Judging a Research Study

As a researcher, there are important that to judging a research study. There are few criterion in judging a research study which help the researcher in better understanding the general format of such a report and how well the author(s) communicated to the audiences what was done, why it was done, how it was done, and what it all means.

The research study as title "Facebook and Academic Performance" was selected and the criterion to judging the journal article are as follow:

1. The Review of Previous Research - The literature cited in the study is closely related to the previous literature which base on the recent review and journal. The review of the Facebook statistic also base on the recent date.
2. The Problem and the Purpose - The problem statement of the study was clear which state that Facebook will bring negative effect to children in processing  information. The purpose of the study also stated clearly which to find out the relationship between total time spent on Facebook and academic performance by the respondents.
3. The Hypothesis - The hypothesis of the study was not stated clearly about the association between the variables of the study.
4. The Method - The study was clearly conducted through the questionnaire survey which containing five sections (e.g., yes/no and Likert-type scaling) of closed-response and open response that related to the dependent and independent variables.
5. The Sample - The selected sample of this study was represented the population. The study stated clearly where the sample come from and how the sample was selected through the procedure of the survey. 
6. Result and Discussion - The results of the study are related to the review of the literature and hypothesis. The result show that Facebook users which having lower GPAs and spend fewer hours per week studying than nonusers. The discussion of the study provide closure to the objective and hypothesis that author presents.
7. References -  The author was using the current references list for the study. The format of the references are consistent and complete.
8. General Comments About the Report -The report is clearly written and understandable. The primary implication of the study is to encourage Facebook users especially students to manage their time in the optimal way which wont effect to their academic performance. To improve this study, the sample of the study might can focus on others universities to avoid bias for the result.

Reference for the Journal Article:
Kirschner, P. A., & Karpinski, A. C. (2010). Facebook and academic performance. Computers in Human Behavior, 26, 1237-1245.