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AEC 406: Projects (Ecampus)

Journal Information

One of the first things you want to do is look at the journal citation. The information about the article, such as the journal title, volume, issue, and pages is usually on the first page of the article. You will need this information to cite the article correctly in your paper. Sometimes you can tell that the article is scholarly just by the name of the journal, but not always. Scholarly articles are generally long so looking at the number of pages is one indicator that it is scholarly.

journal citation

You may also want to find out more about the journal in which the article was published. For example, you may want to know if the article is in a peer-reviewed journal. 

Author and affiliation

One of the first things to look for is the author or authors. In a research article, the authors will list their affiliation, usually with a university or research institution. In this example, the author's affiliation is clearly shown on the first page of the article. In a research article, you will never have an anonymous author or need to look for the author's name or affiliation.

.Author affiliation

 

Abstract

An abstract is a summary of the main article. An abstract will include information about why the research study was done, what the methodology was and something about the findings of the author(s). The abstract is always at the beginning of the article and will either be labeled "abstract" or will be set apart from the rest of the article by a different font or margins.

Abstract

The abstract should tell you what the research study is about, how the research was done (methodology), who the research sample was, what the authors found and why this is important to the field.

Specialized Vocabulary

In many articles there are key words or terms that describe the content of the article. This is another good place to look for additional search terms.

Keywords

 

Research sponsors

Some research is sponsored by an institution, such as the U.S. government or a non-profit or private company. If the research project is sponsored by someone, you will want to investigate who that is and if that could impact how the research was done. For example, a pharmaceutical company that sponsors research on a particular medication may mean that the research is not entirely bias-free.

Sponsor

 

Introduction

Most articles will start with an introductory section, which may be labeled introduction. This section introduces the research study, the thesis statement and why the research being conducted is important.

Questions to ask while you read:

  • What is the thesis? What are the authors trying to prove or disprove?
  • What is the contribution that the authors are making to the field?

 

 introduction to article not labeled

Literature Review

The literature review section of an article is a summary or analysis of all the research the author read before doing his/her own research. This section may be part of the introduction or in a section called Background. It provides the background on who has done related research, what that research has or has not uncovered and how the current research contributes to the conversation on the topic. When you read the lit review ask:

  • Does the review of the literature logically lead up to the research questions?
  • Do the authors review articles relevant to their research study?
  • Do the authors show where there are gaps in the literature?

Literature review

The lit review is also a good place to find other sources you may want to read on this topic to help you get the bigger picture.

Methodology

The methodology section or methods section tells you how the author(s) went about doing their research. It should let you know a) what method they used to gather data (survey, interviews, experiments, etc.), why they chose this method, and what the limitations are to this method.

The methodology section should be detailed enough that another researcher could replicate the study described. When you read the methodology or methods section:

  • What kind of research method did the authors use? Is it an appropriate method for the type of study they are conducting?
  • How did the authors get their tests subjects? What criteria did they use?
  • What are the contexts of the study that may have affected the results (e.g. environmental conditions, lab conditions, timing questions, etc.)
  • Is the sample size representative of the larger population (i.e., was it big enough?)
  • Are the data collection instruments and procedures likely to have measured all the important characteristics with reasonable accuracy?
  • Does the data analysis appear to have been done with care, and were appropriate analytical techniques used? 

Methodology

A good researcher will always let you know about the limitations of his or her research.

Data

Research articles are full of data. The data should be complete and directly support the conclusions the authors' draw about their research question.

Tables, graphs, and charts are good indicators that this is a research article. The tables should represent the data in a clear and readable manner.

Data

Results

The results section in a scholarly article is where the author(s) talk about what they found in their research study. Most scholarly articles will have a section labeled results or findings.

Results

 

Discussion

The discussion section is where the author(s) write about what they found and what they think it means. The authors may also draw some conclusions about the research and what significance it has in this section. This section will also tell you what some of the issues were with the research or using a specific population for a research study.

Discussion

Conclusion

The final section is usually called the conclusion or recommendations. Here is where the authors summarize what they found, why they think their research is significant and, if appropriate, make recommendations about future actions or future research that needs to be conducted. In some cases, the conclusion is part of the discussion section.