Article Summary and Analysis

Assignment Details:
For this assignment you will:
Summarize the findings of four academic journal articles in a brief written summary.
The ability to summarize works not only helps you organize your thoughts, but can provide a method for keeping track of what you have read (without re-reading all the articles).
Write an analysis of what these four academic journal articles tell you about your project topic.
It is important for you not only to read the articles but be able to take a step back and think about how the information works together to tell you something about your topic.
This assignment is an individual grade (worth 40 points) and helps ensure each of you is making progress in researching your topic. Each summary should include the reference for the article in APA format at the top, and your name in the top left corner. I recommend an outline format for your summaries (see below).
You should have FOUR article summaries, each answering the following questions.
Overview
In a sentence or two, what did the researchers do?
Introduction
What was the rationale for this study?
Was there a specific theory that the researchers relied on?
If so, what is the basic idea behind the theory?
What did the researchers predict would happen?
If they had formal hypotheses or research questions, what were these?
Method
Briefly describe the sequence of events the researchers undertook.
What are the relevant characteristics of the sample used in this study?
If human participants, age/ethnicity/sex/education, etc.
If content analysis, what was the population of interest & unit of analysis?
Results
What were the major findings?
Specific statistical results and numbers aren’t necessary
Breaking down results by hypotheses/research questions may be helpful
Discussion
What are the major conclusions of the study?
What are the relevant implications of these conclusions?
What limitations/future directions do the authors note?
Utility
What did you take away from this article?
How might your group use this article in the final presentation?
You should have ONE general synopsis that includes all of the following information.
Synopsis
How do these articles work together? Do they all point to the same conclusion? Do they offer mixed evidence?
Do other articles answering gaps or missing information presented in other articles?
What are the implications of your research?
What information is left to figure out?
If you were asked, what is the big picture about your topic? What would your answer be?
What is the solution?
What needs to be done?
What recommendations would you make?
What are next steps to be taken?
______________________________________________________________________________
Tips for Finding Journal Articles:
An academic article is published in a peer-reviewed journal (e.g., Journal of Health Communication, Qualitative Health Research, etc.)
An academic article is NOT published in popular culture periodicals (e.g., New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, etc.)
Useful library databases (where to start your search)
Communication and Mass Media Complete
PsycINFO
PubMed
MEDLINE Plus
Google Scholar* (*not actually a database, but can link to on campus resources)
______________________________________________________________________________
Tips for Reading Journal Articles:
Students often struggle with reading academic articles for a variety of reasons, including difficult to comprehend ‘academic jargon,’ the use of complex statistical analyses, etc.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to try and read an academic article like it is a textbook chapter. If you take this approach and try to understand everything in the article, you risk spending your time on less important information, which can quickly lead you to feeling confused and discouraged.
Instead, it is helpful to think of articles as trying to solve a “puzzle,” or a question that the researchers were trying to answer (e.g., “Does exposure to sexual content on TV cause adolescents to engage in risky sexual behaviors?”). Start out by first identifying what the “puzzle” is.
One strategy for doing so is to first quickly read through the article to get a general sense of what the article is about. After you’ve read through once and have a better idea of what the “puzzle” is that the authors are trying to solve, reading through the article again will help clarify some things that may have been confusing the first time.
Knowing the format of an article (and what to expect) can also be helpful. The format of most academic articles is fairly consistent, and can be thought of as being split up into four sections (plus an abstract):
Abstract (separate from the article)
Provides a general description of the article, including major findings
1. Introduction (i.e., what has been done before?)
Summarizes past research
Indicates how shortcomings in the literature, and how the current study fills this “hole in the literature”
May introduce a theoretical lens to explain phenomenon
May include formal research questions or hypotheses
2. Method (i.e., what did the authors do?)
Think of the method as a “recipe for science,” as the method tells the reader exactly what was done (i.e., how someone could replicate the study)
3. Results (i.e., what did the authors find?)
Often the most difficult sections to understand (so don’t worry if you don’t understand everything!)
Includes formal statistical tests, charts, graphs, etc.
Provides the answers to the hypotheses/research questions being asked
4. Discussion (i.e., what does it all mean?)
Summarizes results in “plain English” for the reader
Authors reflect on their findings, and may draw broader implications (e.g., how may the results inform health policy?)
Usually includes limitations of the study and future directions for research