Always list the citation first (used this is article). Make sure it is written in APA style.

Used this is article: Keeping up with the digital age: How the American Red Cross uses social media to build relationships

Briones, R. L., Kuch, B., Liu, B. F., & Jin, Y. (2011). Keeping up with the digital age: How the American Red Cross uses social media to build relationships. Public relations review, 37(1), 37-43.

Summary of the research  (Most of this info can be found in the abstract).

• What did the author(s) examine? Explain in one (1) sentence.
• What did author(s) expect to find?
• How did author(s) go about finding it?
• What did they conclude?

Theoretical analysis

• Did the author(s) build on current theory in the field?
• Did they discuss this theory in the research article? If so, what theory did they discuss?
• Are there problems with the theory? Could they have used another theory?

Sources

• Did the author cite any peer-reviewed (from journals) sources? If so, how many?
• Did the author cite any periodicals (newspapers, magazines) as sources? If so, how many?
• Did the author cite any books as sources? If so, how many?

Methodological analysis

• Describe the methods and techniques used to collect data in this study. Would other research methods been appropriate for collecting data in this study? If so, explain.
• Could you replicate the study based on what you read concerning methodology?
• What might the author(s) have done better?
• Can you replicate this method and its procedures in your study? Explain

Format

• Did the author use appropriate subheadings and sections headings? Explain your answer briefly.
• Did the author use APA style effectively?  How many sections (Introduction, Methodology, etc.) does the paper have?  Explain or describe.

Overall conclusions

• Could the author(s) respond favorably to “who cares?” and “so what?”
• Would you be inclined to pursue research in a related area? Why?

• What is an obvious research study that could be conducted as a follow-up to this study?