For many qualified nurses and nursing students research is research, and it is often quite difficult to grasp what others are referring to when they discuss the limitations and or strengths within a research study. Research texts and journals refer to critiquing the literature, critical analysis, reviewing the literature, and evaluation, and appraisal of the literature which are in essence the same thing (Bassett and Bassett, 2003).

Terminology in research can be confusing for the novice research reader where a term like ‘random’ refers to an organized manner of selecting items or participants, and the word ‘significance’ is applied to a degree of chance. Thus the aim of this article is to take a step-by-step approach to critiquing research in an attempt to help nurses demystify the process and decode the terminology.

When caring for patients it is essential that nurses are using the current best practice. To determine what this is nurses must be able to read research. The adage ‘All that glitters is not gold’ is also true in research. Not all research is of the same quality or of a high standard and therefore nurses should not simply take research at face value simply because it has been published (Cullum and Droogan, 1999; Rolit and Beck, 2006).

Critiquing is a systematic method of appraising the strengths and limitations of a piece of research in order to determine its credibility and/or its applicability to practice (Valente, 2003). Seeking only limitations in a study is criticism and critiquing and criticism are not the same (Burns and Grove, 1997).

A critique is an impersonal evaluation of the strengths and limitations of the research being reviewed and should not be seen as a disparagement of the researcher’s ability. Neither should it be regarded as a jousting match between the researcher and the reviewer. Burns and Grove (1999) call this an ‘intellectual critique’ in that it is not the creator but the creation that is being evaluated. The reviewer maintains objectivity throughout the critique. No personal views are expressed by the reviewer and the strengths and/or limitations of the study and the implications of these are highlighted with reference to research texts or journals.

It is also important to remember that research works within the realms of probability where nothing is absolutely certain. It is therefore important to refer to the apparent strengths, limitations, and findings of a piece of research (Burns and Grove, 1997). The use of personal pronouns is also avoided in order that an appearance of objectivity can be maintained.