IMRD is a common scholarly source format primarily used in the sciences and social sciences, organized into sections including abstract, introduction & literature review, methods, results, discussion, conclusion, and references. Each section serves a specific purpose, with particular emphasis on the discussion section for understanding the significance of results. Other scholarly source formats exist, especially in the arts and humanities, which may not follow a standard layout and often emphasize essays and logical arguments.

1. IMRD & Other
Common Scholarly
Source Formats

2. What is IMRD?
01

3. In short, IMRD is a common scholarly
source format. It is most typically used in
the sciences or social sciences.
Becoming familiar with its format will
make it easier for you to critically read
and find the information most crucial for
your own research project.

4. How is it formatted?
Abstract
Introduction &
Lit Review
Results Discussion
Methods
Conclusion &
References
1
4
2
5
3
6

5. A source’s abstract will provide an overview
of the article. This is a good place to start, as
it will let you know if the article will be
useful for your purposes or not. Read it
to know if you want to read the rest
of the article!
Section 1: Abstract

6. Section 2: Introduction & Lit Review
The end of the introduction will typically have a thesis or
hypothesis. If there is a thesis, it will be supported throughout
the article. If there’s a hypothesis, pay close attention,
because it may not end up being true by the end of the article!
The intro & literature review section is a great place to get an
overview of the topic and find other sources. Be sure to pay
attention to when your source is citing other sources, so that
way you cite properly in your own project.

7. Section 3: Methods
The methods describe how the researchers conducted their
study. Some of the details may not be relevant to you unless
you are conducting your own fieldwork study. However, you’ll
want to get the main point of what type of research was
conducted.
Also, you’ll want to think about the limits of the study. For
example, was only a certain demographic interviewed or
surveyed?

8. The results section is where you will find the
nitty-gritty of the results of the study. There
will often be charts and graphs here that
may be difficult to understand. Be sure to get
the main ideas here, but you may not need
to focus on all the minor details.
Section 4: Results

9. The discussion is where to focus the most
of your energy when reading an IMRD
formatted article. This section is where the
author tells you what the results mean and
why they are important. So, spend lots of
time going over this section.
Section 5: Discussion

10. Section 6: Conclusion & References
Some articles will have a separate conclusion. Some will
have it with the discussion. One thing to look for in the
conclusion is a suggestion for future research. This part can
help you justify your own research study in a proposal or
fieldwork paper.
The references section will show all of the sources used in
the article. Don’t forget to look for other useful sources on
the reference list or works cited page!

11. What are other
common formats
of scholarly
sources?
02

12. Arts and Humanities Articles
Within the Arts and Humanities, scholarly articles are set
up more like essays, rather than scientific experiments.
Because of this, there is typically not a standard format.
Many authors will often have their own unique headings to
split up their papers or articles.
This is because in the Humanities scholars are making
logical arguments based on evidence rather than
conducting experiments.

13. Arts and Humanities Articles, cont.
Despite this, the following sections are generally (but not
always) included in humanities scholarly articles:
● Abstract: brief summary, usually included
● Introduction: provides background and a thesis
“statement” that is typically longer than a sentence
● Discussion/Conclusion: runs through the entire article
and does not have a separate section like the science
● Works Cited: list of resources used by the author(s)

14. Academic books will typically cover one
topic in quite a bit of depth. They can be
useful if you’re looking to explore a specific
topic from different angles. Chapters
will often explore a specific aspect
of a larger topic.
Books / Book Chapters

15. Understanding
common source
formats can help you
navigate scholarly
sources with more
ease!