The evaluation must address the following topics, at a minimum:
Purpose and Argument
How well is the purpose made clear in the introduction through background/context and thesis statement(s)?
Explain how well the abstract represent and summarize the article’s major points and argument?
How well does the objective of the experiment/study fill a need for the field?
How well is the argument/purpose articulated and discussed throughout the body of the text?
How well does the discussion maintain cohesion?
Presentation/Organization of Information
How appropriate and clear is the title of the article? How could it be changed to better prepare the reader for its contents?
Where could the author have benefited from expanding, condensing, or omitting ideas?
How clear are the author’s statements? Challenge ambiguous statements.
What underlying assumptions does the author have, and how does this affect the credibility or clarity of their article?
How objective is the author in their discussion of the topic?
How well does the organization fit the article’s purpose and articulate key goals?
Methods
How appropriate are the study design and methods for the purposes of the study?
How detailed are the methods being described? Is the author leaving out important steps or considerations?
Have the procedures been presented in enough detail to enable the reader to duplicate them?
Data
Scan and spot-check any calculations. Are the statistical methods appropriate?
Do you find any content repeated or duplicated?
How many errors of fact and interpretation does the author include? (You can check on this by looking up the references the author cites.)
What pertinent literature has the author cited, and have they used this literature appropriately?
