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Identifying a Scholarly ArticleIn order to read scholarly materials accurately, you first need to be able to identify them. The most common attributes of scholarly materials are:
Use this chart to help distinguish among types of periodicals (publications that are issued on a regular (or periodic) interval and typically address a very specific aspect of a larger topic):
Reading the Citation from a DatabaseHere is a citation for a journal article from a library database: Here is the first page of that article as it appears in the journal: Locating the Author's CredentialsTypically, the names of the academic or research institutions the authors are affiliated with will be stated on the first page of the journal article, either near the author's names, or lower on the page. Reading the AbstractAbstracts are often written by the author or authors of the article. The abstract provides a concise summary of the research, including its purpose, significant results, and implications of the results. Reading the abstract can be a good way to determine whether the article is suitable for your needs. The abstract appears on the first page of the journal article, and may or may not be labeled. As a general rule, you only will find abstracts on papers of five or more pages in length. Hypothesis or ThesisThe first few paragraphs of a journal article serve to introduce the topic, to provide the author's hypothesis or thesis, and to indicate why the research was done. A thesis or hypothesis is not always clearly labled; you may need to read through the introductory paragraphs to determine what the authors are proposing. Literature ReviewA literature review describes previous research or discussion that has been published on the topic. This review of the literature can provide a good overview of the topic and will outline what other researchers have found. The passage below shows references to the work of other researchers throughout the text, with their names and the year their research was published in parenthetical citations. Research MethodsThis section of the article describes the procedures, or methods, that were used to carry out the research study. The methodology the authors follow will vary according to the discipline, or field of study, the research relates to. Types of methodology include case studies, scientific experiments, field studies, focus groups, and surveys. Results SectionThis section gives all of the data that was collected as a result of the research. Typically, results are reported in statistical terms, often in the form of tables, charts, and graphs. Discussion/Conclusion SectionThis section gives discussion, conclusions, or implications, of the research. Here, the authors summarize what the results of the research might mean to the field, how the research addresses the original hypothesis, weaknesses of the study, and recommendations for future research about the topic. References SectionThe list of references, or works cited, provides publication information for all of the materials the authors used in the article. The references list can be a good way to identify additional sources of information on the topic. In which order should you read a scholarly empirical study article?Begin by reading the abstract to get a sense of the article's purpose and findings. ... . Skim the article, read headings to identify article structure, some articles may be labeled with sections, so label the parts yourself.. Read the introduction/literature review, look for the main argument. ... . Read the methodology section.. When reading an empirical journal article with a purpose which to question should you ask yourself as you read?When reading an empirical journal article "with a purpose," which two questions should you ask yourself as you read? "What is the argument?" and "What is the evidence to support the argument?" We do not examine all of the evidence, only what we can quickly think of.
What is the correct ordering of the sections of an empirical journal article?Arrange information in the same order as the sections in the paper: Introduction, Method, Results, and Discussion. Each section of the paper requires at least one sentence in the abstract. Methods and Results usually require more than one sentence each.
Which of the following is the first section of an empirical journal article?The Abstract is usually the first (and possibly the only) portion of the article that a reader will encounter. It is printed at the top of the first page of the article. The Introduction contains a lot of important information about the background and moti- vation for the study.
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