Questions to ask when evaluating a scientific paper



Some questions to ask when evaluating a scientific paper

Introduction

Does the manuscript clearly explain the question under consideration?

Do you agree that this is an important/interesting question?

Would there have been a better question to ask?

Data

Did they measure the right variables to answer their question?

How good are the data? (quality, precision)

How extensive are the data? (more is usually better)

Is there any evidence that “inconvenient” data were ignored?

If there are weaknesses in the data, how easy would it have been to do better?

Would the collection of more or better data be likely to change the answer?

Analysis

Were there any flaws in the data analysis?

How strong were the results of the analyses?

Were alternative hypotheses evaluated?

Presentation

Were the figures and tables easy to understand?

Were the figures and tables “honest” or were they misleading?

Discussion

Did the discussion go beyond what the data support?

Were alternative explanations considered?

Can you think of alternative explanations that were not addressed?

Do you agree with the logic of the discussion?

Do you agree with the conclusions of the paper?

Do the authors evaluate potential weaknesses of the paper?

Can you think of potential weaknesses that were not addressed?

Does the paper advance our understanding of the field?

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