Critique Guidelines

___ 1. Are all the references cited in the text listed in the reference section and vice-versa?
___ 2. Are the text citation formats correct?
___ 3. Are the reference section formats correct?
___ 4. Are the headings correct?
___ 5. Are there style (grammar, usage, etc.) problems?
___ 6. Are there presentation (typing, spelling, etc.) problems?
___ 7. Audience: Is the paper written so that an introductory psychology student could understand it?

___ 1. Does the opening paragraph start strong?
___ 2. Does the introduction begin broadly and then become more focused?
___ 3. Are the hypotheses clearly stated?
___ 4. Does the introduction logically lead you to the hypotheses?
___ 5. Is the structure (outline) of the introduction clear?
___ 6. Is each citation relevant to the development of the hypotheses?
___ 7. Does the study have the potential for making a significant contribution?

___ 1. Are the participants clearly defined?
___ 2. Does the procedure section read like a step-by-step script for the experiment?
___ 3. Is the operational definition of each independent variable clearly presented?
___ 4. Are the dependent variables are clearly defined?
___ 5. Does the research design clearly test the hypotheses?
___ 6. Can you think of any alternative explanations?
___ 7. Does the study raise any ethical issues? If so, how are those problems minimized?

___ 1. Are the results organized as tests of hypotheses?
___ 2. Is each hypothesis tested?
___ 3. Do the hypothetical results match the predictions?
___ 4. Are the proposed statistical analyses appropriate?

       1. Are the Institutional Review Board (IRB) forms included?
___      IRB Cover Sheet
___      IRB Research Summary
___ 2. Is the Informed Consent Form included?
___ 3. Is the Debriefing Statement included?
___ 4. Are all questionnaires, surveys, tests, etc. included?