How to read a scientific article: An introductory text reads, Psychologists publish their research findings in peer-reviewed, scientific journals. Scientific journal articles are different from news articles or blog posts you would find through a typical Internet search. When you read news articles or blog posts about scientific research, you can’t assume these sources accurately interpret the study’s findings or appropriately emphasize what the study’s original authors think is important. For a full description of the background, methodology, results, and application of a study’s findings, you must read a scientific article. (Note, the “article” below is fictitious and solely created for pedagogical purposes.)
How do I find a scientific article? You can find scientific journal articles through online journal databases such as PsycINFO, available through your school library. Search results can provide references that follow a standard format, such as APA style, shown here:
An illustration depicts a torn paper piece containing various references to the text segments in the page. Text on the paper reads Licht, D. M, Hull, M. G, and Ballantyne, C. (2019). How to read a scientific article: This skill will serve you well in college and beyond. The journal name , 42, 850 to 863. D o i: 01.0101010 forward slash 10101.
Licht, D. M, Hull, M. G, and Ballantyne, C is labeled authors; (2019) is labeled publication year. How to read a scientific article: This skill will serve you well in college and beyond labeled title of article; the journal name is labeled title of journal; 42 is labeled volume number; 850 to 863 is labeled page numbers; and d o i: 01.0101010 forward slash 10101 is labeled digital object identifier.
What’s in a scientific article? At first glance, scientific articles can seem overwhelming. It helps to know what you will find in a typical article. Scientific articles follow a specific organizational style and include the following elements:
A screenshot shows a page of an article with a binder clip at the top center of the page. Text reads as follows: Research article (header, left intended) and scientific article (header, right intended).
How to read a scientific article: This skill will serve you well in college and beyond. This section is labeled title.
Deborah M Licht superscript 1, Misty G Hull superscript 1, and Coco Ballantyne superscript 2. 1 Pikes Peak community college; 2 Address correspondence to s c i a m psychology at g mail dot com. This section is labeled authors.
Abstract:
Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental process, and psychologists are scientists who work in a variety of fields, each of which on the study of behavior and underlying mental process. Psychology employs many of the essential components of science, including the peer – review process, evidence with citations, replication of research, and the use of theories, hypotheses, and statistical analyses. Throughout psychology articles and textbooks, you will find citations that tell you the source of research or findings being discussed. If you want to know more a topic, you can look up the source and read the original article or book. Information provided in these citations allows you to locate the full reference in the alphabetized reference list at the back of a textbook or end of an article. Failing to cite the proper source of information is considered plagiarism – a serious academic offense. There are many systems and formats for citing sources, but most psychologists use the A P A style established by the American Psychological Association (A P A, 2010 b). Learning how to read academic articles will help you in many classes, including psychology.
Keywords:
A P A style, databases, literature review, peer – reviewed, reading skills
Received 1 forward slash 0 1 forward slash 1 9.
The scientific method is the process scientists use to conduct research. The goal of the scientific method is to provide empirical evidence, or data from systematic observations or experiments. This evidence is often used to support or refute a hypothesis, which is a statement used to test a prediction about the outcome of a study. An experiment is a controlled procedure involving scientific observations and forward slash or manipulations by the researcher to influence participants’ thinking, emotions, or behaviors. In the scientific method, an observation must be objective, or outside the influence of personal opinions and expectations. Humans are prone to errors in thinking, but the scientific method helps to minimize their impact.
The scientific method includes five basic steps: develop a question, formulate a hypothesis, collect data, analyze data, and publish the findings. The scientific method is a continuing cycle of exploration, which uses critical thinking at each step in the process, and asks new questions along the way.
Once data have been analyzed and hypotheses tested, findings are shared with other researchers who might be able to build on the work. This typically involves writing a scientific article and submitting it to a scholarly, peer-reviewed journal.
Journal editors send these submitted manuscripts to subject-matter experts, or peer reviewers, who carefully read them and make recommendations for publishing, revising, or rejecting the articles altogether.
The peer-review process is notoriously meticulous, and it helps provide us with more certainty that research findings can be trusted. When looking for research to support your presentations or papers, try to use a search engine that allows you to filter out published research that has not been peer-reviewed. Although the Internet is an amazing fool for gathering information, a search engine like Google Scholar casts a wide net, and some of the articles it lists are of questionable origin and quality.
And finally, researchers must follow guidelines to ensure the ethical treatment of research participants. These guidelines encourage psychologists to do no harm; safeguard the welfare of humans and animals in their research; know their responsibilities to society and community; maintain accuracy in research, teaching, and practice; and respect human dignity.
Text below abstract reads, brief description of entire article. Helps you quickly decide if the article describes research you are interested in.
Text below keywords reads, identify themes or topics in article. Can be used to search for similar articles.
The paragraph below keywords is labeled introduction. Text below introduction reads, explains topic of study, relevant previous research, and specific goals and hypotheses.
Text beside the screenshot reads other elements not shown here:
Method:
Describes how study was conducted.
Provides details about participants, materials, and procedures, allowing the study to be replicated.
Results:
Describes data collected and outcome of study.
Often includes tables, graphs, or figures.
Discussion:
Interprets results to determine support or lack of support for the research hypotheses.
Often reports study’s limitations, contributions, and implications for future research.
References:
Listing of all articles cited.
A great place to look for additional research articles!