Tacoma Community College Library: Psychology: What is a scholarly article?

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What is an academic or scholarly article?

Scholarly/academic articles often appear in journals that are dedicated to a specific area of study, e.g. Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology; Journal of Abnormal Psychology.

A scholarly article is...

Written by an expert in a particular field such as communications, sociology, political science, or psychology
Written with the intent to advance knowledge in that field by sharing new analytical techniques, new information, or new insights about a topic
Written for an audience of other experts in that (or related) fields

How can you tell whether an article is 'academic' or 'scholarly'?

Mostly when we ask this question, we are trying to figure out whether an article is scholarly as opposed to something that is 'popular' - written for the general public, such as a magazine or newspaper article. Look for these clues:

Scholarly works often have:

Long descriptive titles describing a narrow area of study: "Alcohol abuse in Russian delinquent adolescents: Associations with comorbid psychopathology, personality and parenting";
Many authors - usually more than 2;
Long articles - 8 or more pages is common, sometimes more than 20;
Many citations within the text and in a list at the end of the article;
A lengthy abstract within the body of the article. It is a paragraph or more, headed with "Abstract", describing the article, often written by the author.

Characteristics of a research study

A journal article usually includes the following:

abstract, which provides a summary of the article
introduction, which includes background info and description of the author's purpose
materials & methods, which has details about the study so that other scientists could repeat the study
results, which includes any new observations, data and findings
discussion, which describe what the findings mean and their implications, and address potential criticisms of the study

Source: "Anatomy of a Journal Article" by Dominique Turnbow, UC San Diego Libraries

ABSTRACT

Provides a brief and succinct synopsis of the paper. Includes the research question, the methodology used to investigate it, and a statement on the findings.

INTRODUCTION

Presents the topic and specific research question from broad to narrow
Presents the purpose of the paper and justification for the research about to be presented

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

What is a Literature Review?

A compilation & discussion of the significant literature of the paper's topic.
Part of an ongoing conversation. The work of the paper will react to or build on that conversation.

What is the structure of a Literature Review?

A summary of prevalent ideas by the last names of the authors who came before, grouped by theme
Explain the leading findings or theories grouped by theme or idea
Conclusion about these works

What is its purpose?

A literature review will help you identify what has been discovered and what has yet to be discovered. It helps the reader understand where your ideas "fit" in the scholarly conversation. A review is a required part of grant and research proposals and often a chapter in theses and dissertations.

Cues to a Literature Review Section

A growing body of literature suggests . . . (List authors and page numbers)
It is often argued that . . . (Author page number)
A contrary view holds . . . (Author page number)

METHODS

Describes the design and methodology (Quanti/Quali) (Primary/Secondary) used to complete to the study in enough detail to be replicated
Often, limitations to the methods are indicated

RESULTS

Presents results that are related to the research
If secondary data is used, the full history of collection of that data is presented
Data should be presented in Tables. Visual Representations of data that help the reader's understanding should be presented in Figures.

DISCUSSION / CONCLUSION / QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

Results are put in context of the field, as well as other fields or global context.
The hypothesis should be answered and validated by the interpretation of the results.
This section should also discuss how the results relate to previous research mentioned in the literature review, any cautions about the findings, and potential for future research.

How to read and comprehend scientific research articles

Highlights of the video:

Basic Structure

ABSTRACT (Why? How? What?)
INTRODUCTION (Hypothesis, Survey of the Literature - Broad to specific)
METHODS (How to replicate the study. Detailed explanation of data sources or original collection (primary/secondary), as well as methodolog/ies applied.)
RESULTS (Tables and Figures. May include discussion of validation instrument and whether the findings were significant.)
DISCUSSION (Including questions for further research.)

A- D- I- R- M ORDER

Abstract (Why? How? What?)
Discussion (Answers the hypothesis or research question and explains how results support the conclusion.)
Introduction
Results
Methods

Main points frequently suggested:

TITLE; ABSTRACT; KEYWORDS; TABLES & FIGURES; END OF THE INTRODUCTION

Additional sources

How to read and understand scientific papers
Great article by Dr. Jennifer Raff from her blog, Violent Metaphors
Glossary of Psychological Terms (APA)

Understanding the peer review process

Who are the "peers" in "peer review"?

Before it can be published, a peer reviewed article has been carefully reviewed by a board of other scholars in the same field of study as the author.

So the "peers" in "peer review" are fellow scholars and researchers.

Also known as...

photo of a referee on a basketball court Sometimes these articles are referred to as "refereed."

Why? This is because the author's peers act as referees; they point out possible errors to make sure the final article reflects solid scholarship and advances understanding of the topic.

Image sources:

"OER colleagues" by The Open University is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
"NBA referee Violet Palmer" by Adam Fagen is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Understanding different types of scholarly articles

What is an empirical study versus a literature review (also known as a "lit review")?

(click on image to enlarge)

Empirical studies

are reports of original research, usually results of lab experiments
have sections for the introduction, materials & methods, results, and discussion
include key phrases like "we tested" and "in our study, we measured"

Literature reviews

are critical evaluations of material that's already been published
define or clarify a purpose; summarize previous investigations; identify problems or gaps in knowledge; and suggest next steps
do not include original (physical or lab) research

Image source: "Empirical vs. Review Articles" by William H. Hannon Library - Loyola Marymount University is in the Public Domain, CC0

How can I tell if something is a research article?

Is It a Research Article?

Below is an example of a news article summarizing a research article.

Possible Causes Behind Age-Linked Memory Loss (WebMD)

The WebMD article linked above uses language that tells you it is not the original study but discussing research someone else has conducted:

"The findings suggests."
"They're acknowledging that..."
"The researchers said..."
"The researchers found that..."

The study WebMD is discussing is a scholarly source, but the WebMD article itself is not. It is a secondary source - one that summarizes original research. The article includes some publishing information about the original study that will help you find the research article.

*There is nothing 'wrong' with the WebMD article, it is just not appropriate for this course.

The WebMD article does give us information about the original research study:

(click on image to enlarge)

Use the information provided (author, journal name, date, subject) as search terms to find for the original study: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, November 3, 2014, Wig, brain and memory. This is available online. I can also use the Periodicals A-Z Finder, linked below, to see if it is available in a TCC library database.

Periodicals A-Z
Click this link to see if the TCC Library has online or full-text access to a specific periodical (newspaper, magazine, or journal).

The research study referred to in the WebMD news article is linked to below:

Decreased segregation of brain systems across the healthy adult lifespan (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)

Note the language in the research study that informs you that it is original research:

"We describe..."
"We characterize..."
"We use...
"We also observed..."
"We focused on..."

These phrases show the reader that the authors of the article are the same ones who conducted the study and are presenting their original research. Original research articles are often referred to as Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed or Professional sources.