General Analytical Questions

Here are some questions to use to help you analyze the readings.

Critical analysis of a theoretical paper in achievement motivation

• How is motivation defined by the author(s)?
• What are the main arguments? (e.g., What are the predictions and explanations for motivation?)
• What evidence is provided?
  -- Supporting
  -- Countering
  -- What counts as evidence?
• What definition of achievement is used? (What does "success" mean?)
• How does this theory relate to others, past and present, in and out of motivation? Complementary? Contradictory?
• What are the assumptions underlying the theory as presented in the paper? (What is/are the author(s) taking for granted?)
• What challenges do you have for this explanation of motivation?
• What questions arise for you as you think about this theory? How useful is it?

Critical analysis of a research report

• What is the theoretical framework for this study?
• What problem(s) does this research address?
• What are the research question(s)?
• What are the hypotheses or guiding questions?
  • What support is provided for hypotheses & questions?
• What methods are used?
  • Data sources (who participates, in what context)
  • Measures/indicators:
    • Definition of achievement used:
    • Are they measuring/documenting motivation or a related variable?
  • Design (experimental, correlational, ethnographic, case study...)
• Results
  • If this was a test of hypotheses, were they supported?
  • If qualitative, was the evidence sufficient to warrant the interpretation?
• Discussion/interpretation:
  -- What are the answers to the research questions, according to the authors?
  -- Does the evidence support the authors' conclusions? Is it consistent with the theoretical frame? What's new -does it contribute to what we know (does it test, challenge, expand a theory?)
• -- Are there plausible alternative explanations for the results?
• -- Limitations of study (what are the holes, flaws, ambiguities?)
• How did the theoretical framework shape the research questions, evidence gathered, & interpretation? Are there other ways to approach the problem that might shed more light?