Research is a way to advance a field so it is imperative to gain skills on critiquing
articles. Hopefully you’ve found that reading empirical articles is becoming easier
with the skills you have gained throughout this course. One important thing to
examine is operational definitions – how did the researcher quantify or examine
the variables of interest? For instance, my research is in biological psychology. I
enjoy measuring cortisol, neurotransmitter levels, and physiological responses like
heart rate or EEG. Others prefer likert-based scales and surveys. But, is the survey
based on state (current) or trait (enduring) qualities? There are many options out
there, which is why it is important to carefully evaluate articles when reading
them. Target population is also important. If a study was conducted in a different
culture, how might that inform your study?
Additionally, you may be finding that a lot of the research articles go beyond what
we’ve covered in class. There are numerous research designs and statistical
analyses, and we simply will not cover them all (even after having PSYC 515).
However – be assured you are developing the foundation necessary to understand
these studies, and with this knowledge base and some additional inquiry, I have
no doubt you can now better critically evaluate research as we continually strive
to be truth-seekers.
