A critical analysis on a Research Report: “Modes of Professional Developments”

The purpose of writing a Research Paper (RP) is related to expanding knowledge on a specific topic, with the subsequent result of making a contribution to a discourse community. In order to carry out research, the first steps involve problematizing an idea, which establishes the niche by referring back to what has been done so far, referring to the motivations that launched the investigation, and stating what the current study is about.

Since these steps are taken within the Introduction and the Literary Review sections of an RP,  the aim of this term paper is to examine the aforementioned sections in a Research Report by Bennett, J. et. al. (2011): “Modes of Professional Development: An evaluation of the impact of different course modes operated across the National Network of Science Learning Centres.” 

The Introduction offered by Bennett et. al. (2011) is a detailed one, especially if it is considered that this paper is a report. That is the reason why every section has a specific heading. Within this introduction, a table has been included so as to allow the authors to provide the reader with a large proportion of information comprised.

It should be noted that the table under discussion does not comply with many of the basic rules established by the American Psychological Association (APA). Even though the table has been numbered, its title is not italicized, nor are the words are capitalized. Furthermore, the table is integrated to the page where the Introduction is developed, rather than on a separate page. Vertical lines have been used and the elements of the table are single spaced.

The Literary Review section responds to the conventions of the writing of reports. After a detailed discussion of the sources of information consulted, Bennett et. al. (2011) raise questions about the gap found, establishing the niche through a purposive statement,

The current study fills some gaps in research in that it focuses on factors influencing classroom impact of relatively short PD interventions, that is from 1 day workshops (mode A), several day workshops (mode B) to at least two blocks of several days input with an application period in between (mode C). (Bennett et. al.,2011, para. 18)

Taking into account these two sections, it could be claimed that the authors of this Research Report have respected the conventions of format of an RP and they have also included the three moves in RP Introductions. The sections under scrutiny show that this Research Report is of a descriptive and analytical nature.

This social scientific research appears to bridge a gap between theory and practice regarding course modes for professional development. By considering the sections analysed in this paper, there is a strong possibility that the whole paper has been written by following a systematic, controlled, empiric and critical study of the topic. Therefore, this Research Report will make a significant contribution to its scientific discourse community.

References

APA (2010). Publication Manual (6^th ed.). Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Washington, D.C.

Bennett, J., Braund, M., Lubben, F., & Mason, Y. (2011). “Modes of Professional Development: An evaluation of the impact of different course modes operated across the National Network of Science Learning Centres.” Report commissioned by the National Science Learning Centre, York: University of York, Department of Education.