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Article Critique For Educational Research
Article Critique For Educational Research
Candice McPherson
The title of this research study does not adequately describe the scope of the research.
Art therapy was not the only aspect studied. Art therapy was used in combination with
cognitive behavior therapy. Therefore, both therapies should have been included in the
title. The abstract is very concise and does not clearly state a hypothesis, although one is
alluded to in the conclusion of the abstract. Unlike the title, the procedure stated in the
abstract includes a combination of art therapy and cognitive behavior therapy. Although
short in length, the abstract contains enough interesting information to encourage the
(PSTD) symptoms will occur when subjects are given a specific treatment that combines
art therapy and cognitive behavior therapy. The author offers the argument this
combined treatment is an effective intervention for sexually abused children, but does not
offer any opposing viewpoints. Sources used in the article range from 1987 to 1995. A
2002 source cited as justification for the proposed research is the author’s own pilot study
which he had conducted four years earlier in 2001. The author states the pilot study
The hypothesis is clear, concise, and testable if a valid experimental design is employed.
The description of the subjects is limited to children with histories of sexual abuse
who have been referred for treatment by mental health professionals. The children were
located in an urban, multidisciplinary child advocacy center that provides assessment and
treatment to young victims of sexual abuse. Subjects were drawn only from this one
facility. The number of subjects included in the sample is not reported, and there is no
mention of randomization. The ages of the children used in the study are broadly
categorized without specific indications as to how many of each age were tested.
Ethnicity and socioeconomic backgrounds are factors that should have been included in
The testing instrument used in the study was the Trauma Symptom Checklist for
Children (TSCC). The author asserts this instrument is a well-established test, and lists
rationale for using this instrument is it is designed to assess children with traumatic pasts,
and is widely used to assess children of sexual abuse. Another reason for using the
backgrounds, much like those of the children at the urban center where the study was
conducted.
measured the effect of the treatment at the end of the study. This quantitative research
one group that is pre-tested, exposed to a treatment, and then post-tested. The
independent variable is the therapy treatment, and the dependent variable is the outcome
of the study. This design does not control all areas of invalidity. One threat to validity in
the study could be from unexpected events affecting the dependent variable. For
example, a child could have an experience in some other therapy or event that changes
the way he reacts to the post-test questions. Another threat could come from being
sensitized by taking the pre-test, which could then alter the results of the post-test.
Therefore, even if participants do better on the post-test than the pre-test, the researcher
should not assume the results are due to the treatment. Some other variable could be the
cause. A third threat to validity is the study attempts to measure the combined treatments
of art therapy and cognitive behavior therapy. The chosen design could have created
multiple-treatment interference, with the effects of one treatment altering the effects of
The lack of control groups is a big liability. In order to determine combined therapies
created the hypothesized result, the researcher should have created a control group with
an art therapy treatment, and another control group with a cognitive behavior therapy
treatment. This method would have been a stronger experimental design, and more
threats to validity would have been controlled. Another liability to the study is the fact it
was conducted at one urban center, which was the same center used in the pilot study.
The researcher should have conducted the study using several centers, perhaps with
groups from rural as well as urban settings. When conducting an experimental study,
everything should be done to ensure ideal research conditions, including the use of
On the positive side, both a pre-test and post-test were used to evaluate the effects of
the treatment. This design is slightly better than the one-shot design, which includes no
pre-test for comparing changes. However, as stated previously, post-test results may not
The participants of the study were divided into three age groups structured to meet
their individual developmental needs. They received the treatment one hour per week for
eight weeks. This limited amount of time may not have been intensive enough to yield
optimum results. The use of the TSCC for data collection is an acceptable method
because the test has two validity scales and ten clinical scales, and is widely used for
Although measures were taken to increase validity, the data cannot be trusted. The
lack of control groups, history, and multiple-treatment interference are a few of the
reasons for unreliability. Therefore, the research conclusion that a combination of art
therapy and cognitive behavior therapy reduces the symptoms of PTSD cannot be
research, some parts of the data analysis tables are easier to understand than others. The
first table contains a descriptive overview of the specific measures by the subscales,
which for me, is easier to understand than the mathematical tables containing the scores
The discussion section of the study is little more than a summary of the results section.
The researcher points out the reduction of symptoms based on test results, which is a
replication of the results section statement. Limitations of the study are not mentioned,
and similarities in the data are not addressed. The discussion focuses on the differences;
namely, the intervention effects. However, the conclusion does contain the author’s
intention to conduct future research investigations of the hypothesis. His plans include
using a larger group of participants, and comparing results with models that use
traditional verbal therapy. Had these proposed controls been utilized in the present study,