Libraries

Borrow & Request

Help

Meet & Study Here

Tech & Print

About

Scholarly Articles: How can I tell?

In this guide, you will learn about the di erent parts of a scholarly journal
article and what makes it di erent than a popular journal article.

Home METHODOLOGY
Characteristics The methodology section or methods section tells
Journal you how the author(s) went about doing their
Information research. It should let you know a) what method
they used to gather data (survey, interviews,
Literature
experiments, etc.), why they chose this method, and
Review
what the limitations are to this method.
Author
The methodology section should be detailed enough
and
that another researcher could replicate the study
a liation
described. When you read the methodology or
Abstract methods section:

Introduction What kind of research method did the authors

use? Is it an appropriate method for the type of
study they are conducting?
H did h h h i bj ?
 How did the authors get their tests subjects?
Specialized
What criteria did they use?
Vocabulary
What are the contexts of the study that may
Methodology have a ected the results (e.g. environmental

Methodology

Results
conditions, lab conditions, timing questions,
etc.) 

Is the sample size representative of the larger
Data population (i.e., was it big enough?)
Are the data collection instruments and
Discussion
procedures likely to have measured all the
References important characteristics with reasonable
accuracy?
Research
Does the data analysis appear to have been
sponsors
done with care, and were appropriate analytical
Peer-review techniques used? 

A good researcher will always let you know about

the limitations of his or her research.

Last Updated: Oct 2, 2019 10:23 AM

URL: https://guides.library.oregonstate.edu/ScholarlyArticle  Print Page
Login to LibApps
Subjects: Learn About... Tags: peer-review, scholarly