How to Write a Critical Review?
(Summarize a Research Article)
Overview
When writing a critical review of an article, you will need to summarize, evaluate, and offer critical comment on the ideas and information that the author(s) presents in the article.
Research / scientific articles are highly structured to make information easy to find. The research article usually has the following sections: Title Page, Abstract, Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, References, and Tables / Figures.
Your goal should be to read and understand the article, analyze the findings or arguments, and evaluate and comment on the article.
Reading the Article
• Allow enough time to understand it.
• Read the article without taking notes to gain an overall idea of its main idea.
• Identify:
-- the research question (usually stated in the Abstract and Introduction)
-- the hypothesis(es) (usually in the Introduction)
-- the test of the hypothesis (in the Methods)
-- the findings (in the Results, including tables and figures)
-- how the findings were interpreted (in the Discussion)
• Read the article again analytically and make notes of main ideas and main topic. Highlight important ideas and make brief notes.
• Read the article in depth again.
Ask yourself these questions:
-- What is interesting about this information?
-- How does the author(s) support the hypothesis?
-- What is the main aim of the article?
-- Is the article timely?
-- Is the argument / thesis convincing? Is the evidence valid?
-- How does the study design address the thesis?
-- What are the controls for each experiment?
-- Is the methodology appropriate? Any weaknesses?
-- Are the results convincing? Is it comprehensive and through?
-- What questions remain unanswered? Anything omitted?
-- Are the findings presented and described clearly and fully?
-- Could the data be interpreted in another way?
-- How does the article contribute to the field? Does it make an original contribution to the field?
-- How
Overview
When writing a critical review of an article, you will need to summarize, evaluate, and offer critical comment on the ideas and information that the author(s) presents in the article.
Research / scientific articles are highly structured to make information easy to find. The research article usually has the following sections: Title Page, Abstract, Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, References, and Tables / Figures.
Your goal should be to read and understand the article, analyze the findings or arguments, and evaluate and comment on the article.
Reading the Article
• Allow enough time to understand it.
• Read the article without taking notes to gain an overall idea of its main idea.
• Identify:
-- the research question (usually stated in the Abstract and Introduction)
-- the hypothesis(es) (usually in the Introduction)
-- the test of the hypothesis (in the Methods)
-- the findings (in the Results, including tables and figures)
-- how the findings were interpreted (in the Discussion)
• Read the article again analytically and make notes of main ideas and main topic. Highlight important ideas and make brief notes.
• Read the article in depth again.
Ask yourself these questions:
-- What is interesting about this information?
-- How does the author(s) support the hypothesis?
-- What is the main aim of the article?
-- Is the article timely?
-- Is the argument / thesis convincing? Is the evidence valid?
-- How does the study design address the thesis?
-- What are the controls for each experiment?
-- Is the methodology appropriate? Any weaknesses?
-- Are the results convincing? Is it comprehensive and through?
-- What questions remain unanswered? Anything omitted?
-- Are the findings presented and described clearly and fully?
-- Could the data be interpreted in another way?
-- How does the article contribute to the field? Does it make an original contribution to the field?
-- How