Critical Analysis for a Math Paper/Research

Guide Questions

General Instructions:

1. Choose a paper whose topic is already aligned to your desired research area (topology,
copula, combinatorics, number theory, graph theory, modelling, dynamical systems, etc)
2. Guide questions are the minimum topics for discussions, feel free to add if deemed
important and necessary.
3. All answers must be given in paragraph form.
4. Date of submission is April 10,2023
Part of the Paper Guide Questions
Abstract 1. What is the content of the paper?
2. Describe the general topic of the
work and explain the exact
research question, including the
aims and the results. If applicable,
give a brief description of the
methodology.
3. Explain why the abstract is ideal,
otherwise cite its weakness and
discuss what could have been
done to improve it.
Your Discussion/Justification (Answers in
paragraph form..)
The paper describes the development of
a quantitative methodology using graph
theory to map the progression of talk-turns
in group discussions in science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics courses.
The paper presents the results of observing
groups of students working with peer
facilitators to solve problems in biological
sciences and demonstrates the potential
utility of the methodology through case
studies with distinct patterns of group
dynamics.
The general topic of the work is group
work in STEM courses and the
effectiveness of collaboration in improving
student outcomes. The exact research
question is to develop a quantitative
methodology to examine group discussions
and map the progression of talk-turns using
graph theory. The aim is to provide a
complementary method to existing
qualitative methods such as discourse
analysis. The results include general
behaviors based on turns of different
individuals in the group, graph theory
parameters to quantify group
characteristics, and case studies with
distinct patterns of group dynamics. The
methodology involved observing groups of
students working with peer facilitators to
solve problems in biological sciences, with
three iterations of data collection and two
major refinements of graph theory
calculations.
The abstract is ideal as it provides a clear
and concise summary of the paper's
content, including the research question,
methodology, and results. It also highlights
the potential utility of the methodology
through case studies with distinct patterns
of group dynamics. However, one

Introduction 1. Cite the motivation of the
research. Where did this
problem come from?
2. What is the point of this paper,
specifically, what is the
statement of the problem and
what are the specific
objectives?
3. What are already known in this
field that was cited by the
author? Did the author
exhaustively cited and properly
referenced?
4. What are the constraints,
restriction and coverage?
5. What is the nature of his
research? Discuss
(Pls refer to Note * below)
weakness is that it does not mention the
implications of the results for STEM
education or how the methodology can be
applied in other contexts. To improve it,
the abstract could have included a
sentence on the broader implications of
the research and how it could be used in
other fields beyond STEM.
The motivation for this research is to
understand the factors that influence the
effectiveness of group discussions in
science, technology, engineering, and
mathematics (STEM) education. Group
discussions are an effective instructional
practice in enhancing student learning in
these fields, and the effectiveness of these
discussions depends on group dynamics
and how members interact with each
other. The point of this paper is to identify
and examine the factors that influence the
effectiveness of group discussions in STEM
education. The statement of the problem is
the need to understand what factors affect
group dynamics in order to enhance
student learning, while the specific
objectives are to identify and examine the
various factors that affect group dynamics
and to explore the use of discourse analysis
in studying the substance of group
discussions.
The author cites several previous studies
that have looked at the effectiveness of
group discussions in STEM education, as
well as the factors that influence group
dynamics. The author properly references
and cites previous research in this field. The
constraints, restrictions, and coverage of
the study are focused on group discussions
in STEM courses, specifically in the context
of solving problems in biological sciences.
The study observed groups of students
working with peer facilitators, and the case
studies presented in the paper have
implications for equity, diversity, and
inclusion.
The nature of this research is exploratory
and descriptive. The author aims to identify
and examine the factors that influence the

The Body 1. How did the author organize
the presentation of his/her
results?
2. Discuss the logical flow of
presentation of specific results.
3. Did the author made effort,
employed creativity to make
readers appreciate the
importance of his results?
Discuss
effectiveness of group discussions in STEM
education and to explore the use of
discourse analysis in studying the
substance of group discussions. The author
uses a literature review to identify previous
research in this field, and then discusses
the various factors that influence group
dynamics and how discourse analysis can
be used to study group discussions.
The author organized the presentation of
their results by dividing it into several
sections. Firstly, they provided background
information about their study and the
methods they used to collect data. Next,
they presented their findings on talk-turn
behaviors of individual participants in
groups. They compared peer facilitators
with students and students with one
another. The author identified two
extreme patterns across the four observed
groups. They then used question and
response per hour data to compare the
talk-turn behaviors of peer facilitators and
students in each group.
The logical flow of the presentation of
specific results starts with the comparison
of peer facilitators and students in groups
A and B, who had similar talk-turn
behaviors. The author then moves on to
compare the talk-turn behaviors of peer
facilitators and students in groups C and D,
where peer facilitators had distinct
behaviors compared to the students in
their groups. To compare across groups
more easily, the author used normalized
talk ratio. They also provided information
on the variation in normalized talk ratios
among participants in each group.
The author made an effort to present
their results in a clear and organized
manner. They used tables and figures to
support their findings and compared their
results across different groups to draw
meaningful conclusions. The author also
employed creativity by using normalized
talk ratio to compare talk-turn behaviors,
which provided a clearer picture of the
data. By discussing the implications of their

Conclusion 1. Did the author gave an explicit
conclusion? Discuss
2. Why the author directed the
readers to future works as a
result of his study?
Bibliography and 1. Give a general observation on
References this.
findings for peer facilitation in educational
settings, the author also made an effort to
help readers appreciate the importance of
their results.
The author of the study gave an explicit
conclusion in the form of a summary of the
key findings of the study. The author stated
that their data were consistent with
patterns described in previous studies and
demonstrated the utility and validity of
their methodology. They also highlighted
the importance of the seating arrangement
and how it can be correlated with how
participants engage in discussions.
Additionally, the author noted some
important patterns related to equity and
inclusion in groups.
The author directed readers to future
works as a result of their study because
their findings highlighted several areas that
could benefit from further investigation.
For instance, the study noted that gender
balance in groups can result in females
having a slightly greater influence and
relatively equal achievement across
genders. Thus, future research could
explore how to achieve gender balance in
groups and how it affects academic
performance. The study also showed that
URM students are more likely to face
intimidation and experience social-
comparison effects and tend to have fewer
interactions within groups. Therefore,
future research could explore
interventions that can support URM
students' participation and engagement in
groups.
Bibliography and References play a
critical role in supporting the research and
analysis conducted by the authors. The
Bibliography provides a comprehensive list
of sources consulted by the authors, while
the References indicate specific sources
cited within the text of the paper. The
article emphasizes the importance of
accurate and consistent citation practices
in scholarly research, as this ensures that
credit is given to authors whose work has
been consulted and that readers can locate
 the sources cited. The use of proper
citation also helps to prevent plagiarism
and confusion among readers.

*Nature of Research

In order to advise your reader, you must first consider for yourself where your work
is located on the map of mathematics and define explicitly what you have added to connect it to
related mathematics. It is best to by asking the following questions:

❑ Does your result strengthen a previous result by giving a more precise characterization of
something?

❑ Have you proved a stronger result of an old theorem by weakening the hypotheses or by
strengthening the conclusions?

❑ Have you proven the equivalence of two definitions?

❑ Is it a classification theorem of structures which were previously defined but not

understood?

❑ Does is connect two previously unrelated aspects of mathematics?

❑ Does it apply a new method to an old problem?

❑ Does it provide a new proof for an old theorem?

❑ Is it a special case of a larger question?

❑ Is it a rectification of an erroneous result of a previous research output?

❑ Is it a variation of an existing concept and is developed parallel to what has been in the
literature?