Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum, read the instructor guidance, the quantitative section of Chapter 7 and all of Chapter 8 in the Creswell and Creswell text, the chapter by Meltzoff and Cooper titled Chapter 6: Research Designs and Threats to Internal ValidityLinks to an external site., and the article by Henrich et al. titled Most People Are Not WEIRDLinks to an external site.. Also review Standard 8 of the APA Ethical Principles for Psychologists and Code of ConductLinks to an external site. from last week.

Your instructor will post an announcement with the reference for the quantitative research study you will discuss and critique in this discussion. The study will be found in the UAGC Library. Refer to the Library resource How Do I Find An Article When I Have A Citation?Links to an external site. if you need help finding the article.

In your initial post, consider the following:

• Compare and contrast the characteristics of experimental and nonexperimental quantitative research.
• State the research question the researchers were trying to answer in the study.
• Identify the type of quantitative research design that was used in the assigned study.
• Evaluate whether the researchers’ conclusion follows logically from the evidence presented.
• Identify threats to internal and external validity that might apply to how this study was conducted.
• Determine whether validity threats were addressed by the researchers. If so, describe how this was done.
• Summarize ethical considerations that were mentioned in the research report.
• Assess what ethical considerations apply to the design of the study but that were not mentioned by the researchers.
• Explain how you might do a study on this topic differently and why your approach would be more appropriate than the one used by the researchers.
• Evaluate whether a quantitative approach would be useful for the research topic you chose in Week 1.
• Describe the actions you would take to ensure that a quantitative study on your topic would be ethical.
• Support your evaluation of the study with citations and references of the required readings and other peer-reviewed sources. Refer to the Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible SourcesLinks to an external site. tip sheet to help determine which sources are appropriate.

Guided Response: Review several of your colleagues’ posts and respond to at least two of your peers by 11:59 p.m. on Day 7 of the week. You are encouraged to post your required replies earlier in the week to promote more meaningful interactive discourse in this discussion.

After reading your colleague’s critique of the published quantitative study, consider the following in your reply:

• Explain whether you agree or disagree with your colleague’s assessment of the assigned study and why.
• Identify any potential threats to internal and external validity that your colleague has not mentioned.
• Examine the ethical implications your colleague has described and identify any other potential ethical issues your colleague has not mentioned.
• Propose at least one idea of how a quantitative research design might be used for your colleague’s research topic.

Continue to monitor the discussion forum until 5:00 p.m. Mountain Time (MT) on Day 7 of the week and respond to anyone who replies to your initial post.