Purpose and content
An article can be written to inform, explain or persuade or it can be written to present new research, to comment on previously published research or to present an author's own point of view.
So you need to decide why was the article written/what is its purpose and ask yourself:
- Was it written to persuade the reader to buy a product or to attend an event?
- Was it written to inform - does it discuss and/or explain the results of a study or experiment?
- Was it written to prove something? For instance, that a particular method does or does not work or that a type of behaviour is good or bad?
In terms of its content does your article have an abstract and/or keywords? This information can help you decide whether it is relevant. An abstract will give you an overview of what the whole article is about and may also indicate any geographical context - is the article related to the UK or does it have a wider more international focus? You should also consider:
- Is the information too basic or too advanced?
- Whether the article has covered the topic in sufficient depth/how useful or applicable is the article?
- Is it written in an academic way? Does the article use emotive words, present evidence/give examples? (See the Academic writing guide)
- Is the article well-presented and structured logically?
Can you identify what are the main argument/important facts? Look at the conclusion as this is where you will quickly find a summary.
- How convincing is the argument? What evidence and methodology have been used?
- What does the article assume?
- How does the article compare with other current theory and research?
- Can you verify the facts presented? Does the article contain citations (in-text) and the full bibliographic details in a reference list?
