Chapter 15 – Putting It All Together

In the final chapter of this book, we come to the point of looking at a research article as a whole, bringing together the most important considerations to the table. Using the evaluation questions and examples in this chapter, the consumer of research can assess key aspects of a research report: the importance of the problem being investigated, reflexivity of the researchers in explaining the study and its methods and findings, whether the authors present the study in a coherent way, whether its flaws are inevitable and forgivable, whether the study contributes to a better understanding of how things work and inspires further research on the issue, whether it leads to important implications for decision-makers, and whether it adds value. Finally, the question that pulls it all together is a personal one: whether you, as a reader of the research report, would want to be part of the team that worked on the study.