Interested in compiling a review of scientific journal articles? Whatever the purpose of writing a review, make sure your criticism is fair, thorough, and constructive. For that, you need to first read the entire article to understand the nuances and outlines of the topic. Once you understand the outline, reread the article in more detail and start writing your comments. Continue the process of understanding the article by evaluating each part, and assessing whether or not each information fulfills the purpose of writing the article. Make sure you also make a thesis or statement that serves to summarize the results of the evaluation, compile a review in the right format, and include specific examples that can support your argument.
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Part 1 of 3: Reading Text Actively
Step 1. Familiarize yourself with the publisher-defined rules
If the review is going to be published, make sure you fully understand the writing rules set by the publisher. Understanding the standards set by powerful publishers helps you evaluate articles and structure reviews in the right way.
- Familiarize yourself with the format and style of writing reviews. This stage is not to be missed if you have never published work with that publisher. For example, the publisher may ask you to recommend a certain article, write a review in a certain number of words, or provide details of revisions that the author needs to make.
- If you have to write a review for academic purposes, make sure you fully understand the writing rules and instructions given by your teacher.
Step 2. Read the article quickly to understand its grand structure
First, read the journal article and try to understand the logic of the writing. In other words, read the title, abstract, and direction of the discussion to get an outline of the structure. At this stage, quickly read the article and identify the various questions or issues that are discussed in the article.
Step 3. Read the article one more time
After doing a quick read, reread the article from start to finish to understand the nuances. At this stage, begin to identify the article's thesis and its main arguments. After that, mark or underline the position of the thesis and the author's argument in the introduction and conclusion of the article.
Step 4. Start taking notes
After reading the whole article, try to evaluate each part in more detail. To make the process easier, try printing out the article and writing down your notes on a copy. If you prefer to work with digital copies, try taking your notes using a digital document application.
- While reading the article for the second time, try to measure whether or not the article is able to answer the main research problem. Try asking, “How important is this research, and is this research able to make a positive contribution to the field of science?
- At this stage, note inconsistent terminology, problems in article formatting, and spelling errors.
Part 2 of 3: Evaluating Articles
Step 1. Determine the quality of the research abstract and introduction
To make a detailed assessment, ask the following questions:
- How good is the abstract ability to summarize articles, research problems, research techniques, research results, and research significance? For example, you may notice that the author's abstract only includes a description of the topic and jumps to conclusions without discussing the research methods used in detail.
- Is the introduction able to be a good foundation for the article? A quality introduction must be able to be a "door" to introduce the next section to the audience. In other words, the introduction section should contain the research problem and the author's initial hypothesis, briefly explain the research method, and state whether or not the research was successful in proving the initial hypothesis.
Step 2. Evaluate the list of references and previous research used by the author
Most scientific journal articles include citations from previous research and other scientific references. Determine whether the author's sources are authoritative; also determine the author's ability to cite sources and whether the sources are simply randomly selected from popular literature or are indeed relevant to the field of study of the article.
- If necessary, take the time to read each research reference used by the author carefully so that you can better understand the topic raised.
- An example of a quality citation of past research is, "Smith and Jones, in their 2015 authoritative study, showed that adult men and women responded positively to the treatment. However, no previous studies have addressed the effects of using these techniques and safety level for children and adolescents. For this reason, the authors decided to raise this topic in this study."
Step 3. Assess the research method used by the author
Try asking yourself, “Is the method appropriate and reasonable to address the research problem listed?” After that, imagine some other research methods that might be chosen; Also note the various developments made by the author throughout the article.
For example, you may notice that the subjects used in a medical study are not able to accurately represent population diversity
Step 4. Pay attention to the way the author presents the data and the results of his research
Determine whether tables and diagrams with their descriptions, as well as other visual data are able to present information in a neat and organized manner. Are the results of research and discussion of articles able to summarize and interpret the data clearly? Are the tables and figures included useful or distracting?
For example, you may find that the table listed contains too much raw data that is not explained further in the text
Step 5. Evaluate the author's non-scientific evidence and analysis
For non-scientific articles, determine how well the author is capable of providing evidence to support his argument. Is the evidence provided relevant? In addition, is the whole article able to analyze and interpret the evidence well?
For example, if you have to review an article on the history of art, determine whether the article is able to analyze a work of art well or jump to conclusions right away? Reasonable analysis will most likely argue, “The artist once attended a class held by Rembrandt. This fact explains why the coloring patterns in the painting are so dramatic and the textures so sensual.”
Step 6. Assess the writing style of the article
Even if the article is intended for a specific audience, the writing style should still be clear, straightforward, and precise. Therefore, try to evaluate the writing style of the article by asking the questions below:
- Is the language used clear and unambiguous? Or does the author use too much jargon which ultimately reduces the quality of his argument?
- Are there sentences or paragraphs that are too wordy? Can some ideas be shortened and simplified?
- Are your grammar, punctuation and terminology correct?
Part 3 of 3: Making a Review
Step 1. Create a review outline
Read the results of your evaluation again. After that, try to make a suitable thesis, and develop a review framework that can support the thesis. Include specific examples of the strengths and weaknesses of the articles you noted on the evaluation sheet.
- The thesis and supporting evidence you provide should be constructive and thoughtful. Therefore, make sure you also provide alternative solutions to boost the weakness of the article.
- One example of a constructive thesis is, “This article shows that under specific demographic conditions, drugs work better than placebo pills. However, it is necessary to conduct further research with a more diverse sample of subjects in the future.”
Step 2. Compose the first draft of the review
Once you've defined your thesis and created a review outline, start crafting your review. Although the structure of writing a review really depends on the rules of the publisher, at least you can follow these general rules:
- The introductory section should contain a brief summary of your article and thesis.
- The body section should contain specific examples that can support your thesis.
- The conclusion section should contain a summary of your reviews, theses, and suggestions for further research in the future.
Step 3. Revise the draft review before uploading
After compiling the first draft of your review, make sure you check for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. Position yourself as a lay reader and try to evaluate your own reviews. Is your review fair and balanced? Have the examples listed been successful in supporting your argument?
- Make sure your review is clear, straightforward, and logical. If you mention that the journal article is too wordy, make sure that your review is not filled with unnecessary words, terms, and sentences.
- If possible, enlist the help of someone who understands the topic of the journal article to read a draft of your review and provide constructive feedback.
