Free Other Details Article Review Example

ARTICLE IDENTIFICATION

Introduction
Violent behavior among youngsters is on the rise. Violence on television, in films, and other media is stated as a reason for increase in violent behavior among the youth. The research base on effect of media violence on youth violence is large and diverse. The methods and measures used for research are also diverse. (Anderson et al., 2003, p. 81, Anderson, 2004, p. 114, Bushman & Anderson, 2001; Lukesch, 2004; Spitzer, 2005; and Weiß, 2000 in Hopf, 2008).

The purpose of this study is to analyse the extensive research on influence of media violence on youth.

1. The Article and why I chose it
For the purpose of this study, I have chosen the article entitled “The Influence Of Media Violence On Youth” co-authored by Craig A. Anderson, Leonard Berkowitz, Edward Donnerstein, L. Rowell Huesmann, James D. Johnson, Daniel Linz, Neil M. Malamuth, and Ellen Wartella. The article is retrievable at the following address: http://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CDEQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rcgd.isr.umich.edu%2Faggr%2Farticles%2FHuesmann%2F2003.Anderson_etal.InfluenceofMediaViolenceonYouth.PsychologicalScienceinthePublicInterest.pdf&ei=m9e5VPWJEIGzuATUgYHIBw&usg=AFQjCNEhn22so8sIpZYpliqWxAQZzHAR4w&sig2=PDPHw3Gj3TAGr4Sqa1psQA&bvm=bv.83829542,d.c2E
2. APA Citation Format
a. I would source credit my selected article in the body of a paper as follows:
Anderson et. al, (2003)
b. I would reference-list my selected article in Reference list that would be attached to the end of a paper as follows
Anderson et. al. (2003), “The Influence Of Media Violence On Youth” by Craig A. Anderson, Leonard Berkowitz, Edward Donnerstein, L. Rowell Huesmann, James D. Johnson, Daniel Linz, Neil M. Malamuth, and Ellen Wartella, Copyright © 2003 American Psychological Society, VOL. 4, NO. 3, DECEMBER 2003.

ARTICLE SUMMARY –

1. Introduction: key introductory points
The article does not contain a specific introductory paragraph. It begins with a paragraph entitled Summary which introduces the topic. Here the authors state clearly that exposure to media violence results in aggressive behavior. They mention a large research base that proves this point. The summary is followed by an introductory paragraph though it is not specifically entitled as introduction. In this paragraph, Anderson et. al. (2003), give numerous references to prior research on the effect of violence portrayed in the media on youth behavior.
The final paragraph of the introduction outlines the purpose of the research, identifies five specific questions to be answered. These include the results of prior research, the way in which the portrayed violence affects youth, what specific characteristic of the violence has the maximum effect, who is more likely to be influenced, the extent of the effect, and the measures to counteract this effect.
2. Research Methods
The paper does not contain a separate method section. The research is in fact a review of earlier literature.
a. Description of Research Design
The paper is a literature review. The selected researches are, however, not individually summarized nor are they individually critiqued. Instead, the authors state, “Because of space constraints, we provide illustrative examples of carefully selected key studies in each area, rather than an exhaustive review of the research literature.”
b. Specific measures used for research
Since the research is in fact a literature review, there are no specific methods followed for research. The methods or criteria for selection for the articles are not specified nor are the selected articles listed. The authors state in the introductory paragraphs that because the research base is large, a large number of papers were selected for review. They also state that it is not possible to list all the research and therefore provide a summary of selected literature.
c. Characteristics of Participants
The criteria or key words used in the search for literature are not specified. Since this is not a primary empirical research but rather a meta-analysis of sorts, there are no participants or sample population.
3. Findings/Analysis
a. Statistical Analysis methods used.
Although the selected paper is a literature review, a good part of the selected literature consists of empirical research. The authors have, therefore, converted all statistical data to correlation coefficients so that there is a common base for analysis. This fact is clearly stated by the authors as “There are several commonly used measures of effect size, any of which can be applied to experimental, correlation, and longitudinal types of studies. To provide a common metric for this discussion, we have converted all effect sizes to correlation coefficients (rs).”
b. Summary of findings

The meta-research is organized into six sections that constitute the flow of research and analysis. These sections are:

OVERVIEW OF EMPIRICAL RESEARCH ON MEDIA VIOLENCE AND AGGRESSION
THEORETICAL EXPLANATIONS
RESEARCH ON MODERATOR EFFECTS
RESEARCH ON MEDIA USE AND CONTENT
RESEARCH ON INTERVENTIONS
DISCUSSION
Within each section, there are several subsections, which classify the information presented. The findings in each section are summarized in the final paragraph of that section and the comprehensive summary and findings are presented in the discussion section. These findings answer the five research questions identified in the introductory paragraph.
4. Conclusion/Discussion
The research paper contains a discussion section that reiterates the five research questions stated in the introductory paragraphs and summarizes the answers to these questions based on the literature review. Anderson et. al. (2003), answer the five research questions in the first paragraph of the discussion section. They state that media violence does have a direct effect on violent behavior though this direct impact is moderate. There exists a large database of research documents that prove the impact of violent media on behavior. The researches in this database use diverse methods. The samples are diverse in their demographics. The media types addressed in the research are also diverse. However, the finding that media violence impacts behavior is consistent. Research also shows that individuals who were exposed to violent media in childhood continue the violent behavior through adulthood even though they are no longer exposed to violent media. Media violence affects even those individuals who are mild tempered.

Conclusion

In the section entitled Environmental Influences on Personality, in Chapter 2 of (the text book), the author states the 50% of the variations in personality are caused by environment. Although a detailed description of environment is beyond the scope of this paper, it is generally understood that environment is a very wide term. It may be loosely described as the sum total of what surrounds something or someone. Environment therefore includes any exposure to media and consequently any violence in media. It follows therefore, that media does play a part in the development of personality.
In this study, we examined the impact of media violence on youth. The research on this subject is vast as evidenced by the large number of resources used by Anderson et. al. in their article “The Influence Of Media Violence On Youth”. the article is a meta-analysis in which the authors state that there large amounts of research data is available on the influence of media violence on youth. the data is diverse as are the methods used. Two reasons may be stated for the large amount of data and diverse methods used. The first is that media encompasses a wide variety of sources such as magazines, films, television, radio, and newspapers. Also, the types of violence contained in these sources are different. On television itself, violence may be in the form of a fictional movie or as a part of the news. So also in magazines, violence may be contained in printed articles or advertisements.
Secondly, youth encompasses the time of life between ones childhood and ones adulthood. According to Furling (2013), the beginning and end of youth cannot be determined. Even so, if for the sake of argument we say that youth comprises of individuals within the age group of 10 to 35, the maturity of individuals within this age group is not uniform.
Taking into account all these factors, researching the impact of media violence (or any other factor) on youth is difficult. Anderson et. al. (2003) present their meta-analysis, not as a research review but as an organized report of the research categorized into six sections. The final discussion section answers the research questions and states the conclusion that media violence does indeed impact youth.
A comprehensive effort to collect categorize and organize all the research data will help in better understanding what type of exposure to violence has a greater influence and who is most likely to be affected. Categorization or classification may be based on the type of media, the extent of violence, the age of the individuals who are exposed to this violence and the ethnicity. Other classifications based on socio-economic background, family environment and culture and such other factors may be made.
The fact that exposure to media violence influences violent behavior among youth cannot be refuted. What needs to be investigated is the extent of this influence, which type of media has the most impact, and who is most likely to be influenced.

References

CHAPTER 2 Theories of Personality
Furlong, Andy (2013), Youth Studies: An Introduction. USA: Routledge, pp. 2–3. ISBN 978-0-415-56476-2
Hopf (2008) Media Violence and Youth Violence A 2-Year Longitudinal Study by Werner H. Hopf, Günter L. Huber, and Rudolf H. Weiß, © 2008 Hogrefe & Huber Publishers Journal of Media Psychology 2008; Vol. 20(3):79–96.