How to find "cons" and "limitations" in a research article

[gradapplicant15]

We have this assignment where we have to critique a research article for its issues, pros and cons of methodologies, etc. I've found a lot of "pros", but what are considered as "cons" and "limitations"? Is there a website or source that you would recommend that teaches how to find these issues?

Also, I can't tell if the research article is qualitative, quantitative or mixed. It says that open-ended interview questions were asked to participants, but it also says  when results are presented in quantified form, the total number of interviewees sometimes varies between questions". Does this mean it is a mixed methods study?

[rising_star]

This is such a classic homework help post that I'm not even going to delete it. 

[gradapplicant15]

Not even when I have put thought into my questions? K....

[TakeruK]

In general, TheGradCafe isn't a place for homework help, no matter how much thought you put into the questions.

For your situation, you should probably talk to the professor and/or the TA if you are having these problems. For me, learning how to critically analyze research articles was a very foreign concept and I didn't really know how to do it correctly until my second year of graduate school. It just takes a lot of practice and familiarity with the material. So read lots more, listen, ask questions and learn!

[dr. t]

5 hours ago, gradapplicant15 said:

Not even when I have put thought into my questions? K....

You've put so much thought into copying and pasting, the original document's formatting still shows.

[gradapplicant15]

I know that lol. Do you think this is the only place to ask questions? You can all close this thread because my questions have been answered by helpful people on another forum. 

Edited October 4, 2016 by gradapplicant15