Exercise Content

Article Synthesis and Critical Review
Find two scholarly journal articles (describing original research; not a review paper) on a topic of your interest. The two articles should each explore the same topic.

Write a thorough, critical synthesis and comparison of the articles. Include the following sections/information in your paper. You may use this template to help organize your paper: Article Critique Template

1. Introduction, including:
   a) Article topics
   b) Rough background of the literature (across the two articles)
   c) What are the common theoretical frameworks across the two articles? Where do they diverge?
   d) Research questions and hypotheses
2. Briefly compare/contrast the research methods in the two articles, including:
   a) Research design
   b) Sample and sampling method
   c) Identification and measurement of variables
   d) Study procedures
   e) Data collection
3. Summary of the results for each study (limit yourself to 1-2 paragraphs for each study), including:
   a) Interpretation of the findings
   b) Discussion of how the results connect with the research question(s) and hypothesis
   c) Discussion of what the study means in the big picture (how does it apply to society in general?)
4. Critique of each study, including:
   a) Strengths and weaknesses of the study
   b) Discussion of possible flaws in the study and how they are connected to the study design
   c) Discussion of the generalizability of the study (both population and ecological)
5. Synthesis of the commonalities and differences in findings/significance of the two studies
6. Discussion of recommendations for future research, including:
   a) Recommendations to address the identified gaps or flaws in the study
   b) Recommendations that indicate an understanding of research design
7. Conclusion, including:
   a) Summary of the main points of the study
   b) Summary of the critique and recommendations
   c) Discussion of how learning theory relates to the research

Sample Solution