Running head: A CRITIQUE OF A RESEARCH ARTICLE 1

A Critique of a Research Article

Testing the Spill-Over Hypothesis: Meritocracy in
Enrolment in Postgraduate Education
John C. Tacapan
California State University, Long Beach
June 24, 2011



Zimdars case study caught my attention
when I was looking for articles to read and to
critique. It fascinated and intrigued me the most
because of the mixed methods used by the
researcher and the novelty of her approach in
studying an old but crucial issue inherent in
many educational systems around the world.
Specifically, the researcher employed the
sequential exploratory strategy in this case
study. According to Best and Khan (2006),
Plano Clark and Creswell (2010), and
Creswell (2009), the sequential exploratory
strategy involves a first phase of qualitative data
collection and analysis, followed by a second
phase of quantitative data collection and
analysis that builds on the results of the first
qualitative phase. The purpose of this strategy
is to use quantitative data and results to assist
in the interpretation of qualitative findings
(Creswell, 2009). Zimdars effectively and
strategically used this approach to explain the
educational inequity and social stratification
phenomena in different levels of educational
system especially in the postgraduate level.
Oftentimes, we hear the common discourse
that explains how ones experiences in formal
education open the doors of social justice and
equity, and how these experiences break the
cycle of social Darwinism. However, Zimdars
research which was conducted in the United
Kingdoms (UK) prestigious higher education
institutions (HEIs) further validates the fact that
all levels of formal education become
accomplices in perpetuating the hegemonic
culture and social stratification. Corollary to
this, issues on funding and who gets the what
become very problematic. Paradoxically, these
phenomena are more pronounced in higher
education institutions, and this research study
provides the explanation on how these
phenomena play a vital role in UKs HEIs; and
based on the data and information in this case
study, readers could infer how these issues
reflect similar circumstances in other HEIs
around the world especially in the global South.
Even though the researcher of this case
study used a mixed method, which I
conveniently described as a hybrid method, she
followed the conventional format in presenting
her information with slight modifications of
labeling the sections of her study. Basically,
Zimdars divided her case study into the
following sections: introduction, literature review,
hypothesis, data and method which included the
description of the case study and the data,
variables in the analysis, analysis, and
discussion. I found the slight modifications in
arranging the information to be reasonable and
logical because of the hybrid nature of the
research design employed in this case study.
Moreover, I considered the researchers
strategies to be challenging and impressive
because she did not follow the mold prescribed
in the field of research, yet she was able to
present her study in the most logical, novel,
and comprehensible manner.
The Title
The studys title explicitly reflects the
interrelationships between meritocracy and
enrolment in postgraduate education. Also, it
reflects the people and site being studied.
Based on the title of the study, the readers
can infer the people being studied
(postgraduate education students) and the site
of the study (universities); however, it does
not express the specific identity of participants
and universities involved in the study. I found
this strategy as an effective hook in arousing
the readers interest and curiosity to further
read the study in order to discover and
understand the issue at hand. Additionally, by
expressing the title of the study in a brief and
concise manner, the researcher was able to
A CRITIQUE OF A RESEARCH ARTICLE 2

provide the readers with overall conceptual
framework to guide them as they read the
whole report. In fact, the researcher was able
to grab my attention by stating in the title the
hypothesis to be tested. This approach provoked
ones curiosity and heuristic thinking.
The Introduction
In the introductory section, the researcher
explained the role of postgraduate education in
social stratification, and she divulged her
research questions using some conceptual
theories from other researchers. She specifically
asked the following questions: Has the impact
of family that is strong at the early stages of
the educational system (Mare, 1981) become
insignificant at the postgraduate level? Has the
selection point in education shifted and these
factors do actually play a role? Are there
social justice concerns at the transition into
postgraduate education that we need to
address? (p. 2). These questions served as
scaffolds for the readers to further engage with
the text and to assess critically the principal
issues addressed in the article.
It is also interesting to note that in the
same section, the researcher provided the
rationale of the study by expressing directly its
importance. She specifically stated how this
study could contribute to filling the gap in
literature by specifically considering the role of
social background characteristics in postgraduate
enrolment, and how the profile of those enrolled
in postgraduate education could help us
understand the role of postgraduate education in
social stratification. Again, by using another
conceptual model, the researcher presented her
assumption that As undergraduate higher
education becomes more universal, students
may need to embark on postgraduate education
to capture some of the labor market rewards of
higher education (Collins, 1979; Wolf, 2002,
p. 2). These social theories simply validate the
common economic discourse associated with
education. Hence, in the attempt of one group
to break its transgenerational economic and
social status through higher education, HEIs
unwittingly played their role as accomplices in
perpetuating social stratification. In the
introductory section, although it was not stated
explicitly, the researcher provided the readers
with clear purpose and direction.
The Literature Review
In the literature review section, Zimdars
introduced the overarching argument of her
study. She claimed that the UK literature on
educational transitions suggests that the absolute
numbers of students at different levels and
tracks of education is affected by social
background characteristics. She further explained
how enrolment in postgraduate study for
students without significant employment
experience is dependent on surviving previous
branching points in the educational system (p.
3). She further expounded this argument by
alluding to the commonly known experiences in
the educational system that explains the idea
that survival of the branching points is linked to
social background characteristics in complex
ways. In order to strengthen her assertions, the
researcher provided specific pieces of evidence.
She argued that the impact of socioeconomic
status, ethnicity, and gender is particular strong
and affects attainment at school as well as the
decision to stay in or to leave education among
students of the same attainment level (p. 3),
and that those from the most privileged strata
of society have the highest propensity to survive
educational transition points and to be streamed
in the highest ability courses in secondary
schools in countries where streaming occurs
(p. 3). Additionally, she alluded to the social
theory which states that the underlying
mechanisms behind these patterns of advantage
relate to cultural, social, and economic capital
(Boudon, 1974; Bourdieu, 1979; Coleman,
1988, p. 3). Ostensibly, the pieces of
evidence she presented explained how various
social and cultural variables played a significant
role in ones educational and economic mobility.
Interestingly, the researcher logically and
systematically presented theoretical concepts that
served as the bases of her hypotheses.
A CRITIQUE OF A RESEARCH ARTICLE 3

Zimdars identified, defined, and described the
two hypotheses that she wanted to prove or
disprove in her study. The first one was the
maximally maintained inequality hypothesis
(MMI) which argues that the lower social
classes will only benefit from educational
expansion once the middle classes desire for
education has been saturated (Raftery &
Hout, 1993, p. 3), and the spill-over
hypothesis which maintains that the equalization
of opportunities at earlier transitions with
increased participation from students from non-
traditional backgrounds spills over into higher
levels of education, namely university enrolment
and postgraduate study (Johnson, Mills, &
Muller, 1996; Shavit & Westerbeek, 1998, p.
3). These two hypotheses were tested,
analyzed, and interpreted using both the
qualitative and quantitative approaches.
Despite the spontaneity and effectiveness of
rhetorical strategies employed by the researcher,
she also acknowledged the constraint and
challenge embedded in her study. She
maintained that assessing the validity of these
competing hypotheses is difficult as the
expansion of educational opportunities in most
industrialized countries, including the UK, has
been accompanied by a simultaneous process of
institutional stratification with a tier of prestigious
research-led higher education institutions
(HEIs) at the one end and more teaching and
vocational subject-focused HEIs at the other
end of the spectrum (Arum, Gamoran, &
Shavit, forthcoming; Lucas, 2001, p. 3). She
further acknowledged the fact that it is not
sufficient to merely examine the overall increase
in participation, but also to see whether the
type and quality of education students receive
differs by social background characteristics: as
education is partly a positional good it does not
just matter how many years someone has
stayed in school, but also what the quality of
this education has been compared to the peer
group (Boliver, 2006; Brint & Karabel, 1989).
By being open and reflective, the researcher
enhanced her credibility, sincerity, and persona
as a writer.
To further enrich the information in the
literature review section, the researcher claimed
that there is evidence in the UK that returns to
higher education are partly a function of the
type of HEI attended with the graduates from
the most prestigious universities receiving
significant earning premiums. In order to validate
her claims, she also cited another theory which
explained that controlling for attainment, social
class is a strong predictor of application and
acceptance patterns regarding the type of higher
education provider and the type of degree
course selected (Boliver, 2006, p. 4). As a
whole, the literature review focused on the
centrality of idea that students from the higher
social strata proportionately over-apply to the
most prestigious tier of universities the Russel
Group and have a higher chance of gaining
a place than those from working class
background with the same attainment at school.
The Hypotheses
The hypotheses section briefly but effectively
presented the five hypotheses which were
categorized into two major concepts, and each
hypothesis was further expounded by its
subcategories. I found this hierarchical manner
of showing the major and minor topics to be
logical and systematic. The following are the
five hypotheses grouped into two categories:
meritocracy in postgraduate enrolment which
argues that entrance to postgraduate education
is meritocratic with regards to institutional
background; entrance to postgraduate education
is meritocratic with regards to achievement; and
allocation of funding for postgraduate study is
meritocratic with regards to achievement and
institutional background. Additionally, social
stratification and postgraduate study category
showed that as the impact of upbringing and
social background decreases with age and
educational attainment, social class, ethnicity
and gender are not significant predictors of
postgraduate enrolment (spill-over hypothesis);
and postgraduate students joining a given higher
A CRITIQUE OF A RESEARCH ARTICLE 4

education provider from other UK universities will
display the same degree of heterogeneity in
student characteristics as we find at their
undergraduate universities. Unlike in quantitative
studies, the researcher in this case study did
not express the hypotheses either in null form
or in alternative form.
Data and Methods
In the data and methods section, the
researcher focused on description of case study
and data. Zimdars explained straightforwardly
that because of the paucity of statistical
information on postgraduate students, she
utilized a case study approach whereby the
University of Oxford is selected as an example
of a Russel Group institution that is an
important provider of postgraduate education for
British and overseas students. She further
presented and described the three data sources,
namely: purposefully collected data from a
questionnaire administered to the 1,042 UK
postgraduate students who joined Oxford in
2002/2003 (students social background with
social class and education information elicited
for parents or guardians, the students
educational history [including secondary school
and university] and educational attainment as
well as information regarding funding for post
graduate study; longitudinal study of
undergraduate students at Oxford (A
representative sample of 1,929 applicants for
admission to Oxford was surveyed in 2002
[Heath & Zimdars, 2005]), and data supplied
by the Universities and Colleges Admissions
Service (UCAS) regarding the social class,
ethnicity, and type of school profile of
undergraduate students at different HEIs. Using
purposefully collected data from a questionnaire,
longitudinal study data , and data from pertinent
agencies, the researcher was able to establish
credible information from which further analysis
of data and interpretation of results were
based. Furthermore, by identifying and
describing the study and the data, the
researcher was able to provide a clear rationale
and purpose of the study.
Variables in the Analysis
In the variables in the analysis section, a
section that is actually part of another section
in qualitative and quantitative research, the
researcher presented and explained the
independent variables. These independent
variables include the following constructs:
undergraduate degree-awarding institution; and
social class, which was measured using Heath,
Martin, and Berteen (1998) self-completion
version of the Goldthorpe social class schema
(Erikson & Goldthorpe, 1992). Data was
coded using the dominance principle
(professional class highest social class;
working class). The three other constructs are
division, qualification, and ethnicity. Each of
these variables were further described and
analyzed in details. Thus, as a reader, the
classification made by the researcher helped me
visualize clearly the relationship between the
independent variables and the dependent
variables. This style employed by the researcher
somehow reflected the thematic approach of
literature in qualitative research, but Zimdars
made a significant twist in her approach of the
case study without losing the professional and
academic tone of her work while keeping in
mind the schemata of the intended audience.
By using sparingly the technical jargons and by
giving their laymans meaning through
illustrations, parenthetical definition, and specific
examples, the researcher has effectively
maintained the dignity of study and the
objectivity of her narrative.
Analysis
In the analysis section, the researcher
effectively presented the statistical models she
used in order to collect, analyze, and interpret
the data. She only used three statistical
models, namely the frequency count,
percentages, and binary logistic regression.
These models sound simple and basic;
however, in the study, these were used to
analyze complex raw information from the
participants of the study in order to arrive at
valid and credible analysis, interpretation, and
A CRITIQUE OF A RESEARCH ARTICLE 5

conclusion. Using tables and figures, the
researcher was able to present statistical
information that explained how the identified
variables relate with each other and how the
hypotheses were validated or rejected.
Interestingly, the variables in the analysis
section contained the most information. This
section served as the kernel of the case study
where the researcher explained in details the
working hypotheses and the variables; using the
quantitative approach, she analyzed the
information collected using instrumentations of
qualitative study.
Discussions
In the discussions section of this study, the
researcher presented the major findings,
implications, and suggestions for further
research. This section provided answers to the
research questions posed by the researcher at
the introductory part of the study. Thus,
Zimdars found confirmation for the meritocracy
hypothesis with regards to attainment
requirements for postgraduate study and the
allocation of Research Council awards. Another
major finding that I would like to highlight is
that as far as type of school and social class
is concerned, transition rates are higher for
those from already privileged backgrounds.
Moreover, the researcher highlighted the studys
policy implications as the increasing importance
of postgraduate study means that students have
to survive a further transition point in society
(p. 16). Based on the findings, the researcher
suggested that if this transition is a further
point in the educational system where transition
rates advantage the already privileged, this
raises questions about equity in access to
postgraduate study. Moreover, the researcher
opined that it is possible that universities
themselves and national policy could contribute
to increasing equity in transition patterns by
leading socially disadvantaged undergraduate
students into postgraduate education in a
financially aided manner. Finally, the
researcher suggested the need for further
research in order to shed light to the perennial
problem of social stratification and educational
inequity in HEIs especially those which are
identified as national flagship. Thus, these HEIs
ironically and, to a certain extent, deliberately
abandoned their major role to promote equity,
justice, and equality. Apropos to these critical
arguments, the researcher suggested four major
ideas why further research is necessary.
Zimdars noted that
that there is the need for study on
the transition between undergraduate
and postgraduate study in the UK; that
it would be strongly desirable to assess
the transition between undergraduate
and postgraduate education in other
countries to assess whether some
systems are exercise to see whether
HEIs generally prefer their own
graduates in awarding institutional
scholarships; and finally, that future
research should be longitudinal, on a
national or international scale and take
into account the attainment at first
degree, the patterns of applications for
postgraduate study and acceptances and
actual enrolment on postgraduate
courses (pp. 16-17).

Critique of the Writing Style
The researcher was effective in presenting a
history-old issue through a novel landscape.
Using the social justice framework, she was
able to explicate the complex dimensions of
educational inequity in UKs top-tier HEIs in
objective, concise, and emphatic manner.
Obviously, the research design that the
researcher used was a combination of qualitative
and quantitative designs. It was the unique
nature of this case study that motivated me to
critique it because I found the study to be
more critical and challenging than the ones I
previewed.
Understandably, the mixed methods employed
by the researcher gave her the license to
modify slightly the conventional format of
research writing and to add relevant sections in
A CRITIQUE OF A RESEARCH ARTICLE 6

order to adequately address the needs of the
study. One outstanding manifestation of the
hybridity of the researchers approach was her
ability to use effectively both the third person
and first person points of view to report,
explain, describe, and narrate the information to
the audience. Paradoxically in conventional
academic writing, unnecessary shifts in point of
view must be avoided in order to achieve
consistency and to avoid confusions and multiple
interpretations of a single idea; however,
Zimdars effectively used the shifting of points of
view to her advantage. Another evidence of the
mix approaches utilized in this case study was
the use of data collection inherently employed
in qualitative research and the use of statistical
models inherently used in quantitative research.
I was relatively fascinated by Zimdars research
writing ability and skills.
Although the study contains technical
concepts and jargon, the researcher was able
to make the information accessible to readers
who possess certain level of education by
giving definitions, examples, and illustrations;
and by this approach, the researcher was able
to concretize the abstract ideas, especially those
which are related to social sciences and
statistics. By synthesizing the statistical
information in tabular format, the researcher was
able to provide a clear general picture of
information explained statistically in the body of
the text. Apparently, if readers with deep
interest in the single most debatable issue
specifically addressed in the study, and if they
wanted to understand the intricacies of the
methods used in collecting data, analyzing
them, and interpreting them, the readers could
easily refer to the detailed narration and
description of the study.
The logical progression of the information in
all sections of the study definitely increased the
level of its accessibility. On the other hand, I
would say that general readers would have
some difficulties in comprehending the specific
issues or problem discussed in the study
because of the technical theoretical frameworks
alluded to some social scientists and theorists
by the researchers. By making cross-referencing
while reading, however, general readers would
develop their ability to comprehend the whole
picture described in the study. I believe that
the use of some technical jargons was
necessary in order to maintain the academic
and professional tone of the paper.
In terms of syntax, the researcher used
effectively different syntactical structures.
Although many sentences were lengthy, not all
of them were actually compound-complex or
complex sentences. By using appropriately both
pre- and post-modifiers, the researcher was
able to present the ideas clearly. Another
ostensible characteristic of this case study was
the use of proper nouns that refer to
organizations, theories, and hypotheses. Because
of lengthy proper names, the author used their
abbreviated forms in their subsequent
appearance in the study. This strategy helped
the author maintain conciseness and precision
all throughout her writing. Finally, Zimdars
adhered to the APA format of academic and
professional writing in reporting her case study.

References
Best, J. & Kahn, J. (2006). Research
in education. 10
th
Ed. Boston: Pearson.
Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research
design: Qualitative, quantitative, and
mixed methods approaches. 3
rd
Ed. Los
Angeles: Sage.
Plano Clark, V. L. & Creswell, J. W.
(2010). Understanding research: A
consumers guide. Boston: Merrill.
Zimdars, A. K. (2007). Testing the spill-
over hypothesis: Meritocracy in
enrolment in postgraduate education.
Higher Education, 54(1), 1 19.