Evaluating Research in Communicative Disorders

A carefully organized and engaging comprehensive guide to analyzing research articles.

Extensively revised and updated in its sixth edition, Evaluating Research in Communicative Disorders teaches both students and practitioners to read, understand, and evaluate research published in communicative sciences and disorders journals. With an emphasis on scientific principals and scientific inquiry, this richly illustrated and interactive text provides a solid foundation for clinical practice for all levels of readers by linking research information on treatment efficacy to direct clinical applications.

The sixth edition of Evaluating Research in Communicative Disorders has been reorganized to reflect the structure typically found in a research articles. Accompanied by helpful tables and figures, each chapter begins with an outline and concludes with a list of key terms and a newly developed set of study questions.

Robert F. Orlikoff, PhD, is Professor and Chair of the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology at West Virginia University. He has extensive experience as a researcher, clinician, and educator and has served as an associate editor and reviewer for several journals in communicative sciences and disorders.

Preface	p. xiii
Research and Practice in Communicative Disorders	p. 1
Knowledge Acquisition	p. 2
The Scientific Method	p. 4
Scientific Theory	p. 5
The Conduct of Scientific Research	p. 6
The Nature of Research in Communicative Disorders	p. 9
Evidence-Based Practice	p. 10
Research-Practice Relationships	p. 11
The Editorial Process in the Publication of a Research Article	p. 14
The Challenge of Cyberspace	p. 16
Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Information Sources	p. 17
The Knowledge Base of the Reader	p. 19
Key Terms	p. 20
Study Questions	p. 20
References	p. 22
The Introduction Section of the Research Article	p. 25
The Nature of Technical Writing	p. 25
Components of the Introduction	p. 28
General Statement of the Problem	p. 28
The Rationale for the Study	p. 31
Review of the Literature	p. 38
Research Questions and Hypotheses	p. 43
Limitations of the Study	p. 50
Example: Introduction to a Research Study	p. 50
Key Terms	p. 53
Study Questions	p. 53
References	p. 55
Evaluation Checklist: Introduction Section	p. 56
Research Strategies in Communicative Disorders	p. 57
Quantitative Research	p. 58
Variables in Empirical Research	p. 58
Experimental Research	p. 65
Descriptive Research	p. 75
Combined Experimental and Descriptive Research	p. 84
The Title of a Quantitative Research Article	p. 88
Qualitative Research	p. 90
Types of Qualitative Research	p. 92
The Title of a Qualitative Research Article	p. 98
Mixed-Methods Research	p. 99
Key Terms	p. 101
Study Questions	p. 102
References	p. 104
Evaluation Checklist: The Title	p. 110
Research Design in Communicative Disorders	p. 111
Quantitative Research Design	p. 112
Group Research Designs	p. 112
Single-Subject Research Designs	p. 121
Qualitative and Mixed-Methods Research Design	p. 132
Validity Issues in Research Design	p. 135
Internal Validity	p. 135
External Validity	p. 145
Pilot Research	p. 150
Key Terms	p. 152
Study Questions	p. 153
References	p. 155
The Method Section of the Research Article	p. 158
Components of the Method Section	p. 158
Subjects (Participants)	p. 159
Materials	p. 176
Procedure	p. 205
Key Terms	p. 222
Study Questions	p. 222
References	p. 224
Evaluation Checklist: Method Section	p. 228
The Results Section of the Research Article	p. 230
Organization of Quantitative Results	p. 231
Data Distributions	p. 232
Descriptive Statistics	p. 239
Some Characteristics of Clear Data Organization	p. 244
Data Analysis	p. 251
The Normal Curve Model	p. 252
Bivariate Descriptive Statistics	p. 254
Statistical Significance	p. 257
Correlational Analysis	p. 262
Inferential Statistics	p. 276
Data Display	p. 316
Some Characteristics of Clear Data Display	p. 321
Key Terms	p. 324
Study Questions	p. 325
References	p. 326
Evaluation Checklist: Results Section	p. 328
The Discussion and Conclusions Section of the Research Article	p. 329
Organization of the Discussion and Conclusions Section	p. 330
Relationship of the Conclusions to Preceding Parts of the Article	p. 331
Relationship of Results to Previous Research	p. 339
Limitations of the Research Study	p. 341
Implications of the Research Study	p. 343
The Abstract of the Research Article	p. 357
Key Terms	p. 360
Study Questions	p. 360
References	p. 362
Evaluation Checklist: Discussion and Conclusions Section	p. 363
Evaluating Treatment Efficacy Research	p. 364
Evidence-Based Practice	p. 369
Generalizability of Research Findings	p. 370
Levels of Evidence	p. 377
Experimental Designs for Studying Treatment Efficacy	p. 381
Pre-Experimental Designs	p. 382
Quasi-Experimental Designs	p. 384
True Experimental Designs	p. 390
Systematic Reviews	p. 400
Key Terms	p. 403
Study Questions	p. 404
References	p. 406
Complete Evaluation Checklist	p. 411
A Compendium of Journals in Communicative Sciences and Disorders	p. 416
Proclamation of the Association of American Medical Colleges and the National Health Council	p. 422
Index	p. 424
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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Evaluating Research in Communicative Disorders

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