Purposive

 Communication   GPCOM  
 

Research
þ Determine the corresponding
parts of a research digest with
the parts of a research paper
þ Compare citations with
references in research papers

Digest
þ Identify ways on how to avoid
plagiarism when writing a
research project
þ Write a research digest

A research digest is an analysis of a research paper wherein you demonstrate your understanding of the study part
by part by applying your critical thinking abilities. It shows how you digest a research paper.

Correlating the Parts of a Research Digest with the Parts of a Research Paper
Both a research paper and a research digest should look into four main things: “the logical and coherent rationales
for conducting a study, concrete descriptions of methods, procedures, design, and analyses, accurate and clear
reports of the findings, and plausible interpretations and conclusions based on the findings” (Matthew, 2015, p. 1).

Structure of Scientific Paper

Research Digest Research Paper © USC Libraries

þ Get a general idea of what the paper studies and Abstract (What)
presents. (This is not included in the research digest • presents the focus, study results and conclusion(s) of
but it can serve as a guide.) the paper in a concise overview

I. Introduction Introduction (Why)

1. What is the study about?
þ Determine what the topic of the paper is and
why it is important to study the topic.
þ Search for the research gap or what still needs to
be studied.
þ Identify information about the study that you find
interesting or relevant.
2. What is the study investigating?
þ Look for the research questions/problems and
hypotheses. (They are usually stated at the end of
the Introduction.)
• states the topic of the paper, together with the
purpose and importance or uniqueness of
conducting the study
• usually follows a deductive method of presenting
information (general to specific)
Introduction - Literature Review (Who else)
• illustrates what previous papers have found about
the topic and what parts of the topic still need some
exploration
• contains information presented by previous
researchers, thus a number of corroborations or
citations of other researchers are present

II. Method

1. Who participated in the study?

þ List the participants or respondents of the study.
þ If applicable, determine how they were
categorized.
2. What is the process of the study?
þ Trace the steps of how data was gathered and
how it was interpreted.
þ Use a flow chart to outline the process.
Methodology / Materials and Methods (How)
• outlines how the study was done or the process of
how the researcher/s conducted the study
• discusses the type of research employed
• contains data gathering tools like statistical tools that
were used in the study

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 Communication
  GPCOM
III. Findings (Qualitative); Results (Quantitative)
1. What is/are the result/s of the study for each research
question/problem?
þ Look for the data and statistical results in the form
of tables, charts, and graphs.
þ Focus on the most important results: the highest
and the lowest, the most frequent and the least
frequent, etc.
2. What is/are the interpretation/s for each result?
þ Determine important interpretations and
corroborations that explain each result.
Purposive
Results (What happened)
• contains accurate results of the analyses of data
• usually follows the same order as how the research
problem/s were presented in the Introduction and
Methodology
Discussion / Analysis (What it means)
• presents how the results for each research problem
are interpreted
• uses corroboration to back up interpretations
***Corroboration in research is to look for other studies
that show the same or similar information as your results.
This strengthens the results of your paper.

IV. Conclusion
How do the conclusions compare with the findings of the
study and the research questions/problems?
þ Identify whether the researcher has answered the
research questions accurately using the findings or
results.
Conclusion (What was learned)
• provides the researcher’s/s’ thoughts on: how the
study addressed their hypothesis, how it contributes
to the field, the strengths and weaknesses of the
study, and recommendations for future research

Avoiding Plagiarism
Both a research paper and a research digest should avoid plagiarism when referring to or using an idea that is
mentioned or written by someone else. When doing a research project, you need to look for other studies or use
information from other people to develop and back up your ideas. However, you have to do so responsibly by
properly acknowledging the owner/s of the research or the idea through citations and references.

What is plagiarism? What are citations and references?

• buying or stealing an idea such
as a paper or an article online
• copying someone’s idea without
citation
• building on someone’s idea
without citation
• stating an idea too closely to the
original when paraphrasing
Common ways students and
scholars accidentally plagiarize
by Michele Kirschenbaum and Wendy
Ikemoto @ Citation Machine
1. Misquoting sources
When using direct quotation, or
using the exact words and
enclosing them in quotation
marks, copy the words exactly as
is. Do not change any of the
words.
2. Problems with paraphrasing
Paraphrasing, or expressing
someone else’s ideas using your
own words, does not mean only
substituting words with their
synonyms.
 
citations (in-text citations) references
direct quotations and needed information about
what paraphrases of ideas from where you found your in-text
other sources citations
in the paragraphs or the main at the end of your or the last
where parts of your paper page/s of your paper
Every citation should have a corresponding reference.
APA Style includes: APA Style includes:
• last name/s of author/s • name/s of author/s
• year of publication • year or date of publication
• page/s (for direct • retrieval date
quotations) • title and/or subtitle of work
• publisher (print sources)
how • URL (electronic sources)
Plagiarism is defined are “ the American Psychological
process of claiming credits for Association. (2010). Publication
the words, ideas, and concepts manual of the American
of others” (American Psychological Association (6th
Psychological Association, ed.). Author.
2010, p170).
There are several other citation and reference formats like MLA Style and
Chicago Style but the APA Style is largely used.
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 Purposive
 Communication
  GPCOM
 

 
Paraphrasing
When paraphrasing, you have to fully
understand the original statement before
expressing it using your own words. You can
use two or more of the following techniques:
• use synonyms
• change the order of words
• change the function of words

Examine the examples:

Original text:
Although literary style certainly affects
readers, “the elegance of presentation
is of no importance as a measure of
whether the theory will prove an
empirically useful tool” (Hall & Linzey,
2014, p. 98). [direct quotation]
Paraphrased text:
Although literary style certainly affects
readers, the proof of the theory being
a logically useful tool is not based on
how eloquent it is presented (Hall &
Linzey, 2014). [paraphrasing with
parenthetical citation]
Although literary style certainly affects
readers, Hall and Linzey (2014) suggest
that the value of a theory being
empirically useful does not rely on how
elegant it is presented. [paraphrasing
with authors as part of the narrative]
Although literary style certainly affects
readers, Hall and Linzey (2014) suggest
that measuring the usefulness of a
theory should not be based on how
well it is presented. [paraphrasing with
authors as part of the narrative]

þ After carefully reading the assigned research journal, write a research digest about it. Use the given template
and avoid plagiarism.

References:
editage Insights. (n.d.). 3 techniques to avoid plagiarism [Infographic]. Retrieved April 25, 2020 from https://www.editage.com/insights/3-
techniques-to-avoid-plagiarism-in-your-research-paper
Kirschenbaum, M., & Ikemoto, W. (2020, March 3). A comprehensive guide to APA citations and format.
https://www.citationmachine.net/apa/cite-a-book
Matthews, S. (2015). Analyzing research articles: A guide for readers and writers [PDF file].
https://ils.unc.edu/courses/2015_spring/inls151_003/Analyzing_Research_Articles.pdf
Purdue Writing Lab. (n.d.). Is it plagiarism? Retrieved April 25, 2020, from
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/using_research/avoiding_plagiarism/is_it_plagiarism.html
University of Southern California. (2020, April 7). Research guides - Evaluating information sources: Reading scholarly articles. USC Libraries.
https://libguides.usc.edu/evaluate/scholarlyarticles

Instructor: Salverina P. Tauli Department of Languages and Communication 2nd Sem. A.Y. 2019-2020
STELA-SLU

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