Peer Review of IMRaD Paper

(Post your paper to your blog or create a post for your peers to provide feedbacks.)

1.      Read the whole paper quickly and see if you get a clear picture of the problem, findings, and implications. Does the paper flow well? Identify major areas/sections that did not flow well or was not clear to you. Mark them and suggest ways to improve clarity and flow in the paper.

2.      Format and Language Use:

a.       Is language used formal, concise, and clear? Does the writer use first and second person pronouns?

b.      Are there any pattern errors? Identify them and suggest ways to improve.

c.       Does the paper fulfill length requirement? Does it have “Appendix” and “References”?

d.      Does the paper follow APA style (in-text citations, references, headers, page numbers, headings and sub-headings)?

3.      Organization/IMRaD Genre: Does the report follow IMRaD format/genre?

a.       Now read one section at a time and see if all the sections satisfy the requirements mentioned in the assignment prompt. Provide suggestions to improve each of the sections in the paper.

b.      Abstract: Does it mention major information from all the sections?

c.       Introduction: Does it clearly identify why the topic is important? Does it discuss related research and identify gap? Does it state research questions/hypothesis?

d.      Methods: Does it use clear headings? Does it clearly discuss participants, procedures, and data analysis? Do you think the writer needs to provide more details?

e.       Results:

                                                              i.      Does it present the main findings by using effective tables/figures? Does it describe the tables/figures well, explaining the major trends first and then providing specific data to back that up? Are tables/figures numbered? Does the writer use title/caption for them?

                                                            ii.      Is this section organized well? Does it answer major aspects of research question(s)?

f.        Discussion: Does it connect the findings with the introduction? Does it summarize what the most important findings are in the study? Does it acknowledge any problems with the study methods? Does it clearly explain implications? Does it suggest potential directions for further research?

4.      Quality of the survey and analysis/experiment:

a.       Does the survey/experiment provide sufficient data for a good report? Is the data analyzed well in the text?

b.      Do the introduction and discussion sections clearly indicate how the experiment/study contributes to our understanding of the topic?

Review:

5.      After reading and analyzing your peer’s paper, write a review on the paper including 3-5 most important areas for improvement. Try to be as specific as possible. Post it to your peer's blog. 

6.      Go to your own blog and post your reflection on how the comments you wrote on your peer’s paper would apply to your own paper.

Analysis of Sample Papers

Post your ranking and three strengths or weaknesses (or a combination of strengths and weaknesses) for each of the papers. 

Analysis of Sample Abstracts

Read these abstracts and analyze them in terms of major rhetorical moves they have used. Rank them and provide reasons for the ranking. Post your ranking and reasons here as a comment. 

1.     As scholars and legislators debate the efficacy of capital punishment, research has played a significant role in supporting arguments on both sides of the issue. Studies on the death penalty in North Carolina, United States, have ranged from examining the effects of race and sex on capital case outcomes to polling the general public on their personal support for the death penalty. Experts have been asked about their professional opinions and murder victims’ family members have added their personal experiences to the mix. There is, however, one group whose opinion has not been examined: the criminal justice practitioner. Using survey data gathered from criminal justice agencies across North Carolina, United States, the current study examines support for capital punishment among criminal justice practitioners in the state. Results show that while the law enforcement officers surveyed are overwhelming in favor of the continued use of capital punishment, they concurrently agree that innocent people have both been previously executed and are currently on death row today.

2.     The purpose of this study was to determine if the use of PowerPoint as an information communication tool would enhance recall of information presented in a non-classroom field setting. We examined the effect of PowerPoint on the recall of information presented in religious sermons. Three test conditions were examined: (1) PowerPoint slides containing words only, (2) slides containing visual images only, and (3) slides containing both words and visual images, along with a control condition in which information was presented without the use of the PowerPoint slides. In addition, we tested the type of information recall: information about the slides, information about the slide content, and general recall of information from the sermon. While there were limited differences in recall based on the treatment conditions and the type of information being recalled, overall the use of the PowerPoint slides did not appear to have a significant effect on subjects’ ability to recall information. We conclude that greater effort must be made to understand the effects of PowerPoint presentations on human memory and cognition.

3.     Although much has been written about ancient rhetorical theories of example, few scholars have examined the subtypes of example contained in these ancient rhetorical theories. As a corrective to this scholarly blind spot, this article explores the lesser-known conceptual history of “comparison,” which Aristotle, Cicero, and Quintilian all theorize as a subtype of example. Taken together, their rhetorical theories suggest that arguments by comparison are hypothetical, contentious, indirect, interrogative, and frequently deceptive. Moreover, Aristotle, Cicero, and Quintilian all theorize comparison by calling attention to the persuasive artistry of Socrates, notably his use of arguments by comparison to provoke interlocutors without challenging them directly. Understanding and explaining these rhetorical theories of comparison is the primary task of this article. 

Peer Review of Introduction and Methods

 Introduction:

1.     Does it clearly justify why the topic is important? Or, is the need/exigency clear?

a.     Does it require more concrete information on the topic?

b.     Does the writer use sources to provide information? (citations?)

2.     Does it discuss related research and identify gap?

a.     Does the review provide sufficient information about various perspectives/aspects of the topic?

b.     Is the review concisely presented?

c.     Is the gap clear? Is it directly related to the review?

3.     Does it state research questions/hypotheses?

4.     Is the language clear and concise and tone formal and scholarly?

Methods:

1.     Does it use clear headings?

2.     Does it clearly discuss participants?

3.     Does it clearly discuss procedures?

4.     Does it clarify how the data is analyzed?

Write down a review of the sections in 3 brief paragraphs, listing and explaining three major suggestions for improvement. Post it to your peer’s blog as a comment.

Research Methods

• Designing and Using Questionnaires

• Experimental Designs

Group Work

• Do some research on either designing a survey/questionnaire or conducting an experiment (I'll assign). 
• Find out what are the most important characteristics of the research design your group is focusing on. 
• List the steps in conducting research. 
• Mention things to avoid. 
• Provide a link to an example of the kind of research your group is working on. 
• Post all of these things as a comment here. 

Discussion of the Two Readings ("Topic Sentence" and "Perception of Law Enforcement Officers")

a. Identify the four rhetorical moves that an intro of a research paper should make.
b. How well do these two fulfill the requirements?
c. How are these two introductions (esp. focus on the review part) different? 

Synthesis Activity

Rank these paragraphs.

2.     Discuss the reasons for the way you rank them. While analyzing, look at how synthesis is done at both paragraph and sentence levels.

3. Post your ranking and reasons as a comment to this post. 

a.     Much of the literature agrees that capital punishment is not a crime deterrent. According to Judy Pennington in an interview with Helen Prejean, crime rates in New Orleans went up in the eight weeks following executions. Jimmy Dunne notes that crime rates often go up in the first two or three months following an execution. “Death and the American” argues that America’s crime rate as a whole has increased drastically since the re-instatement of the death penalty in the 1960s. This article notes that 700 crimes are committed for every 100,000 Americans. Helen Prejean cites Ellis in her book to note that in 1980, 500,000 people were behind bars and in 1990 that figure rose to 1.1 million.

b.     The literature on capital punishment suggests that it fails as a deterrent in two key ways. First, much of the literature suggests that capital punishment does not lower the crime rate. Helen Prejean, in Deadman Walking, clearly notes that capital punishment does little to lower the crime rate. Prejean argues that the “evidence that executions do not deter crime is conclusive […] the U.S. murder rate is no higher in states that do not have the death penalty than those who do” (110). Prejean’s point is reiterated from a historical perspective in “Death and the American.” Here, the author notes that despite the social and economic upheavals that occurred from the 1930s to the 1960s, the crime rate barely changed (2). However, after the reinstatement of the death penalty in the 1960s, the author notes that “crime rates soared” (2). Steven Hawkins points out that law enforcement officials also agree that the death penalty has failed to stop crime. He explains that a 1995 Peter D. Hart Research Associates survey found that police chiefs believe the death penalty to be “the least effective way of reducing crime” (1).

c.     One of the prominent issues that has surfaced is the idea of Emergency Contraceptives, especially when it comes to females that are the unfortunate victims of rape. Often times when women are admitted into the Emergency Room in a Catholic hospital they are left with a physician that is allowed to personally interpret whether they should be allowed to have a form of Emergency Contraceptive. The research study presented in Second Chance Denied states that, “Only 5% of the emergency rooms provide EC on request. An additional 23% of Catholic Emergency Rooms provide EC to rape victims only” and continues to say, “with good luck, a woman who had been raped might be seen by an attending physician who would provide EC, but there were no guarantees.” (Page 5) How do they get to decide who is deserving of appropriate medical treatment, and why is the fate of the woman left for them to decide? These are some of the same questions that researchers were asking in their study since “(our) Nations medical authorities have established EC as a standard and appropriate medical care.” (Second Chance Denied, Page 8).

d.     Walter Pauk, director of a center for student study skills at Cornell University, believes that the ability to concentrate is an invaluable asset to the college students.  Pauk states that “will power alone can't induce concentration.  Students may be breaking concentration whenever they remind themselves that they must use will power to concentrate.”  Noted philosopher and psychologist William James also talks about concentration when he advocates continued concentration in the face of mental fatigue. "The fatigue gets worse up to a certain critical point, when gradually or suddenly it passes away, and we are fresher than before.  We have evidently tapped a new level of energy."

Peer Review of Topic Proposals

Use the following questions to review each other's topic proposal. Post your suggestions as a comment on your your peer's post.

1. Is the topic narrow enough a) to collect data within a few days and b) to maintain a clear focus? 
2. Are research questions specific? Are they open-ended? Open-ended questions are often better than yes/no questions. 
3. Is the research method(s) chosen appropriate for the research question(s)?

Topics for the Second Writing Assignment

Individually

• Come up with 3 topics related to your field or anything you are interested in exploring. 
• Write down one research question for each of the topics. 
• Post them to your blog (both topics and questions)

Group

• Discuss the topics and questions with specific focus on 
• scope (whether it is too broad)
• time
• importance/interesting

Questions about the Second Major Writing Assignment

Read the assignment prompt one more time. Pay attention to all the details and make a list of a few questions and post them as a comment here.

Reflection

Write a few paragraphs reflecting on the following questions. Post your reflection to your blog.

• How well do you think you did in the first major speech? What went well and what did not go very well and why?
• What two aspects of delivery do you think you will need to improve for the next speech? 
• What strategies will you use for that purpose? 

Schedule for Final Speeches

Monday

Harris, Klaire, Rober, Alaina , Grimes, Megan , Kocher, Paxton , Tulley, Jack , Marks, Jonah , Picchietti, Matthew , Coppola, Anthony , Los, Ashley , Cannell, Grace

Wednesday

Callaghan, Ryan, Rude, Eric , Zheng, Jason , Zellner, Leah , Paletta, Zoey , Cramer, Jake , Jiang, Siyue , Lindsey, Konnor, Rojvachiranonda, Nat, Zhong, Wenkuan