Introduction

While many professionals in education, psychology, management, and other social science fields perform research and use statistics to analyze results, many more read the results of research and apply it to the real world.  Therefore it is vitally important to be able to critically analyze a research report to determine if the methods and results are valid and if they apply to you as a professional.  This chapter will look at each of the major sections of the research report and will provide ideas for what to look for, how to apply the information, and how to determine if a specific study is worth incorporating into your work.