In “Associations Between Gun Violence Exposure, Gang Associations, and Youth Aggression,” Forster, Grigsby, Unger, et al. (2015) use logical regression models on cross-sectional data from three middle schools in California to determine the associations between aggression, self-control, and gang affiliations. The Literature Checklist, the Litmus Test Guide, and the Problem Statement Checklist all provide frameworks for evaluating the reliability and validity of the Forster, Grigby, Unger, et al. (2015) research. The Litmus Test Guide covers four main parameters including whether the research was justified, grounded in the literature, original, and also amenable to scientific study. Ideally, any doctoral or professional research should meet all four of these main criteria. The Problem Statement Checklist focuses more specifically on the problem statement itself, which should be clearly stated, with a guiding rationale for the research. Moreover, the problem statement should be consistent with the research methods used in the field and show how the current research will address the problem in light of gaps in recent literature. The Use of Literature Checklist then offers guidelines for how to assess the ways the authors present and evaluate a review of literature on the topic. The Forster, Grigsby, Unger, et al....

For example, the authors justify the need for the current research—which is essentially to reduce rates of violence in communities. The researchers also identify gaps in the literature that show why the research is warranted. Those gaps include the lack of sufficient evidence showing which specific variables need to be addressed in intervention programs. Thus, the research is shown to be original while also extending from a wide body of existing evidence. Because they use an established data set, the researchers also designed a study that is amenable to future scientific investigation.
Assessed according to the Problem Statement Checklist, Forster, Grigsby, Unger, et al. (2015) state the problem in the introduction to the research, citing assault deaths among youth using a variety of sources and claiming a need for more evidence-based policies, practices, and programs to identify the “modifiable risk factors” that can be addressed through effective interventions (p. 1). Then, the authors show why they have selected the variables they did, including exposure to violence in the community or family. The authors also clarify that they are working within a social learning theory framework. Therefore, the authors show how their research is…