Research Analysis Paper: How to Analyze a Research Article [2024]

Do you need to write a research analysis paper but have no idea how to do that? Then you’re in the right place.

While completing this type of assignment, your key aim is to critically analyze a research article. An article from a serious scientific journal would be a good choice. You can analyze and interpret either quantitative or qualitative research.

Below, you’ll find a how-to guide on research analysis paper writing prepared by our experts. It contains outlining and formatting tips, topics, and examples of research articles analysis.

🔎 How to Analyze a Research Article

This analysis will be beneficial for you since it develops your critical thinking and research skills. So, let us present the main steps that should be undertaken to read and evaluate the paper correctly.

Now, let’s figure out what an analysis paper should include. There are several essential elements the reader should identify:

• logical reasons for conducting the study;
• the description of the methodology applied in the research;
• concise and clear report of the findings;
• a logical conclusion based on the results.

You can use free paper samples for college students before you work with your own writing to get a feel of how the analyzing process goes.

Step 1: Scan the Paper

First, briefly look through the found paper and evaluate whether it’s appropriate for your research. Scanning helps you to start the content analysis and get the general idea of the study.

To scan the paper effectively, follow these simple steps:

1. Get familiar with the title, abstract, and introduction. Carefully read these parts and make sure you got the author’s point.
2. Read the headings of each section and sub-section. But don’t spend time to get familiar with the content.
3. Look through the conclusions. Check the overall one and the last sentence of each section.
4. Scan the references. Have you read any of these sources before? Highlight them and decide whether they are appropriate for your research or not.

Have you completed these steps of your research paper’s critical analysis? Now, you should be able to answer these questions:

1. What kind of a paper is it (qualitative research, quantitative research, a case study, etc.)?
2. What is the research paper topic? How is it connected to your subject of study?
3. Do you feel like the findings and the conclusions are valid?
4. How can the source contribute to your study?
5. Is the paper clear and well-written?

After completing this step, you should have a clear image of the text’s general idea. Also, here you can decide whether the given paper is worth further examination.

Step 2: Examine the Content

The next step leads to a deeper understanding of the topic. Here, again, you can try the following course of action to take the maximum benefit from the evaluation of the source.

1. Find the author’s thesis. A thesis statement is usually the last sentence of the introduction (or several sentences). It is an essential part of the paper since it reflects the author’s main point. Make sure you determined the thesis statement and understood it.
2. Consider the author’s arguments. How does the author support his position? What are the key arguments they present in their research paper? Are they logical? Evaluate whether the points are clear and concise enough for any reader to get. Do they support the author’s thesis?
3. Check the evidence. Try to find all the proof provided by the writer. A successful research paper should have valid evidence for every argument. These can be statistics, diagrams, facts taken from documentaries or books, experiments hold by researchers, etc.
4. Determine the limits of the study. An author is supposed to set limits to avoid making their research too broad. Find out what are the variables the writer relied on while determining the exact field of study. Keep them in mind when you decide whether the paper accomplished its goals within limits.
5. Establish the author’s perspective. What position does the author take? What methods are applied to prove the correctness of the writer’s point? Does it match with your opinion? Why/ why not?

Sometimes, even after the second step of evaluation, the writer’s perspective is not evident. What to do in this case? There are three scenarios:

1. Stop investigating the paper and hope that you will not need it for your research.
2. Read some background information on the given topic. Then, reread the paper. This might help you to comprehend the general idea.
3. Don’t give up and move on to the next step of the evaluation.

Step 3: Check the Format and Presentation

At this stage, analyze the research paper format and the general presentation of the arguments and facts. Start with the evaluation of the sentence levels. In the research paper, there should be a hierarchy of sentences. To trace the research paper structure, take a look at the tips:

1. First-level sentences. They include only general statements and present the ideas that will be explored further in the paper.
2. Middle-level sentences. These sentences summarize, give a narrower idea, and present specific arguments.
3. Deep-level sentences. They contain specific facts and evidence that correspond to the arguments stated in middle-level sentences.

Your research paper analysis should also include format evaluation. This task might be challenging unless you have the formatting style manual open in front of your eyes.

Figure out what citation style the author applied and check whether all the requirements are met. Here is a mini checklist you have to follow:

Step 4: Critique & Evaluate

This step requires attention to every detail in the paper. Identify each of the author’s assumptions and question them. Do you agree with the author’s evidence? How would you support the arguments? What are your opinions regarding the author’s ideas?

For starters:

Try to re-implement the entire paper from your perspective and see how your version differs from the initial work. This trick will help you to determine the strong and weak sides of the work.

Then, move on to criticism. An effective way to evaluate a research paper consists of asking the right questions and assessing the crucial aspects, like:

1. The author’s objective and whether it was reached. Did you get the author’s main idea? Did the writer reach their aim and explain the arguments in great detail? Remember that even if the reader is not majoring in the study field, they should understand the objective. Is there something that remained unclear for you? In your opinion, what is the cause of your inability to comprehend the material?
2. The role in the broader context. Make sure the author’s arguments and evidence sound adequately in the larger context. Do the writer’s ideas contradict social norms. If so, why? Also, check the sources the author uses for their research. Make sure they are reliable and not outdated.
3. Grammar and organization. A professional research paper should not contain any mistakes. Make sure the text is flawless regarding grammar and structure. The ideas have to follow the logical flow; the tone should be academic; the paper should include transitions, summaries should be on point (which is easier to achieve with the help of a paper summarizer) and so on.
4. What the reader learns. The primary aim of an author is to deliver useful information to the reader. Did you, as a reader, find some new insights? Were they relevant and valuable? Consider whether you’ve read something similar before and how the data fit within limits set by the author.

✅ Research Analysis Paper: Key Questions

As you can see, the task requires a lot of time and effort. That is why we’ve prepared a list of questions you should ask while analyzing a research paper. Use them as a ground for critical reading and evaluation.

Research Article Analysis Topics

1. Research article analysis: Using Evidence-Based Practice to Prevent Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia.
2. Critical analysis of Seligman’s research article on post-traumatic stress disorder.
3. Analyze the article on the role of interprofessional communication in healthcare.
4. Examine the articles on the controversy of stem cell research.
5. Write a critical analysis of a research article on abortion.
6. Discuss a research article on nursing and proactive care program.
7. Analyze a quantitative research article on the efficiency of methods used in nursing education.
8. Critical analysis of the research article on the role of environmental biology.
9. Analysis of the articles about primary quantitative and qualitative research.
10. Evaluate Goeders and Guerin’s research on the connection between stress and drug use.
11. Study Angela F. Clark’s research article on the efficacy of a nursing education program.
12. Analyze the research article by Park, Nisch, and Baptiste examining the connection between immigrants’ mental health and the length of stay in the United States.
13. Discuss the scholarly articles researching the connection between obesity and depression.
14. Analysis of nursing research article on level of education.
15. Write a critical analysis of the scholarly article The Effect of Nurse Staffing on Patient Safety Outcomes.
16. Examine a recent research article on spinal cord injuries.
17. Analyze Ronald F. Wright’s research article examining the specifics of jury selection.
18. Study the article by McConnell et al. on the impact of domestic animals on human well-being.
19. Critical evaluation and analysis of the article on ethics and informed consent in research.
20. Analysis of a research article on preventing hospital falls.
21. Write an analysis of the research article studying the challenges of implementing research findings into practice in nursing.
22. Examine the article on the thrombosis process by Bruce Furie and Barbara C. Furie.
23. Analyze Mendenhall and Doherty’s research on a new diabetes management approach.
24. Qualitative research article critique.
25. Critical analysis of a research article on the effectiveness of drug round tabards.
26. Discuss quantitative research about the barriers to electronic commerce implementation.
27. Study the article Health Information Source Use by Jessica Gall Myrick and Michael Hendryx.
28. Analyze a research article by Lengyel et al. That studies the amount of sugar in school breakfast.
29. Write a critical analysis of the research studying the quality of pain management.
30. Examine the research article The Mental Health of Indigenous Peoples in Canada by Sarah E Nelson and Kathi Wilson.
31. Analysis of the article Development of a Proactive Care Program.
32. Study the article on nursing REST: Break Through to Resilience by Rajamohan et al.
33. Critically analyze the research article Quality Management in Healthcare: The Pivotal Desideratum.
34. Examine and interpret the academic article In Defense of the Randomized Controlled Trial by Rosen et al.
35. Write an analysis of a research article Cardiovascular Changes Resulting from Sexual Activity by Bispo, De Lima Lopes, and De Barros.
36. Study the topicality and consistency of Dillner’s article Obstetrician Suspended After Research Inquiry.
37. Critical analysis of research article on nosocomial pneumonia.
38. Discuss the methods used by Johanna Brenner in her research on intersections and class relations.
39. Analyze the research article by Ansari et al. examining the connection between type 2 diabetes and environmental factors.
40. Analysis of research article Nurses’ Perceptions of Research Utilization in a Corporate Health Care System.
41. Examine the importance of the research Effectiveness of Hand Hygiene Interventions in Reducing Illness Absence.
42. Analyze and interpret the article on the toolkit for postgraduate research supervisors by E. Blass & S. Bertone.
43. Discuss the utility and credibility of K. Than’s article A Brief History of Twin Studies.
44. Write a critical analysis of the article researching the current US gun policy and its effect on the rates of gun violence cases.
45. Analysis of articles on evidence-based prevention of surgical site infections.
46. Examine the research article Nurses’ Knowledge about Palliative Care by Etafa et al.
47. Analyze the research conducted by Sandelowski et al. on the stigmatization of HIV-positive women.
48. Discuss the theoretical framework and methodology of a research article on psychological studies.
49. Analysis of a research article about sports and creatine.
50. Study the presentation of research findings in the scholarly article Leadership Characteristics and Digital Transformation.

Congrats! Now you know how to write a research paper analysis. You are welcome to check out our writing tips available on the website and save a ton of time on your academic papers. Share the link with your peers who may need our advice as well.

🔗 References

1. An Introduction to Critical Analysis of Publications in Experimental Biomedical Science, the Research Paper in Basic Medical Sciences: K. Rangachari, modified by D.J. Crankshaw, McMaster University Honours Biology & Pharmacology Program
2. Critical Analysis Template: Keiran Rankin and Sara Wolfe, the Writing Centre, Thompson Rivers University
3. How to Read a Paper: S. Keshav, David R. Cheriton, School of Computer Science, the University of Waterloo
4. How to Read a Research Paper: School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University
5. Reading Research Effectively, Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper: Research Guides at the University of Southern California