Critical Research Review

Students should identify the research question and the independent and
dependent variables, and then evaluate how those variables are conceptualized and
operationalized, the data and methods used by the researcher(s), the findings and
implications of the study, and any limitations based on choice of research design and
methods. Students should focus on the advantages and disadvantages to the ways in which
the researcher has structured the study and the implications of the choices the researcher
has made on the validity and generalizability of the findings. For the quantitative CRR,
students should dedicate at least a few sentences toward interpreting the table(s), paying
particular attention to the main values that the author is interested in.
Importantly, the CRR should NOT read like a summary of the article (i.e., you can assume
the reader is familiar with the article), but rather a critique (positive and/or negative) of
choices in methods and research design. For example, how well do the methods used
actually test the hypothesis (or hypotheses)? How well does the author’s evidence support
his/her main argument? What might be some limitations of the evidence? What are some
future avenues for research? Having read the article, does any question come to mind that
you would like to test or see tested? Tip: Where applicable, it is often helpful to read the
abstract, introduction, and conclusion before reading through the theory, methods and
results