Analysis of Peer Reviewed Journal Article Worksheet
Purpose: Learn how to critically read and analyze peer reviewed literature in the scientific community. Your analysis will also include learning how to appropriately reference and cite materials.
A. Identify the title of your journal article.
B. Write out the APA citation for your assigned/selected journal article.
Section 2: Identifying the Purpose/Hypothesis/Aims of the Study?
A. Quote the authors stated hypothesis/purpose for the study. Please include the page number and paragraph where you found the information.
B. Describe the purpose of the study (as you understand it) in your own words.
C. What ‘gap’ in the research/field were the authors were trying to address by doing their study?
Section 3: What are the Paramount Discoveries of the Study?
A. Make some notes about the authors’ major conclusions or findings as written in the article.
B. Now write those conclusions (as you understand them.
Section 4: Analyzing the Methodology
A. Briefly summarize the main steps or measurements that the authors used in their methods. Try to explain in your own words as much as possible.
B. Do the authors suggest any problems or limitations with their methodology? Do you see any problems or limitations with their methodology?
C. How did the authors analyze their data? What test/s did they use?
Section 5: Reliability of Results
A. Do the authors suggest any problems with the study that could lead to unreliable results?
Section 6: Your Interpretation of the Author’s Claims
A. Do the conclusions made (about the results) by the author make sense to you? Are the conclusions too broad or too narrow based on what was actually done in the study?
B. Based on the accuracy of the methodology and the reliability of the results as described in Steps 3 and 4, do you think the conclusions can be believed?
Section 7: Analysis of Article Importance
A. Write (in your own words) the significant contributions of the experimental work in this journal article as reported by the authors.
B. Re-read your notes and explain why you think this is
a strong or weak scientific article
a strong or weak scientific study
1. Using synonyms different word choices.
Original: “Optimizing peak bone mass during the early years is thought to be a key factor in preventing osteoporosis later in life.”
Paraphrase: One important way to prevent osteoporosis is to build bone mass while you are young (1).
2. change the order and structure of sentences.
Original: “However, as the consequences of osteoporosis are not immediately evident, many young adults do not perceive themselves as being at risk; as a result, many young adults will therefore not practice preventative lifestyle habits such as participating in weight-bearing physical activity or consuming adequate amounts of calcium and vitamin D.”
Paraphrase: Few young adults exercise and take vitamins to prevent osteoporosis, because the effects of the disease are not visible until later in life and they are not aware of that they may be at risk (1).
3. change the perspective or voice.
Original: We found that environmentally friendly products are being purchased more often by consumers.
Paraphrase: Researchers have shown that consumers are increasingly opting to buy products that are environmentally-friendly.
4. preserve the author’s meaning or intent (Check and compare, Did you get the ideas right?, Underline any words echoed directly from the source)
5. cite the source accurately (put the citation immediately where the paraphrase occurs)
