Research in Psychology: Scholarly Articles

What might you find in a scholarly article?​

• Abstract: brief summary of the article
• Introduction: general overview of the research topic or problem and what others have found on the same topic
• Methods: information about how the authors conducted their research
• Results: Key findings of the author's research
• Discussion/Conclusion: summary of the results or findings
• References: citations to publications by other authors mentioned in the article 

In academic research, it is important to distinguish between scholarly and popular (non-scholarly) sources. While one can argue the value of both, the scholarly sources are the ones that are usually preferred when doing academic research.

The following is a table comparing the general characteristics of these two types of sources: 

Created by Zoe Weinstein, Academic Outreach Librarian for the Humanities, Brandeis University

Outline of Chart:

Is This Article Relevant To My Research? A Guide to Skimming

Step 1: Read the Abstract: The abstract is a summary of the article. By reading this, you can get a sense of the content, The scope of the research, the author's methodology, and the academic level of the article.

Step 2: Read the Conclusion: Authors usually repeat their main ideas and their final findings in the conclusion. This will give you an overview of the article and help determine if it is relevant to your research.

Step 3: Read the First Paragraph of the Introduction: This is usually where an author lays out their plan for the rest of the article. This can help you determine which sections of the article you should read in full. 

Step 4: Read the First Sentence of Every Paragraph: This first sentence (or topic sentence) will convey the main idea for that paragraph. See something interesting? Read the rest. 

Step 5: The Rest of the Article: Now that you've determined what's most important, remember to at least browse the rest of the article!