Skip to Main Content

Critical reading for evaluation requires readers to make a judgement about a text’s strengths and weaknesses. In reading to evaluate, readers must look at published writing with a critical eye to gauge its trustworthiness. Reading to evaluate a text’s strengths, weaknesses, and overall credibility means engaging in a three-step process of pre-reading, reading, and forming the evaluation.

Step 1: Pre-Reading

To begin evaluating a text during the pre-reading process, you can scan the title, abstract, publication information, headings, and reference list to gather your first impressions on the credibility of the text. Ask yourself questions like these:

Who is the Author?

If you are unfamiliar with an author, you can do a simple Internet search to learn more about their background. Then, use your critical thinking skills to help determine the author’s credibility.

Who is the Publisher?

Determine the journal or publisher by locating the publication information, usually found in the library database and/or title page of the article. Peer-reviewed sources are preferred. In general, choose scholarly journal articles over other types of sources. 

When Was the Work Published?

Fields develop and change, some more rapidly than others. For fields in which change is rapid, a researcher must rely on the most current sources. 

Does the Author Include a Reference List or Bibliography?

Examining the references should tell you whether the subject was well researched.

Pre-Reading Recap:

During the pre-reading step, you might determine that the text is not worth reading because it is clearly biased, authored by someone who is not credible in your field, or out of date. If you decide to read it, continue with the next step below.

Step 2: Reading

Once you have decided to commit to a text, your next step is to read it with a critical eye. During this step, pay close attention to the argument and the evidence used to support that argument. Ask yourself questions like these:

  • Has the author communicated clearly and organized the text well? You might look for logical connections between topics, clear sentences, and use of headings to organize the work.
  • Is the author effectively writing to their audience? For example, is the language and tone appropriate? 
  • Does the evidence support the conclusions that are drawn? In other words, has the author interpreted the evidence correctly? Are there other interpretations that could be made?
  • Does the author present and address a counterargument?
  • Has the author made unreasonable assumptions?
  • Has the author allowed bias to influence their work?
  • Was the research method appropriate, or would another method have been more effective?
  • Was the sample size sufficient? How generalizable are the findings?  
  • What were the limitations in this study (both the ones disclosed by the author and ones that you see as a critical reader)?
  • Could the evidence be flawed due to how the study was conducted?

Step 3: Forming the Evaluation

The final step is to form your evaluation based on the judgments you made as you were reading. This exercise is a short one that may not always end up in a paper or dissertation chapter, but it is essential, as it ensures that you have carefully considered your sources’ credibility.

Questions to Form an Evaluation

  • What is your overall evaluation?
  • Can you articulate it in a few sentences?

Example Evaluation

Although Ramirez’s (2024) study provided compelling evidence for mandatory drug testing of athletes, the researcher was also the principal at the school where she conducted the study. Ramirez did not adequately control for researcher bias. Therefore, more research is needed to determine whether similar results would be achieved without such a relationship.

This evaluation recaps the study’s strengths, including the reliability of its evidence, and weaknesses, narrowing in on the researcher’s potential bias.

lightbulb

Quick Tip

Be sure to evaluate the source immediately after reading it so that it remains clear in your head. If you are using a tool like a literature review matrix, consider adding a column for your evaluation of each source. If you are using another notetaking method, leave room in your notes for your evaluation.

Literature Review Matrix

Key Takeaways

To evaluate the credibility of a text, read with a critical eye, following a three-step process: pre-reading, reading, and forming the evaluation. During this process, you’ll consider questions about the reliability of the author, publisher, argument, and evidence.

Check Your Understanding

  Related Resources

For more practice, check out this interactive guide on reading critically.


Read Critically

Evaluating a text is just one goal of reading critically. To learn more about reading critically to analyze and compare texts, check out this resource:

Reading for Analysis and Comparison