Assessment the Quality of Research

To assess the quality of recent research (indeed, in this case you cannot use the number of citations as an indicator of the quality of an article) you could ask the following questions, (Sekaran and Bougie (2016), P.57):

●   Is the main research question or problem statement presented in a clear and analytical way?

●   Is the relevance of the research question made transparent?

●   Does this study build directly upon previous research?

●   Will the study make a contribution to the field?

●   Is there a theory that guides the research?

●   Is the theory described relevant and is it explained in an understandable, structured, and convincing manner?

●   Are the methods used in the study explained in a clear manner (description of methods)?

●   Is the choice of certain methods motivated in a convincing way (justification of methods)?

●   Is the sample appropriate?

●   Are the research design and/or the questionnaire appropriate for this study?

●   Are the measures of the variables valid and reliable?

●   Has the author used the appropriate quantitative and/or qualitative techniques?

●   Do the conclusions result from the findings of the study?

●   Do the conclusions give a clear answer to the main research question?

●   Has the author considered the limitations of the study?

●   Has the author presented the limitations in the article?