How to Critically Appraise an Article. Critical appraisal is a systematic process used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a research article in order to assess the usefulness and validity of research findings. The most important components of a critical appraisal are an evaluation of the appropriateness of the study design for the research question and a careful assessment of the key methodological features of this design. Other factors to consider include the suitability of the statistical methods used and their subsequent interpretation, potential conflicts of interest, and the relevance of the research to one's own practice.
Source: ScienceBuddies.com (2015). Overview of the scientific method. Retrieved from http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_scientific_method.shtml#overviewofthescientificmethod.