What is a one-sentence summary of the following article?
Examine the abstract and introduction in detail. Ask yourself the following: How well does the abstract summarize the article, the problem it addresses, its techniques, results, and significance? For example, you might find that an abstract describes a pharmaceutical study's topic and skips to results without discussing the experiment's methods with much detail. Does the introduction map out the article's structure? Does it clearly lay out the groundwork? A good introduction gives you a clear idea of what to expect in the coming sections. It might state the problem and hypothesis, briefly describe the investigation's methods, then state whether the experiment proved or disproved the hypothesis. Most journal articles include a review of existing literature early on and, throughout, cite previous scholarly work. Determine if the sources it references are authoritative, how well its literature review summarizes sources, and whether the sources situate the article in a field of research or simply drop well-known names. If necessary, spend some time perusing copies of the article's sources so you can better understand the topic's existing literature. A good literature review will say something like, "Smith and Jones, in their authoritative 2015 study, demonstrated that adult men and women responded favorably to the treatment. However, no research on the topic has examined the technique's effects and safety in children and adolescents, which is what we sought to explore in our current work." Ask yourself, "Are these methods an appropriate, reasonable means of solving the problem?" Imagine other possible ways of setting up an experiment or structuring an investigation, and note any improvements the authors could have made. For example, you might observe that subjects in medical study didn't accurately represent a diverse population. Decide whether tables, diagrams, legends, and other visual aids effectively organize information. Do the results and discussion sections clearly summarize and interpret the data? Are tables and figures purposeful or redundant? For example, you might find that tables list too much undigested data that the authors don't adequately summarize within the text. For non-scientific articles, decide how well the article presents the evidence that supports its argument. Is the evidence relevant, and does the article convincingly analyze and interpret the evidence? For example, if you're reviewing an art history article, decide whether it analyzes an artwork reasonably or simply leaps to conclusions. A reasonable analysis might argue, "The artist was a member of Rembrandt's workshop, which is evident in the painting's dramatic light and sensual texture." Even if it's meant for a specialized audience, an article's writing style should be clear, concise, and correct. Evaluate style by asking yourself the following: Is the language clear and unambiguous, or does excessive jargon interfere with its ability to make an argument? Are there places that are too wordy? Can any ideas be stated in a simpler way? Are grammar, punctuation, and terminology correct?
Decide how well the abstract and introduction map out the article. Evaluate the article's references and literature review. Examine the methods. Assess how the article presents data and results. Evaluate non-scientific evidence and analyses. Assess the writing style.