Chapter 2 · Practice 2 of 3
Analyse strengths and weaknesses instead of only describing
Why it matters
Describing a paper says what it did. Analysing it says how well it did it, under what conditions, and whether it applies to your users.
Questions to ask of each important work:
- What data or users was it tested on, and are they like yours?
- What did it measure, and how strong were the results?
- What does it assume (internet access, large datasets, expensive hardware)?
- What would break if you used it for your problem?
A comparison table summarising approaches against your criteria is one of the clearest ways to show this. Then write the gap as a short, specific paragraph: "None of the reviewed systems supports batch-level expiry tracking on low-end Android phones offline, which is the situation of most small pharmacies we surveyed."
Do
- Compare works against criteria that matter to your users
- Write the gap as a specific paragraph
Avoid
- Copying abstracts and calling it a review