The document provides guidance for students to evaluate a peer-reviewed journal article. It outlines the requirements, which include evaluating sections on the article's title, ethics, literature review, methodology, sampling, and results/analysis. Students must choose one section from methodology (e.g. experiments, surveys) and one from results (e.g. qualitative, quantitative analysis) to focus their evaluation. Guidelines are provided on what to assess for each section, with over 90 questions total. Examples of budgets for a proposed healthcare facility expansion are also provided, including revenue, expenses and financial statements projections to aid planning.

1. Assignment 1: Evaluation of a peer-reviewed article
Purpose: The purpose of exercise is to conduct a detailed,
critical evaluation of the research design, methods and analysis
of a study written up and published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Students will be using Wolfer’s (2007) critical questions for
evaluating written research to evaluate an article; these
questions are provided below.
Article selection tips:
- select an article from a peer-reviewed Sociology Journal
- the article should clearly be written about a study the
author conducte
o a meta-analysis of multiple studies is not appropriate for this
assignment
o secondary data analysis of an existing national data set is
OK, but be sure you understand what you are reading
Requirements:
Your evaluation should include
- All sections 1-5,
- 1 section from 6-10 (based on design in your article),
and
- 1 section from 11-12 (based on analysis in your article).
This assignment does not have to be written in essay format.
You may organize it by section/chapter number, question
number with question text, and then your answer.
APA formatting should be used throughout. Any time your
paraphrase or directly quote a source (such as your article), in-
text citations should be used. A full APA-formatted reference
should be included at the beginning or end of assignment.
1.Title (3 pts)
1) Is the title specific enough to differentiate it from other
related topics?
2) Do subtitles, if present, provide important information
regarding the research?
3) Are the main variables expressed in the title?

2. 4) Are the terms in the title easily understood by most
people?
5) Does the title avoid any reference to the study’s results?
6) Overall, is this a good title? Why or why not?
2. Ethical Evaluation (2.5 pts)
7) Are the steps the researcher took to honor ethical
responsibilities to individuals clear? Are they appropriate? Are
they enough?
8) If there were any findings (based on your readings of
tables or other means of data presentation) that refuted the
researcher’s hypothesis, did he address these findings?
9) If any results were unexpected, did the researcher discuss
any explanations for the unexpected effects?
10) Did the researcher adequately acknowledge the limitations
of the research?
11) Overall, has the researcher adequately fulfilled his ethical
obligations?
3. Literature Review (4 pts)
12) Is the material presented in the literature review relevant to
your research interests?
13) Is the special problem area identified in the first paragraph
or two of the report?
14) Does the researcher establish the importance of the
research problem?
15) Has the researcher been appropriately selective in deciding
what studies to include in the literature review?
16) Is the research cited recent?
17) Is the literature review critical?
18) Is the researcher clear as to what is research, theory and
opinion?
19) Overall, do you think this is an adequate literature review?
Why or why not?
4. Operationalization and Measurement (5.5 pts)
20) Is the conceptualization suitably specific?
21) Are the definitions productive?
22) How many different dimensions are being measured at

3. once?
23) Are the various dimensions sufficient?
24) Are the actual questions (or a sample of them) provided?
25) Is the response format clear, or, when not already clear,
does the researcher provide information on the response
format? Is there any information on restrictions in respondents’
responses?
26) If the researcher is using a published instrument, does he or
she cite sources where additional information can be found?
27) Has the researcher avoided overstating the preciseness of
the measurement?
28) Does the researcher provide some measure of reliability?
What type of reliability is established? Do the measures
indicate adequate reliability for your purposes?
29) Does the research provide some measure of validity? What
measures of validity are presented and are they adequate for
your purposes?
30) Overall, is the measurement appropriate and adequate given
the research purpose?
5. Sample Strategy (3 pts)
31) Does the research goal lend itself to generalization? Is the
broad sampling method appropriate for the research goal?
32) Does the researcher provide information regarding the
study population? The sample?
33) Is the exact sampling method (e.g. simple random,
purposive) specified? Remember, it is not sufficient for a
researcher to simply state that a sample was selected
‘randomly.’
34) Is the sample size sufficient, given the research goals, the
degree of accuracy the researcher desires, and the nature of the
population studied? Given the nature of the research, is the
sample size sufficient?
35) If the researcher uses a probability sample, does he or she
generalize the findings to the appropriate population? If the
researcher uses a non-probability sample, does he or she refrain
from generalizing to a wider population?

4. 36) Overall, is the sampling appropriate?
Your evaluation should include one of the following sections
(6-10) (4 pts):
6. Experiments
37) Can you identify a treatment variable that indicates that an
experiment is the method of observation?
38) How many groups were studied?
a. If there were two or more groups, did the researcher use
random assignments
b. If the researcher did not use random assignment, did the
researcher present evidence that the groups were similar
regarding key variables at the beginning of the study?
39) Is the treatment and any pre- or posttests described in
sufficient detail that facilitates replication?
40) Is deception necessary?
a. If so, is the deception within the parameters of the
research topic?
b. Have the participants been debriefed so they know the
true nature of the study (and can enact their right to privacy by
declining to participate after the fact?)
41) Based on the description of treatment and experimental
procedure, do you see any red flags regarding ethical issues?
42) Did the researcher use assistants?
a. If so, did the researcher state that they were properly
trained?
b. If so, did the researcher specify any special measures to
make sure that the assistants administered the treatment
properly?
43) Is the setting natural or artificial (in a laboratory)?
a. If it’s in a laboratory, does the researcher recognize that
external validity may be weak?
b. If it’s in a natural setting, does the researcher recognize
that there may be some differences in the environments of the
various groups?
c. Overall, do you think the experimental design is sound?
7. Survey

5. 44) Is the research topic worded appropriately for survey
research?
45) Did the researcher specifically state which type of survey
method was used?
46) Do the survey questions adequately address the topic?
47) Are the survey questions constructed correctly?
48) Did the researcher provide any information about the
response rate? Did the researcher provide any information about
follow-up mailings or other ways of increasing response rate?
What are the implications of the response rate?
49) Did the researcher explain how he or she guaranteed
anonymity or confidentiality?
50) Overall, is the survey methodology effective and
appropriate?
8. Field Research
51) Does the research describe the selected site? Does the
research provide some explanation as to how that site was
chosen?
52) Did the researchers explain how they addressed
gatekeepers?
53) Did the researcher address how he developed field
relations? If conflict arose, did the researcher make any
comment about how personal or research problems in the field
were addressed?
54) Did the researcher adequately protect the identity of the
respondents? Did the researcher address other ethical
considerations?
55) Did the researcher describe, at least in passing, his method
of note taking? Does the method seem adequate?
56) In the analysis, does the researcher present general patterns
of behavior and support those patterns with data such as quoted
comments? Does the researcher use quotes selectively?
57) Does the researcher make any mention of issues of validity
and/or reliability?
58) Overall, is the research adequate?
9. Unobtrusive Measures

6. 59) What is the researcher’s research purpose or hypothesis? Is
content analysis an appropriate method of observation?
60) What are the researcher’s units of analysis? What are the
units of observation (if they are different than the units of
analysis)?
61) Is the researcher studying a population or a sample of these
units? If the researcher is studying a sample, is it a probability
sample? If so, was it correctly drawn? If the researcher is not
studying a population or a probability sample, is he or she
appropriately cautious about the nature of any conclusions?
62) Does the researcher identify the characteristics and level of
content being analyzed? Does the researcher explain how
material is coded, especially for issues of latent content?
63) Did the researcher do any type of pretest with other coders
to test for reliability? Where they any tests for validity?
64) Are the conclusions consistent with the units of analysis?
65) Are the results clearly presented and the conclusions
appropriate?
66) Generally, is the method of observation done
appropriately?
10. Evaluation Research
67) What is the purpose of the evaluation presented?
68) Is the nature of the program described in detail?
69) Are the goals presented and can the goals that the author
presents be evaluated?
70) What type of observation method is used? Is it appropriate,
given the real-life restrictions of evaluation research?
71) Is a control group used? If so, how has the researcher tried
to show that it is equivalent to the experimental group? If not,
does the researcher adequately explain its omission?
72) How are people selected for program participation? Does
this affect the interpretation of findings, and, if so, does the
researcher discuss this?
73) Are the results clearly explained?
74) How does the article address the other areas of evaluation
discussed in earlier chapters?

7. Your evaluation should include one of the following sections (3
pts):
11. Qualitative Analysis
75) Is the results section a cohesive essay?
76) Does the researcher connect the results to any general
research questions or goals?
77) Is the perspective of the results presentation appropriate?
Does it match the research technique?
78) Has the writer presented enough examples to support the
conclusions? Do the examples make the readers ‘believe’ the
researcher’s points?
79) Do you have reason to believe that the presence of the
researcher influenced the actions or statements of other group
members? If this is possible, has the researcher addressed it in
the research?
80) Especially in field research (although this may be an issue
to a lesser degree in other forms of qualitative data gathering),
does the researcher discuss how he or she interacted with
subjects in the field, what problems arose, and how the
researcher addressed them?
12. Quantitative Analysis
81) Is the results section a cohesive essay with the important
findings highlighted?
82) In the essay, does the researcher tie the results to the
research hypotheses or goals stated in the introduction?
83) If there are tables or graphs, are they clearly presented?
84) Does the researcher present any descriptive statistics?
85) Are the statistics appropriate for the level of measurement?
86) Are the conclusions the researcher draws appropriate for
the statistical information?
87) In the discussion section, does the researcher briefly
summarize the research purposes, methodologies, and key
findings (in a non-statistical manner)?
88) Does the researcher acknowledge any methodological or
statistical weaknesses?

8. 89) Are the implications of the research or suggestions for
future research discussed?
90) Overall, is the results section adequate?
91) Overall, is the discussion section adequate?
Introduction
In the present report we will discuss about the future prospects
of Nouveau Health. Nouveau Health is a non-for-profit health
care facility which took over the management of Krona
Community hospital in March 2006. In May 2007 Nouveau
proposed to expand the existing facility, the new facility will
have 74 acute care beds, four observation rooms, four surgical
operating rooms, one C-section room, 24-hour emergency
department, maternity center, intensive care unit and extensive
support services, physical therapy and cardiac rehabilitation and
all rooms will be private.
Planning
Before expanding the facility management needs to plan
everything, planning is the first step in this process. Plans are
very important for the success of an organization. They commit
the individuals, departments, organizations, and the various
resources of each to the specific actions relating to future.
Effectively formed goals of the organization fit in the hierarchy
so that the achievement of goals at lower levels allows the
fulfillment of high-level goals. The different types of plans are:
1. Operational Plans: An operational plan can be defined as a
plan that the manager uses to fulfill his or her job duties and
responsibilities. All the team leaders, supervisors, and
facilitators formulate operational plans to support the tactical
plans.
2. Tactical Plans: A tactical plan is majorly associated with
what the lower level units within each department must follow,
how they must follow, and who is in charge of their activities at
each level and stage. Tactics are used to generate a strategy and
make it work. Such plans are usually of short time periods and

9. narrow scopes.
3. Strategic Plans: A strategic plan basically defines the outline
of the steps that are designed with the goals of the entire
company as a whole, rather than with the goals of specific
departments. Strategic Planning usually begins with the mission
of the organization. These plans are generally for longer periods
of time and strategize about where the organization wants to be
in that time period.
4. Contingency Plans: A successful and capable management
usually depends on how they adapt to changing conditions, how
flexible they are with their plans and policies. A strong
management requires keeping all its alternative options open so
that the company can cater to any situation. Such plans are
defined as contingency plans.
Forecasting
Once all the plans are made there is requirement of forecasting
different things. Most of the companies do not realize the
strategic importance of forecasting. Availability of right
resources at the right time has become the essence for efficient
functioning of management. In the present business environment
where every organization is attempting to save costs, it is
necessary that every amount of money must be saved.
Forecasting is an important method to save costs as forecasting
makes the organization predict about the future demand and
thus helps in managing the resources efficiently.
Organizations can have a key to strategic decisions in terms of
forecasting. The first decision for the organization is to
understand exactly what forecasting is. The process of
forecasting is not a computer based process; rather it is a
management process. The second important key in terms of
forecasting is to forecast for demand first and then plan for
supply accordingly. The third important key in terms of
forecasting is to communicate, collaborate, and cooperate as
forecasting requires input from various levels of the
organization. Performance should be measured and feedbacks
should also be collected by the organization to make forecasting

10. successful.
For example, the HR department can forecast about the future
manpower requirements by forecasting the demand through
various quantitative and qualitative techniques and then
compare the forecasted demand with the supply. Further,
appropriate actions can be taken for shortfall if any. Finally, the
HR department would be required to evaluate the performance
and then forecast for the future activities again.
Budgeting
Forecasting can be of different types out of which financial
forecasting is known as budgeting. Budgeting is a wide term
and it includes various types of budgets depending upon the
requirement of the organization, collectively they are called as
the master budget. Master budget is the summary of various
plans of company. Master budget includes sales budget,
purchase budget, raw material budget, labor budget, cash
budget, Selling and admin budget, manufacturing overhead
budget.
Budgets are always prepared on the basis of historical data and
predictions of future, budgets can never be 100% accurate but
management should draft the budgets on a very scientific basis
so that there would be least deviations of actual data from the
budgeted data. Before drafting budgets for expanded health care
facility following steps should be followed:-
1) Determining the expected service revenue by predicting the
number of patients that will come to the clinic for their
treatment.
2) Considering the inflation and other factors such as cost
incurred, desired profit etc. the amount to be charged from the
patient must be determined.
3) All costs to be incurred must be determined beforehand so
that they can be appropriately be recovered from the patients.
4) Cash budget must be made on the basis of all other budgets,
and proper sources must be allocated for funding in case of any
shortfall and also idle funds should be invested.
Budgeted Financial statements

11. Nouveau Health
Revenue Budget
Period of 12 Months
Particulars
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Total

12. Budgeted Patients
6300
6200
6500
4050
5150
6008
7105
6900
7000
6420
6500
5900
74033
Price chareged (per patient)
$22
$22
$22
$22
$22
$22
$22
$22
$22
$22
$22
$22

13. $22
Total Sales
$138,600
$136,400
$143,000
$89,100
$113,300
$132,176
$156,310
$151,800
$154,000
$141,240
$143,000
$129,800
$1,628,726
Nouveau Health
Utility Expense Budget
Period of 12 Months

14. Particulars
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Total

15. Supplies required
6300
6200
6500
4050
5150
6008
7105
6900
7000
6420
6500
5900
74033
Add: Desired Ending Inventory of supplies
2000
2000
2000
2000
2000
2000
2000
2000
2000
2000
2000
2000
24000

16. Total needs
8300
8200
8500
6050
7150
8008
9105
8900
9000
8420
8500
7900
98033
Less: Beginning Inventory of supplies
1575
2000
2000
2000
2000
2000
2000
2000
2000
2000
2000
2000

17. 23575
Supplies to be purchased
6725
6200
6500
4050
5150
6008
7105
6900
7000
6420
6500
5900
74458
Cost per unit of supplies
$14
$14
$14
$14
$14
$14

18. $14
$14
$14
$14
$14
$14
$14
Cost of Supplies to be purchased
$94,150
$86,800
$91,000
$56,700
$72,100
$84,112
$99,470
$96,600
$98,000
$89,880
$91,000
$82,600
$1,042,412

19. Nouveau Health
Direct Labor Budget
Period of 12 Months
Particulars
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Total

20. Total patients
6300.00
6200.00
6500.00
4050.00
5150.00
6008.00
7105.00
6900.00
7000.00
6420.00
6500.00
5900.00
74033.00
Physician’s and Nurses Labor Hours per patient
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20
0.20

21. 0.20
Total physician’s Labor Hours needed
1260.00
1240.00
1300.00
810.00
1030.00
1201.60
1421.00
1380.00
1400.00
1284.00
1300.00
1180.00
14806.60
Direct Labor Cost per hour
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00

22. $30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
$30.00
Total Direct Labor Cost
$37,800
$37,200
$39,000
$24,300
$30,900
$36,048
$42,630
$41,400
$42,000
$38,520
$39,000
$35,400
$444,198

23. Nouveau Health
Cash Budget
Period of 12 Months
Particulars
Other Budget Reference
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

24. Cash Balance, beginning
$15,000
$21,650
$34,050
$47,050
$55,150
$65,450
$77,466
$91,676
$105,476
$119,476
$132,316
$145,316

25. Add: Receipts
Collections from customers
Sales Budget
$138,600
$136,400
$143,000
$89,100
$113,300
$132,176
$156,310
$151,800
$154,000
$141,240
$143,000
$129,800

26. Total Cash Available
$153,600
$158,050
$177,050
$136,150
$168,450
$197,626
$233,776
$243,476
$259,476
$260,716
$275,316
$275,116
Less: Disbursements

27. Utility expense
Utility Expense Budget
$94,150
$86,800
$91,000
$56,700
$72,100
$84,112
$99,470
$96,600
$98,000
$89,880
$91,000
$82,600
Direct Labor
Labor Budget
$37,800
$37,200
$39,000
$24,300
$30,900
$36,048
$42,630

28. $41,400
$42,000
$38,520
$39,000
$35,400
Total Disbursements
$131,950
$124,000
$130,000
$81,000
$103,000
$120,160
$142,100
$138,000
$140,000
$128,400
$130,000
$118,000

29. Excess/ Deficiency of cash available over cash disbursements
$21,650
$34,050
$47,050
$55,150
$65,450
$77,466
$91,676
$105,476
$119,476
$132,316
$145,316
$157,116

30. Financing:
Required minimum cash balance
$20,000
$20,000
$20,000
$20,000
$20,000
$20,000
$20,000
$20,000
$20,000
$20,000
$20,000
$20,000
Borrowings (at beginning)

31. Payments (at beginning)
Interest

32. Total Financing
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0

33. Cash Balance, ending
$21,650
$34,050
$47,050
$55,150
$65,450
$77,466
$91,676
$105,476
$119,476
$132,316
$145,316
$157,116
Nouveau Health
Budgeted Income Statement
Period of 12 Months
Particulars
Other Budget References
Amount
Total Revenue
Revenue or Sales Budget

34. $1,628,726.00
Less: Utility expenses
Utility expense budget
$1,042,412.00
Less: Direct labor
Direct labor budget
$444,198.00
Net margin
$142,116.00
Less: Income Tax (@15%)
$21,317.40
Net Income
$120,798.60
Nouveau Health
Budgeted Balance Sheet
Period of 12 Months
Particulars
Amount
Assets

35. Current Assets:
Cash
$157,116.00
Supplies
$28,000.00
$185,116.00
Total Current Assets
$185,116.00
Building
$852,125.00
Equipment’s
$25,140.00
$877,265.00
Total Assets
$1,062,381.00
Liabilities & Stockholders’ Equity

36. Current Liabilities:
Income Taxes Payable
$21,317.40
$21,317.40
Stockholders’ Equity:
Common Stock
$920,265.00
Retained earnings (Net income )
$120,798.60
Total Stockholders' Equity
$1,041,063.60
Total Liabilities & Stockholders' Equity
$1,062,381.00
The above is an illustration of how the budgets will be prepared
for the health care organization. In the above illustration The
process of budgeting starts with determining the number of
patients expected for the period of budgeting, once the expected

37. number of patients are determined the next step is to determine
the amount to be charged from each patient and once price and
number of patients are fixed then the next step is to determine
the cost of supplies and direct labor.
Supplies and labor budget can be made by the help of estimated
number of patients and other estimates such as expected
percentage increase in labor cost, Supplies cost etc. once the
number of patients are determined and other parameters are also
fixed it is very easy to prepare supplies and labor budget. In
direct labor we have included both the cost of physician and
nurses
Once all the cost and revenue budgets are made the last and the
most important budget which is prepared is cash budget, this is
the most important budget as it helps in determining the amount
of money that is required to be borrowed or invested and the
time period for the same. Once all the budgets are completed it
is very easy for an organization to draft its projected financial
statements such as income statement and balance sheet.
As we can see that the hospital is able to maintain the minimum
cash balance as required by the management, so there is no need
to borrow the funds. In case the total ending balance at the end
of any particular month falls below the required closing balance
in that case the management has to find different alternatives to
raise the money.
Organizational Structure
In order to be effective and efficient, every organization must
have an organizational structure. An organizational structure is
that form of structure which determines the hierarchy. The
different types of organizational structures which the health
care facility can use are:
1. Traditional Structure: This type of organizational structure is
based on functional departments and division. Such structures
tend to follow the rules and procedures of the organization.
Different types of structures in this are:

38. · Line Structure: This type of the organizational structure is
characterized by very specific line of command. All the
commands and approvals come from the top to bottom in the
line. This structure is more decentralized.
· Line and Staff Structure: This form of structure combines the
line structure wherein the approvals and orders come from top
to down along with the staff divisions for support and
specialization. This form of organizational structure is more
centralized.
· Functional Structure: The functional organizational structure
identifies the employees according to the function they perform
within the organization. The various departments may be Sales
Department, Accounts and Finance Department, Product
Development Department, Engineering Department etc.
2. Divisional Structure: This type of organizational structure
depends upon the various divisions within the organization.
Following are the types divisional structures:
· Product Structure: When the employees and the work of the
organization are based on the basis of various types of products,
the resulting organizational structure is known as product
structure.
· Market Structure: When the employees are grouped on the
basis of the different markets in which the organization sells its
products, the resulting structure is known as market structure.
· Geographic Structure: There are organizations that have
offices at different geographic places. When the organizational
structure is based on the geographic locations, it is known as
Geographic structure.
3. Matrix Structure: This type of organizational structure is a
combination of the product structure and function structure.
This form of organizational structure includes the best of both
the structures to form an effective organizational structure.
Also, the matrix structure is the most complex organizational

39. structure.
It depends upon the management which structure they choose
depending upon the requirements of the facility, type of people
working etc.
Epilogue
Planning and forecasting is done in every organization whether
it is a non-for-profit organization or a commercial organization.
Forecasting is a complex process which includes various steps
such as planning, estimating, budgeting etc. Planning and
forecasting should always be based on logical and technically
sound information.
Without forecasting every organization faces great trouble and
sometimes also goes into loss due to the absence of forecasting.
In the above report we have presented various processes which
are required to be fulfilled before expanding or opening a new
business.