Critiquing frameworks allow readers to make an informed decision about the validity of the study. While it is feasible to analyze a piece of research without them, frameworks serve as valuable aide-memoires for people who are unfamiliar with research criticism. They help researchers identify important issues in studies that may not be apparent without such guidance. Frameworks can be divided up into six categories: theoretical frameworks, analytical frameworks, review frameworks, methodological frameworks, empirical frameworks. Theoretical frameworks describe what causes certain phenomena, such as social change or public opinion trends. Analytical frameworks aid researchers in identifying patterns among data, allowing them to more easily compare results from different studies or surveys. Review frameworks provide guidelines for evaluating the quality of literature reviews or other types of academic papers. Methodological frameworks guide scientists through the process of conducting a study by providing criteria for selecting measures, samples, analyses, and so on. Empirical frameworks show how previous findings relate to current events or new data, helping researchers understand why things happen how they do. Each category includes several different framework types. For example, analytical frameworks often include meta-analyses, which are statistical methods used to combine the results of multiple studies that examine the same topic. Review frameworks tend to focus on highlighting weaknesses in existing studies rather than providing detailed instructions on how to conduct a new one.