The written reflection should be balanced, identifying both strengths and weaknesses in the publication. Your critique should also contain a reflection on your own thoughts and learning from the article. Write succinctly – completed critiques should be no more than three pages (12 point font, double spaced, 1 inch margins). Please use a header with your name and number your pages, do not use a title page.

1. Research Focus and Significance
   1. What is the identified research problem? If there are research questions, are they clearly stated, delimited, and congruent with the research problem?
   2. What are the specific aims or purposes of the study? Do they match the research problem?
   3. What is the public health significance of the problem (implications for the care of older adults, extension of science, test of theory, correspondence to National Institute on Aging priorities, etc.)?
2. Theoretical Foundation of Research
   1. If there are hypotheses, are they clearly derived from theory?
   2. What is the fundamental paradigm being used by the writer? Describe the appropriateness (match)/limitations of this paradigm for use in this study.
3. Effectiveness of Literature Review
   1. How useful is the review of literature (inclusive or appropriate disciplines, well-organized, critical and synthesizing).
   2. Does the review of literature provide a review of prior, current (<5 years old, except seminal and landmark studies) research conducted on the problem (including theoretical and empirical literature)?
   3. Does the review of literature make clear what is and is not known about the problem? Is the information that is unknown, reflect the research problem for the study?
4. Overall Findings and Impression
   1. How well does the researcher write? Is the writing accessible to a wide audience or appropriate to the targeted audience?
   2. How does the material presented apply (or perhaps not apply) to your personal interests in the Psychosocial aspects of aging (think before you dismiss it)?
   3. At the end of the report, is it clear what knowledge has been gained? Was the problem solved, research question answered, and specific aim/purpose achieved?
   4. Give the research a letter grade and explain your grade.