Originally published in the Learning and Teaching weekly newsletter (internal publication) at Saskatchewan Polytechnic.
Conducting a literature search can leave you feeling overwhelmed by the large number of results. You enter your keywords into a library database to conduct a search, hoping to find relevant articles, but instead retrieve 1,000s of articles, news items, videos, images, etc. that you have to sift through to find the perfect resources. When this process involves research literature, you wonder how you will be able to determine what is a trusted, authoritative source of information? That is where critical appraisal or critical thinking comes in. Continue reading to learn more about how you can find the good stuff.
Your search string is the first step in finding materials effectively
and efficiently.
- What do you want to learn more about?
- What keywords can you string together to improve relevancy?
- What limitations can you add to focus your search?
Don’t be afraid to use the suggestions. For example, if you
are looking for post-secondary content, and the database suggests “post-secondary
education or post secondary education or college or university or universities”
use it or adjust as appropriate. If the date of an item matters, limit your
search to a particular date range. Brainstorm the topic. Better yet, contact
the library for assistance. They have many tips and tricks that can help you
become a super searcher.
Once you have completed your search string, quickly scan the
materials, starting with the title. Does the title give any clues about its
usefulness? If you are looking for a post-secondary article on education in
Canada; titles that mention K12 education in Australia can immediately be
skipped. Your next step is to review the keywords used by the author or supplied
by the publisher. If the article looks promising, review the abstract,
introduction and conclusion for alignment with your own argument, thesis
statement or hypothesis. Revision of your search strategy may be necessary at
several points within this process. The most important takeaway is that
research is an iterative process. It may surprise you to know that library
staff adjust their searches many times before they perfect their search string.
Once you have fully explored the search process, select the articles
that you wish to thoroughly read and review. One option is to quickly read an
article for content (keep or delete), and then follow up with further
investigation. This is where critical appraisal comes in. Critical appraisal is
the process of assessing and interpreting research evidence for relevance,
validity, reliability, and applicability. Critical appraisal is reliant on a
balanced assessment of both the research process, as well as the results
presented in the paper. Here are a couple of examples:
- is the research rigorous?
- have the author(s) outlined all of the potential limitations of research?
- do the results seem likely based on the research process?
Critical appraisal means that you are deciding which works
to include after you have completed a thorough analysis. Remember, you are the
best judge of what you need, and what you are looking for, so concentrate on tweaking
your search string to narrow the focus of your results. Capture the key points
and then synthesise that information into your work.
Critical analysis also applies more broadly to the concept
of critical thinking. Grigg (n.d.) notes that critical thinking “is about
problem-solving, problem-posing, developing sound arguments and simply, making
good decisions. In turn, [critical
thinking] pedagogy is about developing teaching strategies that deepen the
quality of our students’ capacities for sound reasoning across the curriculum”
(para. 1). In other words, critical analysis of research literature can be
applied to pedagogy. Think about how you can help students to explore topics of
interest, seek evidence that supports their argument and will further develop
their academic writing and presentation skills (Grigg, n.d.).
Want to learn more about critical analysis – check out the Search Skills
research guide.
References and Recommended Further Reading
Grigg, L.
(n.d.) Critical thinking pedagogy in the classroom: Dr. Lance Grigg [Blog
post]. University of Lethbridge. https://www.ulethbridge.ca/education/story/4082#:~:text=In%20short%2C%20CT%20is%20about,Dr
Saint Mary’s University. (2018, May 7). Critical
analysis guide. https://studio.smu.ca/ac-resources/critical-analysis-guide
Saskatchewan Polytechnic Library.
(n.d.). Search skills [Library research guide]. https://saskpolytech.libguides.com/searchskills/select
Western University. (2012, Apr 12). How
to read a scholarly article [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SmOq6gENPM&feature=youtu.be
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