Article review writing

Introduction

The purpose of this document is to help students and researchers understand how review of an
academic journal is conducted and reported in different fields of study. Review articles
in academic journals that analyze or discuss researches previously published by others, rather
than reporting new research results or findings. Summaries and critiques are two ways to write a
review of a scientific journal article. Both types of writing ask you first to read and understand an
article from the primary literature about your topic. The summary involves briefly but accurately
stating the key points of the article for a reader who has not read the original article. The critique
begins by summarizing the article and then analyzes and evaluates the author’s research.
Summaries and critiques help you learn to synthesize information from different sources and are
usually limited to two pages maximum (Duke writing studio, 2007).

Preparing for the Review:

Before You Read the Article consider:

 What does the title lead you to expect about the article?
 Study any sub-headings to understand how the author organized the content.
 Read the abstract for a summary of the author's arguments.

Approach to reading the article

 Problems with the Science: Pay attention to the integrity of the science - not so much
right or wrong because you may not be able to know what will be right or wrong
 Problems with the Presentation:-
Poorly focused: Authors fail to develop their ideas systematically (they need to lead the
reader through their thinking)
Author may fail to be explicit about the logical structure of the study - they fail to specify
goals, hypotheses, testable predictors of the hypotheses and conclusions
For tables and figures, try to interpret the data first before reading the captions and detail.
 Actions to Take

1. Skim the article without taking notes:

 Read the abstract. The abstract will tell you the major findings of the article and why they
matter.
 Read first for the “big picture.”
 Note any terms or techniques you need to define.
 Jot down any questions or parts you don’t understand
 If you are unfamiliar with any of the key concepts in the article, look them up in a
textbook.

2. Re-read the article more carefully:

 Pay close attention to the “Materials and Methods” (please note that in some journals this
section is at the very end of the paper) and “Results” sections.
 Ask yourself questions about the study, such as:
Was the study repeated?
What was the sample size? Is this representative of the larger population?
What variables were held constant? Was there a control?
What factors might affect the outcome?

3. Read the “Materials and Methods” and “Results” sections multiple times:

 Carefully examine the graphs, tables, and diagrams.

 Try to interpret the data first before reading the captions and details.
 Make sure you understand the article fully.

4. Before you begin the first draft of your summary:

 Try to describe the article in your own words first.

 Try to distill the article down to its “scientific essence.”
 Include all the key points and be accurate.
 A reader who has not read the original article should be able to understand your
summary.
5. Write a draft of your summary:

 Don’t look at the article while writing, to make it easier to put the information in your own
words and avoid unintentional plagiarism.
 Refer back to the article later for details and facts.
 Ask yourself questions as you write:
What is the purpose of the study? What questions were asked?
How did the study address these questions?
What assumptions did the author make?
What were the major findings?
What surprised you or struck you as interesting?
What questions are still unanswered?

General Critique

In this section one should state his/her opinions of how well the authors presented and

discussed the research results including interpretations in the article. It should contain

both positive and negative comments with due justification.

Following issues may be addressed:

- Does it build upon the appropriate foundation (i.e. , upon appropriate prior research)?

- Is the approach and execution is correct?

- Confidence with respect to the article’s results, and why?

- Does article throws upon exclusive new ideas?

- What are the article’s shortcomings and limitations?

- Are all important aspects and issues of its domain covered?

- Examine and comment the logic given in the article

 Suggested Format of an article review

uous information.

Illustrative Example for article review

Article Reviewed:

Matthias, M., Sascha, V., & Jonathan, L. (2014). Identifying Customer Requirements for
location-based Services.

The article “Identifying Customer Requirements for location-based Services” by Matthias

Möller, Sascha Vukovic, Jonathan Landgrebe (2014 )aims to explore strategies that can be
effectively used in the early development phase of location-based mobile technologies. They
define location-based services as those providing location-specific information additionally
tailoring it to user characteristics and personal details. Some examples of such services could be
car navigation or tourist tour planning (Schiller & Voisard, 2004). This technology can
significantly reduce user effort in finding information that is specific to his/her current location
and time. Successful implementation of these strategies, according to the authors, could help
companies to adapt customer orientation and to innovate in a way that would best respond to
current needs of the users and achieve higher profits (Zairi & Duggan, 1999).

The article by Möller, Vukovic, and Landgrebe makes an important contribution into our
understanding of the way research can be don’t in the areas, where demand is “sticky”, therefore
the findings will be hard to generalize and to transfer to other areas. The research is further
complicated by the need of service providers to anticipate the needs of the clients rather than to
follow them, therefore it is crucial to ensure that even latent demand is identified and met
(Young & Pagoso, 2008). In order to address both the “stickiness” of demand and the need to
work with customers on formulating product characteristics the authors used Iterative User and
Manufacturer-Based Design introduced by Eric von Hippel (von Hippel, 2005). Bearing this
framework in mind, Möller, Vukovic, and Landgrebe provide readers with a structured approach
to the research question and developed a coherent an logical structure that initiates with problem
definition and discussion and ends with a discussion of the potential research limitations as well
as of some future research areas.

Although the authors critically evaluate their studies in the end of the paper, the limitations
analysis could be further expanded to include some suggestion for further improvement.

Firstly, although the ideas behind Iterative User and Manufacturer-Based Design are extensively
used in the articles, the authors do not elaborate on the alternative methods to develop research
and innovation process as suggested by von Hippel. This could give readers a deeper
understanding of the specific features of location-based services that make it necessary to seek
for new ways to develop research in the field. Furthermore, clear definition of the “sticky” needs
as well as more detailed discussion of the characteristics of sticky demand would facilitate
understanding of the research by the readers, who do not have extensive prior knowledge in the
field. Secondly, there are certain assumptions made in the article that may not necessarily hold
true in the real life. Thus, the article suggests that the fulfilment of attractive and must-be
requirements will necessarily foster profitable relations and lead to customer loyalty. Although
this conclusion seems logical, there are a number of exogenous factors, such as demand elasticity
and the cost of introducing new features that may alter the effect of new characteristics. Thus, if
consumers will have to pay extra for location-based features they may decrease consumptions,
thus lowering profitability.

Several limitation of the research methodology make it hard to generalize the results obtained.
As it is already mentioned in the article, the user sample selected for the experiment consisted of
people, who had technical background and prior experience with location-based services.
Therefore, the results in terms of characteristics desirability must have been rather biased. Thus,
some of the features that are considered a “must have” for sophisticated users may be just
attractive or even indifferent for less experienced ones.
Moreover, new users may value other aspects of the service , such as “buddy service”, therefore
limiting innovation scope to include only the features demanded by users with advanced
technical knowledge may limit the satisfaction of the much wider user group, who have no prior
technical experience. Another point worth consideration is the status of technology used for the
experiment. As the idea of rapid prototyping is to allow users to experience new technology first-
hand, the quality of the offered prototype may be far below that of the final product. Therefore,
initial problems with using the new service may lead to frustration, thus the final customers’
opinions will not reflect the real utility of the final product.

The article could be further improved if the authors developed in greater details the implications
that rapid prototyping and Iterative User and Manufacturer-Based Design may have on the
location-based service industry. In particular, some discussion of the potential replication of the
experiment for other services could help to enhance the value of the article for service providers.
Moreover, some discussion of the dynamism of the industry that makes it hard to draw
conclusions and to develop long-term product development strategies could help to evaluate the
research more critically.

Despite the limitations of the research by Möller, Vukovic, and Landgrebe discussed above the
article makes a significant contribution into the research of location-based services, which can be
used both for further research and for practical application by service providers.

Compiled by: Muhammed Yismaw, Lecturer in Accounting and Finance

Email: muhyis39690@gmail.com