as reviewers may not have appropriate knowledge on the subject in review and probable bias might occur as the new study may confirm their previous study conclusions . Consequently the use of frameworks to investigate research is necessary particularly for the novice commencing their exploration into understanding and implementing knowledge to practice.

The problem of school violence and bullying is a phenomenon known as the society and an old research topic. But pathways by which produces bullying have evolved over time and has created new forms of intimidation, harassment and abuse. One form is known as cyberbullying. This article explores cyberbullying using a specific questionnaire to a total of 264 schoolchildren. In this paper an article “Cyberbullying in Schools: A Research of Gender Differences” by Qing Li (2006) is critiqued. The appropriateness and relevance of past studies, methods, results and discussion is reviewed.

Author's conceptual framework

A well approachable and well crafted introduction is developed by Li in his article. The framework of the article introduces three progressively narrowing and interconnected issues regarding cyberbullying i.e. research backs the use of technologyin class rooms, recognizing bullying a serious problem and little research has been done on prevalence of electronic bullying and harassment in classrooms. The author has reviewed several past studies that are relevant to the research and give details about the impacts of learning journals on students. The literature review is well presented in the article as it is divided into different sections which individually address different topics regarding cyberbullying. The author has called upon the educators to act against the problem of cyberbullying children face in their schools. The author notes that study of role of gender will be an integral part of the study which will be critically analyzed and to back this point, evidences from past research studies are also provided in the article.

Evaluate the clarity and appropriateness of the research questions or hypotheses

In this article three research questions are proposed that fall under the two stated foci - that means it is studying the gender differences in experiencing the cyberbllying and also the difference in gender in climate perceiving. The first research question related to the gender experiences is correlated with the methodology and intent. This feature of the research questions builds the gap between the current research on the issue and the need to study it further.

On the other hand the school climate is not cited or defined before this point in the article. Though the second and third research questions seem quite relevant but Li did not specifically state the purpose of these questions. The most important point rises here is what does Li mean by climate or school climate? The research questions and/or hypothesis should act as a bridge, connecting the design and methodology. Had Li clarified climate earlier, this bridge would have been significantly ...