In the course of critiquing a research journal, one should be able to identify the specific ingredients typical of a superior study. The following is a journal article critique entitled, "Later Start Times for High School Students" and is presented in an effort to enhance familiarity and ease for students working on their credential and Masters in Arts and Education.
According to the article, Kyla Wahlstrom and her team at the Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI) have led the crusade to implement a later start time for high school students. She began this research during the mid 1990s (no additional background information has been provided). The problem of the early start time has been well documented by medical researchers, although no conclusive evidence is given in the article. These researchers state that the late-to-rise cycle is actually part of the endocrine system starting from the beginning of puberty until the latter part of the teen years. The system is known to produce the chemical melatonin which causes sleepiness and is secreted from approximately 11 pm in the evening to about 8 am. In essence, the article claims that the teenage brain does not sleep effectively prior to 11 pm and will stay in a sleep mode until 8 am regardless of the time they went to bed (Walhstrom 2002).