END 395/AS395 Urban China in Transition: Reading and Reviewing Articles

Structure of an scholarly article

Abstract: an overview of the entire article’s content. It gives a brief description of the problem or hypothesis, the participants, methodology, statistical analysis, results of study, and the implications of the study.
Introduction: Background to the research topic/problem and identifies research questions (purpose statement).
Methods: A detailed description on how the data was collected and what instruments/measurements were used.
Analysis: Explains how the data was analyzed.
Results: The findings or results of the research problem/study – usually in graphs or charts.
Discussion: The implications of the results, comparing results to other studies, hints to new research needed.
References: The cited articles used throughout the paper. Could also include a literature review or the literature review might be detailed in a section after the introduction.

Art of reading a journal article: Methodically and effectively

Writing a Review of an article

Objectives: What does the article set out to do? Who is the intended audience?
Purpose: How were the research questions identified and answered?
Concepts: What are the central concepts? Are they clearly defined?
Argument: What is the central argument? Are there specific hypotheses?
Method: What methods are employed to test these?
Evidence: Is evidence provided? How adequate is it?
Literature: How does the work fit into the wider literature? How new/old is the literature on the topic?
Contribution: How well does the work advance our knowledge of the subject?
Style: How clear is the author's language/style/expression?
Conclusion: A brief overall assessment.

more: https://libguides.randolph.edu/summaries/review