Has the work (be it a journal article, edited book, or monograph) achieved what it set out to do?
Who is the intended reader of the work?
What is the context for the research?
What are the gaps in existing research?
Does the researcher consider different points of view fairly?
Who or what does the author cite? Are the sources credible? Has the author failed to cite or engage with a relevant expert, theory, and/or idea?
Does the author use timely and/or relevant evidence when justifying their own research?
How is the current research justified?
Why is the issue worth investigating? Will it contribute to advances in the field?
What is the research objective?
If applicable, who/what was the population studied? Is the sample representative?
What tools were used and why?
What type of data was collected and why (e.g., qualitative or quantitative, observational or experimental)?
How were the data collected?
If surveys were used, were any of the questions biased or leading?
What controls were used and were they sufficient?
When and where did research take place?
Is the method appropriate for answering the research question?
If applicable, were appropriate statistical tests used?
Is there sufficient data?
If applicable, what was interesting about charts/graphs/images included? Are they easy to interpret? Do they accurate reflect the results, or do they seem to have been manipulated?
Any surprises?
Are the results generalizable?
How did the author interpret the data?
What are the strengths or limitations of this interpretation?
Did the author use flawed reasoning or logical fallacies when interpreting the results?
What is proposed for future study?
Why does this study matter?
How does it add to collective knowledge about the topic?
Does the author rely on emotive language to persuade readers?
Is the work logically structured and organized?
Does the title reflect the contents of the work?
How does the work relate to other relevant theories and/or ideas? Does it complement or contradict what has been studied or stated previously?
What other experiments, methodology, or investigation could test the stated conclusion?
What assumptions did the authors make and were they justified?
Is there any reason to suggest that the author is biased in their views?
Who funded the study? Who are the key stakeholders?
What were the strengths, weaknesses, and/or limitations of the study?
Can the results be generalized beyond the scope of the study or experiment?
What are the practical implications of the findings?