Name ______
How to read a scientific article CRITICALLY
Using the article you read prior to class, answer the following questions. Work in groups of two. Each student must submit their own copy of your work no later than Monday, Sept 15th. All work must be in your own words. Work must be submitted via Blackboard.
Please complete this handout on your computer and insert your answers in blue text.
Part 1: Review the introduction.
1. What are the key ideas presented in the intro?
2. What are the author(s)’ objectives in this paper?
3. What vocabulary words or phrases are confusing? How could you find the answers?
Part 2: Review the Methods.
1. What is the general methodology of the experiment?
Part 3: Review the Results.
Figure 1.
1. What is the “official” title for this figure or table (From the caption. Use first sentence of caption)?
2. Provide a simplified, decoded, in regular language, title for this figure or table.
3. What is the specific hypothesis being tested, or specific question being asked in the experiment represented here is?
- If we compare panels A – E in Figure 1, we learn about:
- Overall, what we learn about from this figure is:
- The following issues are of concern for me: (questions, criticisms of methods, questions for authors)
Table 2.
1. What is the “official” title for this figure or table (From the caption. Use first sentence of caption)?
2. Provide a simplified, decoded, in regular language, title for this figure or table.
3. What is the specific hypothesis being tested, or specific question being asked in the experiment represented here is?
4. If we compare individual columns in Table 2, we learn about:
5. Overall, what we learn about from this table is:
6. The following issues are of concern for me: (questions, criticisms of methods, questions for authors)
Figure 2.
1. What is the “official” title for this figure or table (From the caption. Use first sentence of caption)?
2. Provide a simplified, decoded, in regular language, title for this figure or table.
3. What is the specific hypothesis being tested, or specific question being asked in the experiment represented here is?
4. If we compare panels A – C in Figure 1, we learn about:
5. Overall, what we learn about from this figure is:
6. The following issues are of concern for me: (questions, criticisms of methods, questions for authors)
Figure 3.
1. What is the “official” title for this figure or table (From the caption. Use first sentence of caption)?
2. Provide a simplified, decoded, in regular language, title for this figure or table.
3. What is the specific hypothesis being tested, or specific question being asked in the experiment represented here is?
4. Overall, what we learn about from this figure is:
5. The following issues are of concern for me: (questions, criticisms of methods, questions for authors)
Figure 4.
1. What is the “official” title for this figure or table (From the caption. Use first sentence of caption)?
2. Provide a simplified, decoded, in regular language, title for this figure or table.
3. What is the specific hypothesis being tested, or specific question being asked in the experiment represented here is?
4. Overall, what we learn about from this figure is:
5. The following issues are of concern for me: (questions, criticisms of methods, questions for authors)
Part 3: Reread Discussion.
1. What are the authors’ conclusions?
2. Are these conclusions supported by their data?
3. Where could we go from here? What experiments would you like to do next? What research questions could you like to address after reading this paper?