Summarizing a Research Article: Worksheet This worksheet will help you learn how to cite, analyze, and summarize a scholarly research article. Step 1: Select a Research Article Many types of research articles are published
Summarizing a Research Article: Worksheet
This worksheet will help you learn how to cite, analyze, and summarize a scholarly research article.
Step 1: Select a Research Article
Many types of research articles are published in scholarly journals and on government and organizational websites, including quantitative studies, qualitative studies, and mixed methods studies. In general, research articles have the following characteristics:
· report original, or primary, research
· include distinct sections that reflect the stages of the research process, usually the following sections in the following order:
o Introduction: description of the purpose of the investigation and the issues being reported, review of the background literature, and study objectives and/or hypotheses
o Method: full description of each step of the study, including the materials used, procedures followed, research design, and participants
o Results (quantitative article): report of the results of statistical analyses conducted
o Findings (qualitative article): report of the findings using natural language
o Discussion: summary of the study, including any interpretation, limitations, and implications of the results or findings and next steps
Step 2: Cite the Research Article
Once you have selected the research article, create its reference list entry and in-text citation. The reference list entry allows readers to identify and retrieve the work, and the in-text citation serves as a simple and consistent way to refer to the article during the research and writing process.
Reference List Entry
To create a reference list entry, gather the following information and note it below:
Author(s):Click or tap here to enter text.
Year of publication:Click or tap here to enter text.
Title of article:Click or tap here to enter text.
Volume and issue number (if applicable):Click or tap here to enter text.
Page range or article number:Click or tap here to enter text.
URL or DOI:Click or tap here to enter text.
Now, use the information to create a reference list entry for the research article according to the reference examples listed in the APA Style Guide.
Reference List Entry:
Use this space to type your complete, correct reference.
Click or tap here to enter text.
In-Text Citation
Use the author and year information from your reference list entry to create the in-text citations.
Parenthetical in-text citation:Click or tap here to enter text.
Narrative in-text citation:Click or tap here to enter text.
Step 3: Read the Article
Research articles are typically dense with information. The following questions will provide an organized way for you to break down the parts of the research article and understand its purpose, methods, findings, and implications.
Introduction
1. What is the topic of the article?
2. What is the hypothesis or hypotheses of the study?
3. What type of research study is it (e.g., quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods)?
Method
4. How many participants were in the study?
5. Who were the participants in the study? Describe from where they were recruited, any defining characteristics, etc.
6. Where was the study conducted (e.g., in a lab, at a university, in participants’ homes)?
7. What measures were collected in the study?
8. What analyses were conducted in the study (e.g., correlation analysis, analysis of variance, thematic analysis)?
Results or Findings
9. What are the main results or findings from the study?
10. If there are tables or figures in the paper, what type(s) of tables and/or figures are they? What important information do they convey?
Discussion
11. What are the main conclusions of the research?
12. To whom do the results or findings apply? Can they be generalized to all people in all places, to certain subsets of people, or something else?
13. What are limitations of the study?
14. What remains to be investigated about this topic?
Step 4: Paraphrase the Research Article
Now that you have analyzed its content, paraphrase important information from the research article in your own words. Keep each paraphrase to one sentence if possible. For example, you could summarize the methodology (how the research was conducted) or participants in the study, a key result or finding, or the applications or importance of the research. You can then use these as a basis for your summary assignment. For each paraphrase, include either the parenthetical in-text citation or the narrative in-text citation to the research article (as shown in Step 2).
Introduction section paraphrase:
Click or tap here to enter text.
Method section paraphrase:
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Results or Findings section paraphrase:
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Discussion section paraphrase:
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Step 5: Select relevant direct quote(s)
Choose a direct quote to integrate into your summary and cite it:
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This worksheet is adapted from: American Psychological Association. (2021). APA Style research assignment. https://apastyle.apa.org/ instructional-aids/APA-Style-research-assignment.pdf