Evaluation Instrument Development

Evaluation Instrument Development-Activity 8

Section 3: Evaluation Instrument Development
To effectively evaluate research you must know in advance the criteria you are looking for and the standards to assess if they are scholarly. Activities in this section will provide the Learner with an opportunity to construct and utilize his/her evaluation instrument to evaluate scholarly work.

Required Reading:
Evaluating Research Sources
Evaluating Information Sources
How to evaluate research sources
How to evaluate information sources you find

Assignment 8 Instrument for Evaluating Research

Create an Evaluation Instrument
Developing and applying evaluation instruments offers a means to effectively evaluate research articles and determine if they are scholarly or not. There are a number of articles that present useful information; however, you must determine what factors are essential for you in evaluating an article. This assignment will provide you with an opportunity to create your own instrument for evaluating scholarly writing as well as give you a chance to apply it to an article of your choice you are interested in reviewing. Read information from the web sites on evaluating research sources listed in the Required Reading section and review other web sites as needed to complete the assignment.

Create an instrument you will use to evaluate research publications with regard to how scholarly they are written. It should meet the following criteria:
• consist of at least eight categories
• use some type of scale (e.g., 5-point Likert scale, 7-point Likert)
• to be pilot tested and used on a research article that you are interested in
• to be used by you in the future when evaluating publications
• based on reviews of at least four to five readings on the topic and your observations
• instrument to be word processed
• no grammar or spelling errors
• description of how evaluation tool was developed and why each category was included on the scale

Length: 5-7 pages (app. 350 words per page)

Your evaluation should demonstrate thoughtful consideration of the ideas and concepts that are presented in the course and provide new thoughts and insights relating directly to this topic. Your response should reflect scholarly writing and current APA standards. The paper should include your evaluation instrument, the evaluation of a research article using your instrument, and a short description of the development of the instrument.

Submit your document in the Course Work area below the Activity screen.

Learning Outcomes: 1, 9
Assignment Outcomes
Analyze scholarly writing and research.
Create and apply an Evaluation Instrument for Evaluating Research Sources.