Criteria for Assessing Public Policy Research

Criteria for Assessing Public Policy Research Papers
Criterion Evidence to look for Your comments and assessment
1. Credibility
of the
authors
Are the qualifications, expertise and background of the
authors provided and are they relevant to the research
topic?
Are the authors independent of groups with a stake in
the outcome of the research? Is there full disclosure
of any funding sources?
Is the paper peer reviewed or critically reviewed?
Does the paper address the topic objectively or is
there an explicit or implicit agenda behind the paper?
Are the values of the authors explicit?
The qualifications and expertise of
the authors were not mentioned in
the article (Stormon, Kazantzis,
Ford & Lalloo, 2019). However, a
short background of the first
author was provided, which
attested that the author is a
healthcare professional who has
sufficient knowledge of the
research topic.
There was no mention of any
groups that might have an impact
on the outcome of the research.
The study was a systematic review
study; thus, it is possible that the
authors did not require any
additional funding for conducting
this research.
The article was cited in other
scholarly articles, thus it was peer-
reviewed.
The paper addressed the topic of
the research objectively. However,

the authors also wished for finding
newer research areas in the same
field. The values considered by the
authors were completely explicit,
which was to find the influencing
factors that affect oral health in
the children (Stormon, Kazantzis,
Ford & Lalloo, 2019). The study
was focused on improving the oral
health conditions in children.
2. Intent of
the study
Is the purpose of the research clearly stated and
appropriate to the policy under consideration?
Are the audiences of the research clearly identified?
Is the intent to support one side of the research
question or to shed light on the topic to assist policy
analysis?
The authors of the article clearly
stated the aim of this research,
which was to determine important
influencing factors that are
responsible for the affected oral
health in the children (Stormon,
Kazantzis, Ford & Lalloo, 2019).
There was no clear identification of
the research audience. However, it
can be considered to be important
for any researcher willing to
research in the related field. The
study was a systematic review
study and thus, it provides a high
level of evidence. The findings of
this research study can be used for
providing evidence to the other

studies conducted in this field.
3. Method(s)
of the
Research
Are the methods used in the research clearly stated in
the paper and is it clear why these methods were
selected?
Are the methods appropriate for the research subject
and questions?
Are the research methods well structured and logical?
Is there sufficient information about the method(s) and
the data to enable the study to be replicated by other
researchers?
Yes. The methods that were used
for the data collection and for the
data analysis were described
clearly in the paper. The rationale
behind the selection of those
studies was also explained in the
study.
The research query aimed to
explore a huge area on the topic,
which was to determine all the
possible social determinant factors
that are responsible for the
impaired oral health in the
children (Stormon, Kazantzis, Ford
& Lalloo, 2019). Hence, it can be
suggested that the research
method was appropriate,
considering the research topic.
The research method that is
described in this paper was
structured in a logical way.
The paper included all the
necessary information on the
research method, which involved