Read the methods alongside the claims
Identify the question, design, participants, recruitment and data collection. Note what was measured and how it was analyzed. Ask whether those choices fit the question. Use appraisal criteria suited to the design rather than treating every study as an experiment.
Support each judgment
Point to a specific passage, table or missing explanation. Distinguish something not reported from something not done. Discuss strengths as well as limits, and separate the reported findings from broader claims about practice or other populations.
Example
Invented study and numbers, not a real study or an archive submission.
- Study
- A fictional survey asks 20 volunteers whether flashcards are useful for studying. Sixteen answer yes.
- Supported conclusion
- Most respondents in this small sample reported finding flashcards useful.
- Limit
- The survey does not measure exam performance or compare study methods. It cannot establish that flashcards improve scores.
- Next question
- How were volunteers recruited, and how was usefulness defined? Those details affect how the result can be interpreted.
Review your draft
Check that your critique addresses the assigned study type. Link each evaluation to evidence and explain its consequence. Verify citations, avoid personal judgments about the authors and do not treat a limitation as automatic proof that a study has no value.
Further reading: CASP: appraisal checklists by study design.
Past research-critique requests
Real historical request types, described without student text or files.
- Formal quantitative article critique — June 2021
- Research article critique using a template — June 2021
- Qualitative research critique — March 2021
- Critical appraisal of an original research study — August 2020
Common questions
Does critique mean finding only faults?
No. Explain which choices strengthen the study and which limit confidence or applicability. Support both with evidence from the article.
Do qualitative studies need a control group?
Not by default. Evaluate whether the methods fit the qualitative question and how the researchers support the credibility of their interpretation.