Tutorials

Tutorial 1

CREATE method of analysing articles

1. Consider: create a concept map - identify the key themes related to the research question and develop a concept map - define key terms

2. Read: read the article, refining the concept map; paraphrase key sentences; annotate figures; draw a flowchart of how the study was done

3. Elucidate Hypothesis: what was the hypothesis? What theory was the prediction based on?

4. Analyse and Interpret the Data: critical analysis - examine the study parameters/methods in close detail, was there anything that should have been controlled that was not? Do the results match the conclusions of the author? Are there any limitations that if addressed, would meaningfully change the results/conclusions? Can you think of an alternate explanation for the data, other than the hypothesis?

5. Think of the Next Experiment: scientific creativity - Based on the analysis and interpretation of the data, brainstorm ideas for a next experiment; Could you address a limitation identified in the paper? Could you run an experiment to control for a factor that the authors did not consider? Could you build on the ideas of the paper to refine/extend on the conclusions/generalisation made? Any new areas to explore?