2054.3 |
Assessment |
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Research Question (Clear, unambiguous) |
"[W]hether the child will have better
outcomes when they accept preschool or any kind of early
educations." Although not stated
as clearly as we would like, the basic idea is fine. The question is whether preschool
attendance has an independent affect on later educational achievement. |
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Relevant
Literature |
The articles listed are
clearly directly relevant. Of course,
you would have to review all the relevant work in this area. |
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Causal Interpretations (clear, all
parts defined, mechanisms, controls, plausible) |
Again, the causal interpretation is a bit
simplistic (and here, not well stated).
This is just a repetition of the research question. Preschool might improve later educational achievement
or attainment, or it might not. Yes,
but how? Without a grasp of the
possible causal mechanisms, you have a difficult time identifying the proper
controls. |
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Data
(variables, sample, comparison) |
The Fragile Families
data seem fine, what you would do with the GSS is unclear. Neglects the obvious analytical issue of
control variables, given that participation in preschooling is hardly a
random event. |
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Research Value |
The suggestion that the research could help
parents decide on the value of preschooling is dubious, with little sense of
what influences parents' decisions. It
would be more to the point that the value of preschooling is an important
question for educational policy. |
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Overall |
The general aim of the
research is okay, although the presentation here is weak. Whether the research is worth pursuing
would depend both on improving the research design and on examining the
literature to discern if you have anything new to offer. |
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