Research Study Critique

Running head: RESEARCH STUDY CRITIQUE
Research Study Critique
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RESEARCH STUDY CRITIQUE 2
Introduction
The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of primary to secondary
school transmission challenges with participants from a secondary school in Sydney, NSW. In
the article, Perceptions of primary to secondary school transitions: Challenge or threat?
Mackenzie, Mc Maugh and Kerry-An (2012) employ a quantitative research design involving
primary school students transforming to secondary. Their study included 75 female students
(with 28 of them in year 6 and 47 in year 7) who were drawn from an independent girl’s schools
in Sydney, NSW. The study focuses on exploring the perceptions of social and academic aspects
of transition by use of online questionnaires and focus group interviews. In their introduction,
they state that transition is the period when students move from their last year in primary school
to join their subsequent schooling career. People adopt the strategies they utilized in their
primary school periods to counteract challenges that they may face. As a student transforms from
their primary to secondary education, they encounter numerous behavioral issues. This happen
mostly during their adolescence (Mackenzie, McMaugh & O’Sullivan, 2012). This statement
outlines the basic idea behind this research, making it possible to formulate the primary objective
of the study. The author is right on his plan because as people undergo adolescent, they
experience unfamiliar changes which they do not know how to handle them and may tread from
asking for advice. This poses a lot of problems in the education system.
Literature Review
The research begins by looking into the problematic aspects accompanied by a transition
in students. The authors classify the transition aspects into social or academic. There are
numerous differences in the primary and secondary school environments according to

RESEARCH STUDY CRITIQUE 3
(Mackenzie, McMaugh & O’Sullivan, 2012). Social concerns are paramount during the
transition period. Australian researchers conducted a study on the topic that ended up concluding
that the key challenges that students face are making friends, fitting in and handling bullying
issues. The changing environment increases the impacts of social concerns from primary to
secondary school and stimulates stress.
On the positive transition experiences, the research concentrated on external factors that
ascribed to the students. A supportive environment at home and the accessibility of teachers
within the school environment and strong peer connection and sibling were identified as part of
the factors that contributed to positive transitions (Pautasso, 2013). The researchers also
evaluated the effect on the cognitive transactional-theory to transition for students.
By examining the literature review, it is clear that the researchers focused on some
factors that could contribute to students’ transition. The literature review is well detailed as it
borrows ideas from other studies that researched the same area (Maier, 2013). The literature
review details facts that can be deducted by other researchers in future studies.
Methodology
The study relies on statistically acceptable methods involving 75 female student
participants. This is acceptable because the survey targeted females only. However, the
methodology did not specify the procedure which was used in determining the sample size (Hair
et al., 2015). Therefore the reader has no idea about the target population. To increase the
reliability of the results, 28 years 6 students and 47 years seven students were included in the
study. The data collection method was effective in achieving the objectives of the study. The
process was conducted when all the students were in session to ensure that the target group was