Critiquing social research
Mike Metcalfe has developed a particular approach to research or any inquiry (investigation) using structured critique. The alternative involves summarising and explaining the many hundreds of research epistemologies, methodologies, designs, methods and techniques, in the classical lecture mode. This can leave the learner more shell-shocked than informed. The critique approach is to turn the learning experience on its head and rather develop a skill in systematically critiquing previous research (inquiries or investigations). This would includes identifying how the research was undertaken, why so and whether it was convincing.
The critique approach has the benefit of encouraging the research (inquiry, investigations) literature for the topics being researched as well for the research methodology as it appears in print. Further, good critique requires a good command of argumentation and evidence analysis, which itself is essential skill for those learning to design and write up a large well justified research reports or theses. For a useful paper on the use of argument and critique see Flyvbjerg (which can also be seen a theory of negotiation and planning).
The approach suggested is to first select a concept (lens, stance, perspective) that will be used to inform the critique. This can be anything thought useful but as a starting point one of the papers on this IRG web site might be used, perhaps one of the papers from the Argumentative inquiry menu. Then read a good quality relevant research article of your choice. Use the ideas from the critique concept paper to critique the research article. This process is then repeated, so read another paper to provide another concept or lens and that used to critique another relevant research article.
For example, if the critique paper is about alternative designs for literature reviews then the issues it raises can be used to think about the literature review in a research article of your choice (or as supplied by the lecturer) on any topic. Choose good quality articles from the very top journals in your own discipline. While the literature in the research article is being read for design ideas, it is also being read for its topic content. Diagrammatically:
