Journal Article Summary Instructions

 

HOW TO READ AND SUMMARIZE A SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL ARTICLE

 

The main purpose of a scientific paper is to report new results, usually experimental, and to relate these results to previous knowledge in the field.  Scientific journals are the means by which scientists share their findings with others throughout the world.  The majority of true scientific journals are refereed, meaning that scientists write up their findings and then send them to the journal editor, who in turn sends copies of the article to reviewers who are internationally known in that particular discipline.  The reviewers make a decision as to whether the work is deemed publishable.  If deemed publishable, the reviewers submit information regarding areas in need of change or state that the work is ready to be published as is.

 

Your ability to read and critically analyze scientific journal articles allows you to understand the implications of current scientific research and how that research applies to your circumstances.  The ability to analyze these articles also enables you to separate science from pseudoscience and belief, and enables you to understand the long-term, practical implications of the research.

 

Many students approach the task of reading a scientific journal article much like they would a piece of prose.  They start at the beginning and read it word-for-word until they arrive at the end; often bewildered, overwhelmed and wondering “what was it I just read?”  Reading an article from a scientific journal is very different from reading any other kind of writing.  The language can be complex and information is densely packed in these papers. 

  

Although it is tempting to read a scientific paper straight through it is more efficient to organize the way you read.  You will have to skip around and reread sections.  Often, a good amount of outside reading will be necessary to understand the material.  Generally, in order to understand the major points of the work the Abstract is read first.  Before going on, review in your mind what you know about the topic.  This serves several purposes.  First, it clarifies whether you know enough background to understand the paper.  Second, it refreshes your memory about the topic.  Third, it helps you integrate the new information into your previous knowledge about the topic.

 

If you are very familiar with the field, the Introduction section can be skimmed.  The logical flow of most papers goes straight from the Introduction to Results.  Accordingly, the paper should be read in that way as well, skipping Methods and Materials and referring back as needed to clarify what was actually done.  From the Results section proceed to the Discussion for interpretation of the findings.

 

The objective of this document is to expose you to scientific research by developing and practicing skills that will help you read, understand and summarize a peer-reviewed scientific journal article.  A peer-reviewed scientific journal is a published journal of scientific research that ensures all articles are reviewed by a scientist’s peers prior to publishing, in order to ensure that they follow accepted scientific standards.  This does not mean that the article must arrive at a pre-set conclusion, but it does mean that the methods used must be scientific methods, with appropriate experimental controls and sound scientific practices.

 

The assignment is to read a scientific journal article and completely answer all of the questions about the article that are included in this assignment.  You will then use your responses to create a summary of the article.  To complete the assignment, a copy of the article, completely answered questions, and summary must be turned in to the instructor.

 

The article you choose to review can be from any peer-reviewed journal, and can be any length, but be aware that a short article rarely translates into an easy assignment, so base your choice on topics of interest to you rather than length.

 

HighWire Press, a division of the Stanford University Libraries, host the largest repository of high impact, peer-reviewed content from about 1300 journals containing approximately six million full text articles, nearly two million of the articles are free.  HighWire Press can be accessed at: http://highwire.stanford.edu/

 

ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS

1. Write a complete citation for the article.
2. If the article has key words, list them.  If it does not, choose six words or terms from the abstract that you think are most important and best describe the article.
3. What is the larger or global context for the research?
4. Does the research update research performed in the past on the same topic or at the same location?
5. What is the research that is described in the article?  In other words, describe the research problem or question.
6. What is the geographical area of interest in this research article?
7. What types of data were used in the research described in the article?  Be specific; list each one.
8. For each type of data, was it collected by the author(s) as part of the research or was it gathered from some publicly available source?  If collected by the author(s), briefly describe how it was collected.  If taken from some publicly available source, briefly describe the source.
9. Over what time period were the data collected or for what period of time do the data span?
10. How were the data analyzed?  Answer this question for all of the analyses performed on the data.
11. How many different types or categories of results are there?  What are these categories/types?
12. What is the most important or significant result for each category or type from question 11?
13. Which figure or table helped you understand the results more easily for one of the categories or types of results from question 11 (tell me the figure or table number and its caption)?  Why?
14. For the most important/significant result(s) you chose in question 12, what is the author(s)’ interpretation that explains the result?
15. What are two other important or significant conclusions reached by the author(s) based on the research described in the article?
16. How many references are there in the reference list?
17. Which reference in the reference list is cited most often in the text of the article?
18. Pick three scientific words or terms that you did not understand when you first read the article.  Try to pick words that are crucial to your understanding of the article (e.g., words or terms that are used over and over again).  Use a dictionary, the internet, etc. to find a definition for each of the words.  List all three words and their definitions.
19. On a separate piece of paper, take all of your answers and put them together, one after the next, to create a summary of the article.  If you answered all the questions by repeating the question in your answer, it should be very easy to create the summary from your responses.  You’ll need to read it over, eliminate any repetition, and perhaps juggle some phrases or sentences around to make it read better.  Start with the citation and end with information about the key words, definitions, and references.

 

GRADING: Journal Article Summaries count as bonus points.  Each is worth one percentage point on the 9-weeks average.  A maximum of five journal article summaries can be turned in each 9-weeks.  To receive credit, journal article summaries must be turned in no later than Friday of the 8^th week of the grading period.

 

CONSIST OF: 1)  A peer-reviewed article related to Science.  Each journal article must have prior instructor approval or no credit will be awarded.

                           2)  Photocopy of the journal article.

                           3)  Journal Article Summary Assignment Questions responses.

                           4)  Typed summary of the article.