Quality criteria for a scientific article - The art of choosing your paper 

[Dialogues]
Jules: What are you reading?
Anna: It’s amazing. A scientific article on how eating broccoli increases concentration.
Magazine: “Cooking Science” Article: “Broccoli means you well”
Jules: Yeah, and you’re eating it up?
Anna: Um hmm.
Jules: Not very scientific.
Anna: So now you’re a science expert. Right!
Jules: Just saying. 
These magazines aren't very scientific. 
No references, no peer reviews, unknown authors. 
It’s worse than a horoscope.
Anna: Go on!
Jules: Broccoli’s good for concentration. 
It’s like saying carrots are good for your eyes. 
Let me tell you, I know broccoli’s not good for concentration.
I know, ‘cause I had to eat it as a kid! 
Mom was crazy about broccoli! 
I spent eight years at university, changed majors f…four times. 
You’re out to lunch Anna. You don’t have to be a brain surgeon to know this isn’t scientific.

[Voice-over]
Relax Jules. Indeed, not all articles are equal. The quality of the article you read on the train won’t be as good as one from a science journal or even a magazine for the general public.

Take a popular science magazine: the articles are written by journalists and simplified for the layman. Save those for your leisure reading.

Remember, it’s because articles in science journals are reviewed and approved by other scientists in the same field that they are reliable. This publishing process is called peer review.

To help you determine if an article can be considered scientific, use easily identifiable criteria.
Such as:
•	Author: Is he mentioned? Which academic institution does he work for? Is he authority in the field?
•	Editor and journal: Is it generalist or specialized? Is the article published in a scientific journal with peer review?
•	Publication date: Are there more recent articles using the same arguments? Ask yourself if this article is still current and whether the data and method are still valid?
•	Bibliographic references: Are they numerous and varied (watch out for self-citation)? Are they easy to spot in the text? Are they clear and complete?
•	Structure and style: Is the language nuanced and does it seem objective? The article should have the following structure:
- Abstract or summary.
- Introduction: presenting the goal of the study (research hypothesis) and current knowledge in the field.
- Materials and methods: explaining the protocols used to carry out the experiment.
- Results: providing and explaining the results of the experiment. Note that the details are often provided in the supporting materials rather than in the article itself.
- Discussion: summary of the more significant results and future developments to consider.
- References: including the bibliography and all sources cited in the article.

[Dialogues]
Anna: Hey Fred, know why rabbits eat carrots? Ah, you know why rabbits eat carrots?
Fred: No.
Anna: Uh, it’s so they won’t need glasses. See? They eat carrots so they won’t need glasses.