JSLHR Article Analysis: Research Ethics Evaluation and Analysis

This assignment presents an analysis and evaluation of the research ethics of the article, "Effects of Encouraging the Use of Gestures on Speech" by Cravotta, Busà, and Prieto. The analysis covers several aspects of the study, including the problem statement, purpose, research questions, hypotheses, variables, population, sample, data collection methods, and data analysis techniques. The study investigated the impact of encouraging gestures on speech characteristics, such as discourse length, disfluencies, and prosodic properties. The analysis highlights that the study lacks clarity on informed consent, potentially leading to ethical breaches. The assignment identifies potential ethical considerations, such as the absence of voluntary participation details and the timing of informed consent, and discusses the implications of these issues. It also discusses the limitations of the study and provides a detailed evaluation of the ethical aspects of the research process, including sampling, data collection, analysis, and publication, and offers support for the evaluation based on the literature.

Article Analysis and Evaluation of Research Ethics
Article Citation and
Permalink
(APA format)
Cravotta, A., Busà, M. G., & Prieto, P. (2019). Effects of Encouraging the Use of
Gestures on Speech. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research,
62(9), 3204-3219.
Point Description
Broad Topic Area/Title Effects of Encouraging the Use of Gestures on Speech
Problem Statement
(What is the problem research
is addressing?)
Greater proportion of the past studies have focused on assessing the prosodic features
and how they are effected with the inability of the speakers to produce hand gestures.
However, in naturalistic settings, no significant studies have been performed to assess
the effect of gestures and encouraging the speakers to use them while giving speech.
Purpose Statement
(What is the purpose of the
study?)
The study aims at inspecting the influence of encouraging the speakers to use hand
gestures and how it affects their speech characteristics.
Research Questions
(What questions does the
research seek to answer?)
What is the impact of using hand gestures on speech discourse length?
What is the impact of using hand gestures on disfluencies of the speech?
What is the impact of using hand gestures on prosodic properties of speech?
Define Hypothesis
(Or state the correct hypothesis
based upon variables used)
Gestures and prosody of speech are interconnected and the former can influence the
latter. The discourse length will be significantly effected with the use of gestures.
Identify Dependent and
Independent Variables and
Dependent variable is use of gestures.
© 2019. Grand Canyon University. All Rights Reserved.

Type of Data for the
Variables
Independent variables are speech discourse length, prosody and disfluencies.
Measure for variables are number of words by the speaker, intensity metrics and
acoustic measures
Population of Interest for
Study
Native Female Italian speakers
Sample Twenty speakers from Veneto region participated in the study
Sampling Method Cluster sampling method was employed where the participants were divided into two
groups, which are N (non-encouraging gesture condition) and E (encouraging gesture
condition)
Identify Data Collection
Identify how data were
collected
Within Subject design was implemented to eliminate individual differences.
Summarize Data Collection
Approach
Participants narrated a 4 strip comic and were recorded with a HD video camera and
mic.
Discuss Data Analysis
Include what types of
statistical tests were used for
the variables.
Gesture rate= gestures/word X 100
Salient gesture rate= salient gesture/word X 100
Recording length in N & E
Speech rate= number of syllables per second
Insertion rate
Total disfluencies rate
Self-correction rate
Filled pauses rate
2

Repetition rate
Acoustic Analysis
Summarize Results of Study Gesture rates and salient gesture rates were higher in E. Gestures increase acoustic
intensity in E. The discourse length is greater in E.
Summary of Assumptions
and Limitations
Identify the assumptions and
limitations from the article.
Report other potential
assumptions and limitations of
your review not listed by the
author.
The limitation of the study is that it does not take individual differences into account
that might significantly influence gesture production.
Ethical Considerations
Evaluate the article and identify potential ethical considerations that may have occurred when sampling, collecting data, analyzing
data, or publishing results. Summarize your findings below in 250-500 words. Provide rationale and support for your evaluation.
There can be several potential ethical considerations that might have occurred during the conduct of the study. The primary concern
would be the voluntary participation of the participants. The study provides no clue of the making a list of potential participants and
then allowing them to voluntary opt for the study. Involuntary or forceful participation can be a severe ethical concern for the study
and the current paper is devoid of any evidence to support voluntary participation (Bloomberg & Volpe, 2018). Whether the
participants were taken informed consent for the study is also not mentioned in the paper, creating another potential ethical
consideration. It is important that the potential participants are made aware of the complete information regarding the study and not
ensuring this can create a potential ethical breach (Buckler & Walliman, 2016). It is mentioned in the paper that the participants are
given an informed consent form to sign just before the actual activity of the study and way after the final selection of participants. This
means that the participants were partially or completely unaware of the activity till the last moment and did not gave their informed
consent even though they were selected as chosen participants for the study. Furthermore, specific conditions that are highly relevant
3

to study, such as instruction to use hand gestures, were given to the participants prior to the start of their activity, effectively
concluding that they had no knowledge on the details of the activity to be conducted.
4

References
Bloomberg, L. D., & Volpe, M. (2018). Completing your qualitative dissertation: A road map from beginning to end. Sage
Publications.
Buckler, S., & Walliman, N. (2016). Your dissertation in education. Sage.
5