According to the introduction, what information was already known about the topic (look for references to previous research)? 4. What variables were studied? What were the hypotheses concerning these variables? 5. What were the operational definitions of the variables studied (Note: an operational definition is defining a variable according to how you will measure or manipulate it. For example, one could define depression according to a certain score on a Depression Scale.)? 6. Who were the participants in this study? What were their demographic characteristics? Were there any special subject characteristics? 7. What were the procedures used to test the hypotheses? Did you notice any problematic features of the procedures? 8. Was the experimental (i.e. cause & effect) or correlational (i.e. show relationship) method used? Were there attempts to control any extraneous variables? How? 9. What were the major results of the study? Were the results consistent with the hypotheses? 10. How do the results relate to other studies cited in the introduction? 11. How did the researcher interpret the results? Can you think of alternative interpretations? 12. Did the author give suggestions for future research or applications? Can you provide other suggestions? 13. What would you do if you wished to find out more about this research topic?