JOURNAL SUMMARY
A journal summary is a brief outline of a research article that
provides a quick reference for your future use. Your first task is to
search the available research literature on your chosen topic and find
a relevant article. The next step is to make a photo copy of the article
so that you can highlight important parts and make notes on the
copy. After you have become familiar with the article, begin your 1
page abstract (one page only: no cover page; no page 2; no article
attached—if it has a staple, you’ll lose points).
Below are some general guidelines for the format:
The Reference:
At the top of the page include the reference for the article just like it would appear
in the references section of a manuscript. The reference must include the author's last
name and first name, the year of the publication, and the title of the article. Next include
the name of the journal, the volume number, and, finally, the pages of the article. (Note:
this is usually the style that is found in the “References” section at the end of every
research article).
Research Questions or Problems:
Next identify the primary research questions or problems. These are sometimes
stated as research hypotheses. Some articles have several questions that are
investigated, so you can omit the ones you are sure would not be relevant to your area
of study.
Relevant Variables:
Separately identify the Independent and Dependent variables in the research.
How were the variables defined? How were the variables measured?
Subjects:
Identify the subjects of the study. Also important is how the researcher recruited
the subjects. What are the limits of the population they represent? Are there any other
distinguishing characteristics or issues about this group?
Methods:
Briefly describe how the research was done. How was the data collected?
Results & Conclusions:
Summarize the important findings of this research. Especially important are
those results that will affect the work you're interested in pursuing.
Be sure your name and the date is on the summary.
Special instructions for the 1st assignment only: the first assignment must be a research
article published since 2005
(Submit only 1 page for review; do not include the article or multiple pages)