Research review example
Example: Research review of a paper on the impact of pornography use in adolescence on relationship intimacy in early adulthood
Please note that ethical standards of peer reviewing constrain me [JP] to give you the original manuscript. I also had to anonymize identifying information in the review. This review is meant as an example of the style used in writing a review; you do not have to understand all the details. Please note that this review is longer than the one you are requested to write.
This is a highly interesting study on a timely subject, the impact of pornography use in adolescence on relationship intimacy in early adulthood. Based on Zillman’s programmatic piece about the “influence of unrestrained pornography” on adolescents and more recent research on teenagers’ use of internet pornography, the study develops a model on how adolescent pornography use may affect relationship intimacy in young adulthood. The study concludes that there is, “at best, minimal support for Zillmann’s claim that prolonged exposure to pornography is associated with sexual callousness” (p. 13). The strengths of the study include, in my view, the focus on an under-researched dependent variable; its attempt to build and test a model; and the (attempted) investigation of gender differences. The weaknesses include, in my view, the theoretical underdevelopment of the model and several severe methodological problems.
Theoretical development of the model
By the standards of Journal [ANONYMIZED], the theory section (pp. 2-4) is very short. While in journals of other disciplines (e.g., Journal of Adolescent Health) such a short introduction is requested, pieces in [ANONYMIZED] are expected to be more specific about the theoretical underpinnings of the study. Although brevity is always preferable, a study that develops and tests a new model does require a somewhat more thorough conceptual definition of the various influences in the model and, most importantly, a rationale
Please note that ethical standards of peer reviewing constrain me [JP] to give you the original manuscript. I also had to anonymize identifying information in the review. This review is meant as an example of the style used in writing a review; you do not have to understand all the details. Please note that this review is longer than the one you are requested to write.
This is a highly interesting study on a timely subject, the impact of pornography use in adolescence on relationship intimacy in early adulthood. Based on Zillman’s programmatic piece about the “influence of unrestrained pornography” on adolescents and more recent research on teenagers’ use of internet pornography, the study develops a model on how adolescent pornography use may affect relationship intimacy in young adulthood. The study concludes that there is, “at best, minimal support for Zillmann’s claim that prolonged exposure to pornography is associated with sexual callousness” (p. 13). The strengths of the study include, in my view, the focus on an under-researched dependent variable; its attempt to build and test a model; and the (attempted) investigation of gender differences. The weaknesses include, in my view, the theoretical underdevelopment of the model and several severe methodological problems.
Theoretical development of the model
By the standards of Journal [ANONYMIZED], the theory section (pp. 2-4) is very short. While in journals of other disciplines (e.g., Journal of Adolescent Health) such a short introduction is requested, pieces in [ANONYMIZED] are expected to be more specific about the theoretical underpinnings of the study. Although brevity is always preferable, a study that develops and tests a new model does require a somewhat more thorough conceptual definition of the various influences in the model and, most importantly, a rationale