Running Head: Critical Reading 1

Mercy College
Professor Coleman-Prisco
Critical Reading
Susan Aiosa

CRITICAL READING 2 Reading has at all times and at all ages been a source of knowledge, happiness, and pleasure. When I am given an assignment here at school in my social work classes, sometimes the reading doesn’t seem to be all that sensible. These assignments in writing papers and reading research journals and the information provided within the pages of the articles must be critically analyzed and read. It is vital for me to ensure that the journals, topic information, and authors are all credible. This process is also necessary to make sure that the credibility of the information is professionally supported and held to a scholarly standard. In support of my research topic, I select an article that I have deemed a credible source. Once I have established the articles validity and scholarly integrity, I continue with my researcher’s obligation, critical reading, and understanding the information, which supports the area under study. I will demonstrate this procedure in seven stages that involves the critical reading of research articles. In accordance with the Mercy College Libraries (2015), the initial evaluation of critical analysis consists of checking the author, date of publication, edition or revision, publisher, and title of journal. First, I start with checking the author’s credentials. I found the authors affiliation in the reference list which states the following: (example) Mr. Smith has been developing syllabuses for many years; he was involved in the building of “The Oak Street Boarding House”. Mr. Smith also has other published works which were documented in this article reference list. The publishing of this information in this article signifies that the article is a peer reviewed or profession periodical. The date of the publication is located on the face page along with the copyright information. Next, the source and information within this article is current and relevant to the topic under study. This is the first
CRITICAL READING 3 and only publications of this article. Finally, the journal or periodical writing style is intended for a professional audience. The research information is factual with an accepted method of research technique. After careful review of this article, I have decided that this article is credible and supports my research topic. At this point, I have performed most of the work included in the preliminary stages of critical reading of research articles. The first stage is previewing and determining legitimacy. This involves checking the author’s credibility, confirming the work as peer reviewed, and checking the reference list for credible references of other professionals. The second stage is to have a preliminary check of understanding and the layout of the content. Here, I had to ask myself if the research question is significant to my study. Once decided, I skimmed the article highlighting and making notes on the information provided. The third stage consisted of interpreting or noting information. This skill is very important; it entails the researchers creating an APA reference citation and a brief summary identifying the sources and keywords in your article for future use. Once the browsing and first reading had taken place, the fourth stage involves identifying and clarifying all unfamiliar terms. The fifth stage, involves an analysis of understanding the intended purpose of the article. At this stage there must be a clear understanding of what the researcher’s conclusions are without question. As the researcher I should be able to demonstrate what I know by restating this information in my own words. At the sixth stage comprehensive understanding, involves the reader’s clarification of all unfamiliar terms, identifying the key concepts, and understanding how they relate to my study. Finally, the seventh stage, this involves the researcher’s ability of separating
CRITICAL READING 4 all parts of the article and putting it back together. This is done with a summary in my own words, identifying the weakness of the theory or research, and being able to make critical comments on the study. As you can see critical reading is a very important part of a researcher’s job; this is not just gathering articles, reorganizing the information, or retracting the main ideas. Critical reading allows the reader researcher a time of profound understanding, questioning, and a solid review of the literature selected for the topic under study. Consequently, the researcher must immerse themselves in before, during and after the reading to gain the understanding needed. Moreover, this process has an intentional outcome, which involves the researcher’s ability to demonstrate what they know about the topic studied. The end result is the submission of the researcher’s skills of knowledge and ability to produce a well-written presentation of ideas and concepts.