1. Write the reference (author, etc.) for this article in APA style (use format from the APA manual). Be very careful to use lower case letters in the title of the article; only capitalize the first letter of the title and the first letter of the subtitle if there is one (if there is a subtitle it comes after a colon : ). Use italics only for the journal title.
2. Write an “overview” or brief summary of the article. Indicate your assessment of what the study is about and the major findings of the study.
3. According to the introduction, what information was already known about the topic (look for references to previous research)? Did the author(s) describe the problem being studied? Did they present sufficient background literature to allow you to understand the problem better?
4. What variables (e.g. the dependent and independent variables) were studied? What were the hypotheses concerning these variables?
5. What were the operational definitions of the variables studied (e.g., how was each variable or procedure specifically defined so that it could be studied)?
6. Who were the participants in this study? Present any special participant characteristics (race, education status, etc.)?
7. What were the procedures used to test the hypotheses? Were the procedures in the method section detailed enough so that you could complete the study on your own?
8. What were the major results of the study? Were the results consistent with the hypotheses?
9. Describe exactly how the authors list their statistical findings (e.g. t=3.26, p< .01) for the results you described in Question 8. Do not just list the statistic, tell me what the statistic represents.
10. How do the results relate to the other studies cited in the introduction? (Researchers usually include this when the results supported the hypothesis.)
11. What was the researchers’ explanation for the pattern of results they found? (Researchers usually include this when the results do not support the hypothesis, but this article also includes explanation for the pattern of results.) Can you think of alternative interpretations? – Be sure to answer both questions. Please note, “no I cannot think of any alternative interpretations” is not a response.
12. Present all of the study limitations the authors noted.
13. Present all of the future research suggestions the authors suggested. Can you provide other suggestions?
14. How did the researcher practically apply the results? Explain what the researcher(s) said they could do with these results. How are they looking at the bigger picture?
