RESEARCH CONCEPTS FOR HIM - Research Topic/Problem/Question

Evaluating Research

Excerpts from:

Leedy, P. D., & Ormrod, J. E. (2005). Practical research planning and design (8th ed.). Upper Saddle

River, NJ: Pearson.

Reflective Questions to Consider When Evaluating Research

1. In what source did you find the researched article?

2. Does the article have a stated research question or problem? That is, can you determine the

focus of the author’s work?

3. Does the article describe the collection of data, or does is describe and synthesize other studies

in which data were collected?

4. Is the article logically organized and easy to follow? What could have been done to improve it’s

organization?

5. Does the article contain a section that outlines and reviews previous studies on this topic? In

what ways is this previous work relevant to the research problem?

6. If the author explained procedures that were followed in the study, are these procedures clear

enough that you could repeat the work and get similar results? What additional information

might be helpful or essential for you to replicate the study?

7. If data were collected, can you describe how they were collected and how they were analyzed?

Do you agree with what was done? What additional things would you have done if you had

been the researcher?

8. Do you agree with the interpretation of the results? Why or why not?

9. Finally, reflect over the entire article. What is, for you, most important? What do you find most

interesting? What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses of this article? Will you

remember this article in the future? Why or why not? (Leedy & Ormrod, 2005, p.9)

Additional reference for evaluating research in the future:

Pyrczak, F. (2008). Evaluating research in academic journals (4th ed.). Glendale, CA: Pyrczak.