Critical Appraisal of Article on Online Sex Education for LGBT Youth

Running head: CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF ARTICLE
Critical appraisal of article
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF ARTICLE
1. The research study attempts to emphasize on the effectiveness and feasibility of online
sex education programs for the improving the sexual health of the LGBT youth
(Mustanski et al., 2015). According to the recent review reports, it must be highlighted in
this section that the requirement fort better sexual health literacy and behavior among the
LGBT. Hence, the impact of the internet-based sex education can help effectively
improve the sexual health and literacy for the LGBT youth (Marques & Ressa, 2013).
Hence, the research question in the study that has focused on the feasibility, acceptability,
and initial efficacy of internet based sexual health promotion program for the LGBT
youth is absolutely relevant.
2. The study had been the first that has been able to demonstrate how feasible, acceptable
and efficient the online comprehensive sexual health promotional programs for
improving the sexual health status and literacy among the LGBT youth. Along with that,
the data findings of this research study also supported the worth of online interventions
that aid in reaching and promoting the varied aspects associated with healthy sexuality in
the LGBT youth, especially in the same-sex relationships, which added a few novel
information to the available data on the topic (Mustanski et al., 2015).
3. There are three basic types of questions that a particular research project can focus on,
descriptive, relational, and casual. Descriptive research questions describe the existing
phenomenon, the relational research question explores the relationship between two or
more variables, and lastly, the casual research question determines whether a variable
affects one or more outcome variable. As the research question of this study focused on
the impact that online sex education can have on the sexual health status and literacy

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CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF ARTICLE
among the LGBT youth, it can be stated that the research study has asked a casual
research question (Mustanski et al., 2015).
4. The study design that has been selected for the research article had been mixed method of
research which focuses on integrating both qualitative and quantitative data into the
analysis to assess the acceptability and engagement associated with the intervention. It
has to be mentioned that employing the mixed methods has a fundamental benefit, it
helps the researcher gain in breadth and depth of the understanding and corroboration
with the topic of the research while avoiding the disadvantages associated with using
only one approach in the research. According to Sedgwick (2014), for any research study
exploring the effectiveness of any variable on the outcome, the use of qualitative and
quantitative data is extremely beneficial.
5. As the research study had been based on survey mostly involving the selected sample
population, the chances of the data collected being biased had been significantly high.
The test known as Little’s MCAR test had been utilized in the research study to eliminate
the potential source of bias from the collected and analyzed data.
6. The research study by the author that has been selected for the assignment had the aim of
determining the likelihood of recruiting as well as enrolling the youth belonging to the
LGBT community that is engaged in a same-sex relationship into an internet based sexual
health intervention. The original protocol of the study had been to utilize the mixed
methods to appraise the accessibility and engagement of the intervention. Along with
that, obtaining initial estimates of the efficiency of the intervention with the use of just a
one group pretest and post-test design had been a significant part of the original protocol
of the study (Mustanski et al., 2015).