Summarizing Journal Articles Effectively

Amanda from the Psychology Department Student Success Center explains how to efficiently read a journal article. She covers the structure of journal articles, including sections like abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion. Amanda provides strategies for summarizing articles and emphasizes the importance of understanding each section. She concludes with tips for reading and offers resources for further assistance.

What is the primary focus of a journal article?

• To advertise products

• To summarize news events

• To provide detailed research on a specific topic

• To entertain the reader

Which section of a journal article provides a brief summary of the entire study?

• Discussion

• Abstract

• Methods

• Introduction

Where can you typically find the hypothesis in a journal article?

• In the last paragraph of the introduction

• In the abstract

• In the methods section

• In the conclusion

What is the main purpose of the introduction section in a journal article?

• To identify the topic or problem and describe previous research

• To present the statistical analysis

• To list the materials used

• To summarize the entire study

What information is included in the participants subsection of the methods section?

• The equipment used in the study

• The demographics of the study participants

• The statistical analysis used

• The steps used in the experiment

What is the purpose of the results section in a journal article?

• To discuss the limitations of the study

• To describe the data collected and the statistical analysis used

• To interpret the findings

• To summarize the study

Which section of a journal article interprets the results and discusses their significance?

• Discussion

• Results

• Methods

• Abstract

What should you do if you don't understand the methods or results sections right away?

• Skip them entirely

• Look up certain terms and tests to understand better

• Ignore the study

• Ask someone else to read it for you

What is a good strategy to understand the methods section better?

• Only read the introduction

• Ask yourself why the researchers used these methods

• Read the abstract again

• Skip to the conclusion

What should you keep in mind when reading the data in the results section?

• The purpose of the study and hypothesis

• The author's personal opinions

• The abstract summary

• The references