What was the purpose of the research study? For example, maybe the researchers were interested in studying the relationship between drinking coffee and mood. What were the variables that the authors chose to study? In the above example, the variables were drinking coffee and mood. How were the variables operationalized (measured)? Were they categorical or measurement (quantitative)? In the above example, the authors measured "drinking coffee" by asking how many cups of coffee the participants drank each day. This is a measurement variable. The authors measured "mood" by having participants rate their mood on a scale of 1-5 at noon each day. This is a measurement variable. Who was in the sample? What was the sample size? Was the study experimental or observational? How do you know? For example, the above study is observational, because there was no randomization or manipulation of an independent variable. Instead, participants responded to a questionnaire and reported both their coffee intake and their mood. What were the results of the study? You only need to be very general here, but do make sure that you are reporting what the authors actually found, not what the news report said. For example, in the coffee study