peer-reviewed research article.
The article must be a primary research article meaning that it must include the following sections: introduction, method, results and discussion. Be sure to choose a Review article or Meta-Analysis.
Format
This is an individual assignment so each student must submit their own summary. Include a title page that includes your name along with the full citation of the article (title of the article, author, year, journal)
The length of the summary must not exceed 4 double-spaced pages maximum, excluding the title page (4 pages maximum). Aim for careful, clear and concise writing at all times. Marks will be deducted for spelling/grammatical errors so be sure to proofread.
Each summary must be written in 12-point Times New Roman font, using proper paragraph structure or marks will be deducted (no one-sentence paragraphs, please)
The summary DOES NOT need to conform to APA standards- no marks will be deducted for violations of APA formatting.
When summarizing a research article, your goal is to condense and simplify technical information, making it more plain-spoken and understandable to a reader who is unfamiliar with the topic.
The summary is to be in your own words, so technical points should be explained in simpler terms –assume that the reader has no prior experience with the research and your job is to explain it to them.
A few things to look for in each section when summarizing the research article:
Introduction
What is stated about some of the background research related to the topic?
Is there a public/social need that the research is addressing?
What rationale is provided for conducting the research?
Is a specific theory being tested?
Are there any specific hypotheses being proposed by the researchers?
(if so, were they ultimately supported by the findings?)
Method
What are the demographics of the sample (including sample size) and how were they recruited?
What were the main variables and how was the data collected?
If there were different tests conducted, what were they and what was each designed to measure?
What was the general procedure that a typical participant experienced during the study?
Give the reader a sense of how the study was conducted.
Results
This is typically devoted to statistical analyses so this section can be skipped if it is too technically dense
–it is not necessary to report actual statistics for this assignment.
Discussion
What were the main conclusions and interpretations that were reached?
Did the researchers identify any strengths and/or limitations to their study?
If not, can you identify any? (this is not a right or wrong point but rather your opinion)
Were any suggestions made for future research? If not, can you think of any?
Do the results seem believable and important – why or why not?
