NFS 284 Article Critique Rubric
Student NAME/ID:
Total Assignment
1. Impact & Novelty of Research
/ 6
Impact of research
• Does the study address an important scientific issue or one of clinical or public
health relevance? (1)
• Does the author describe why the issue is important? (1)
• Why or why not? (1)

/3 marks
Novelty of research
• Does the study add anything new? (1)
• Why or why not? (1)
• What gap in knowledge is it addressing? (1)
/3 marks
2. Research Question & Study Design
/ 12
Research Question
• What is the research question being asked? (1)
• Is it focused and clear? (1)
• Does the study test a stated hypothesis? (1)
• Is it clear that the authors are testing to see if there is a difference between two or
more treatments? (1)

/4 marks
Study design
• Was the study designed to address the specific research question or is it an
exploratory analysis? (1)
• Was the study design appropriate for the research question? (1)
• Why or why not? (1)
• Were the eligibility criteria clearly delineated? (1)
• Does the study design address key sources of bias? (1)
• Were validated instruments used? (1)
• Were certified controls used for analysis? (1)
• Were accuracy and precision reported? (1)

/8 marks
3. Results & Conclusions
/ 10
Results & conclusions
• Do the authors fairly consider their findings in relation to the larger
literature? (1)
• Do they fairly acknowledge research that doesn’t fit with their study findings?
(1)
• Does the data justify the conclusion? (1)
• Do they describe strengths and limitations of their study? (1)
• Are author’s conclusions consistent with data? (1)
• Are the differences clinically relevant or just statistically relevant? (1)
/10 marks
• Generalizability of study findings beyond study sample? Do the authors do a
good job of addressing this issue? (2)
• Are study outcomes likely to be short-term only or could they have a long-term
impact? (1)
Are there conflicts of interest?
• Yes or no. If yes, describe. (1)
Writing, Clarity, and Formatting
/ 7
Spelling and Grammar
• Lack of typos, missing words, poor sentence structure, etc.
/ 1mark
Overall flow and structure of assignment
• Presents arguments in a coherent and clear manner
• There is a logical progression from start to finish of the assignment (does not
jump around)
/2 marks
Excluding the title page and references, assignment is approximately 500 words full
double-spaced and does not exceed 600 words.
/1 mark
In-body citations and reference page
• Must be formatted in accordance with the reference document provided.
/1 mark
Reference Section
• Minimum of two references in addition to article supporting critique
• Do the in-body citations and reference page citations match?
/2marks
Total marks /35 marks
Total percentage %
Late Submission: Docked 10% for each day early, including weekends up to 10 days / - marks

Overall Total

%
Comments: