| Title |
The title of a scholarly article is a very brief summary (a sentence or shorter) of the article’s contents. Usually at the very top of the article. |
| Authors |
The authors and their credentials appear near the top of the article. Credentials are provided to establish authority and to provide contact information. |
| Abstract |
A summary of the article, usually under 250 words. It contains a description of the problem, an outline of the study, and a summary of the conclusions. Readers can use it to quickly decide whether to read the article. |
| Introduction |
Describes the topic or problem the authors researched. The authors will present their thesis or the research goal, and the importance of the research question. |
| Literature Review |
An overview of related research that has already been published. It may be included in the introduction or be its own section. |
| Charts & graphs |
Scholarly articles frequently contain charts or graphs to display statistical data used and analysis done. |
| Methods |
A clear description of how study was done, why those procedures were chosen, and which statistical tests were done to analyze data. |
| Results |
This section is where the findings of the study are reported based on the information gathered and analyzed. It simply and logically states the findings, without bias or interpretation. |
| Discussion |
Interprets and describes, in plain language, the results and the significance of the findings in the context of what was already known about the research problem. |
| Conclusion |
At the end of the article. Authors summarize the results of their research, discuss how their finding relate to other scholarship, or encourage other researchers to continue their work. |
| References |
Listed at the end of the paper, most scholarly articles contain references to publications by other authors. Each one listed connects to a citation used in the paper. You can use them to find additional sources on the topic. |
