Psychologists are often called upon to evaluate published research. We may do this to obtain a good overview of the field when we are planning research. We also evaluate published research when we prepare an introduction to a research report. We must place our study in the context of previous research and this requires a careful evaluation of the literature. There are typically three types of articles that you will encounter: reports of empirical studies, literature reviews/meta-analyses, and theoretical articles. This workshop focuses on research reports.

A good evaluation identifies both strengths and weaknesses. Our task is not to find the "hidden flaw" in a study but to provide a balanced summary of the study. It is also important to keep in mind that we evaluate how well the study's authors achieved their goal. Researchers do not have to study what we are interested in; they study what they want to know. We evaluate whether they did a good job meeting their goals.

Why Is This Important?
Good research is never done in a vacuum. When we are planning a study, we rely on theory, previous research, and the good ideas and suggestions of our colleagues. Being able to critically evaluate the published literature is an important part of doing research.