Evaluate the quality of evidence in each of the studies. This includes evaluating for risk of bias. Determine if the study relates to your research question.
Critical Reading
When reading critically, focus on the purpose of your literature review:
- Think about what you expect from the article or chapter, before reading it
- Skim the abstract, headings, conclusion, and the first sentence of each paragraph
- Take notes as you read and start to organize your review around themes and ideas
- Consider using a table, matrix or concept map to identify how the different sources relate to each other
Analyzing your sources
Consider the following criteria:
- Relevance - Is the article relevant to your topic? Is the research methodology comprehensively described?
- Currency - Is the source up-to-date? Does it consider the latest research on your topic?
- Reliability - Is the source peer-reviewed? How reputable is the source and what is its impact factor?
- Authority - Is the author from a reputable institution? Have you seen the author cited in other sources?
- Provenance - Are the author's arguments supported by evidence (primary material, case studies, narratives, statistics, recent findings)?
- Persuasiveness - Which of the author's arguments are most/least convincing?
- Objectivity - What is the purpose of the article and its intended audience? Is contrary data considered or is certain pertinent information ignored to prove the author's point? Can you detect any bias in the content?
- Accuracy - Does the data support the conclusions drawn? Is the article properly referenced?
- Value - Are the author's opinions and conclusions convincing? Does the work ultimately contribute in any significant way to an understanding of the subject?
