Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Miscellaneous Quantitative Researc Quantitative Researc This study was based on inputs from other communication scholars as well as hands on research done by Golish (1999). The results of the study showed that the type of turning point that happens in a child's life as they are growing up usually determines their feelings for their parents when they become adults. By writing this paper, the research criteria as well as the methods used in the study will be examined and interpreted. The research criteria used were: 1) significance of the research question; 2) replication ability of the study; 3) adequacy of literature review; and 4) reliability of the research. As said previously, the effectiveness of the chosen study, involving the closeness of adult children to their parents, can be interpreted using four specific research criteria. Significance of the research questions In order for a study to be effective and useful, the research questions must be significant. This implies that the questions are posed because there is either limited or unclear information on the subject matter. The first research question was "what turning points characterize changes in closeness throughout the history of parent-child relationships" (Golish, 1999)? This is a very valid question because it seeks to put an identity with things that may have caused changes in the relationship. The second question was "are the types of turning points different for mother-child relationships than for father-child relationships" (Golish, 1999)? This too is an important question that can explain why certain things affect males more or less than they do females. The last question was "what patterns of changes in closeness characterize parent-child relationships over time" (Golish, 1999)? The only difference in this question and the first question is that it is asking for patterns, whereas the first question was asking for specific turning points. All of these turning points can usually be put into categories and a pattern can be distinguished, so this question could have very well been eliminated. Overall, the research question set out with a clear goal in mind. They were trying to determine what happens over the course of a child's life that may affect their bond with their parent(s). All three of the questions were answered when the study was completed, even if they were a bit redundant in nature and cause. In order for a study to be effective, it must have the ability to be replicated by someone else. This is important because others may want to test the study to see if they get the same or similar results and also to see if the researcher was accurate in their reports of findings. The Golish (1999) article definitely has the potential to be replicated. The main method used to gather the research was interviewing. Participants in the survey were of a certain age, education, and income bracket (Golish, 1999). The interviews were conducted in various settings, depending on the participants (Golish, 1999). The data was then coded, categorized, and reported using Retrospective Interview Technique (RIT) graphs (Golish, 1999). All of these things are fairly simplistic and even with a few variations can be replicated to produce similar results. An effective literature review has three major functions: summarizes what is known about the topic; uses previous evidence on the topic to develop effective hypotheses; and establishes organizational schemes, allowing the reader to know how the review is being organized (Bethea, 2000). One of the most important things to remember about a literature review is that everything cannot be covered in this section, so focus on the most useful ideas (Bethea, 2000). The Golish (1999) study on closeness does an extraordinary job on the literature review. Golish (1999) presented four specific reasons why this study was necessary and backed them up with sufficient evidence from previous studies. The four reasons given in the literature review were: "closeness is at the heart of one's most personal life relationships"; "numerous studies in psychology, sociology, and family studies have examined factors such as critical events, divorce, age, ethnicity, physical distance, and gender, which play a role in adult offspring's' levels of closeness with their parents"; "lack of research in the field of communication concerning the nature of closeness in child-parent relationships"; and "numerous theories of relationship change have delineated stages through which couples progress or regress in their levels of intimacy, openness, and processual view of relationship change" (Golish, 1999). All of the reasons that Golish (1999) gave in her literature review for conducting this study were well defined and very clear. The explanations of previous research were cited and the logic behind them was well identified. Because of the in depth knowledge that Golish (1999) portrayed through the literature review, it is easier to recognize why this study was validated and necessary. In order for research to be valid, it must have a high degree of reliability. Any outstanding flaws in information will cast doubt in other researchers' minds. Reliability can be determined by the methods used, the data collected, and also by the results reported. This particular study showed a consistent level of reliability. Because the methods used involved one-on-one contact with the participants, the answers were probably more valid than they would have been in questionnaires. The data analysis that was done using the information gathered was also reliable. Using two coders to compartmentalize the turning points into themes, "emergent patterns and themes that describe the nature of closeness of adult children and their mothers/fathers over time" were developed and recorded on RIT graphs (Golish, 1999). 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