This document provides guidance on how to read a scientific (psychology) article. It explains that a scholarly article is contained within a peer-reviewed journal, written by experts, and cites references. Newspapers and magazines differ in that they are shorter, lack references, and can express opinions. When reading a scientific article, the reader should skim first, then read sections in order - abstract, introduction, methods, results, and conclusion. Key steps are to look up unknown terms, identify the research question and how measurements align with the question. Sections include the abstract, introduction, literature review, methods, results, discussion, and references. The methods section describes the study design, population, materials, and procedures to allow replication.

1. Reading a Scientific
(Psychology) Article
Diane Clark, MLIS, MEd
MacEwan University 2018

3. Learning outcomes
By the end of this class you will be able to
1. Describe the difference between a scholarly/scientific
article and
2. Develop skills to read a scientific article in psychology

4. What is a scholarly article?
● Article contained in a
scholarly journal
● Journal is peer-
reviewed or refereed
● Written by experts in
the field1
Unsure if a journal is
scholarly?
● Choose peer-review in a
database
● Go to the journal’s
website
● Who is the author?
● Language, grammar,
references

5. Information is not equal
Newspapers and magazines are
short articles, not in-depth
research, do not list references,
and often express opinions.
OR
Scientific or scholarly articles are
often primary research, articles are
reviewed by other experts, have list
of references, and written by experts.

6. Me when asked to read a scientific paper.
(Hendrickson)

7. Steps when reading a scientific
(psychology) article
1. Skim through
2. Read sections in order - abstract, introduction, results,
methods and conclusion
3. Take good notes for each section
4. Look up unknown terms and write them down
5. Identify key information:
a. Research question, importance of the research, appriopriateness of
measurements and procedures, key findings are aligned with the
research question
2
(Y.Arcus)

8. Reading a scientific
article: Sections
1. Abstract
2. Introduction
3. Literature Review
4. Methods or Methodology
5. Results
6. Discussion
7. References
(Fenn)

9. Reading a scientific article: Sections
Abstract
● Describes the research article
Introduction
● Introduces the research problem and describes
why the results need to be obtained
Literature Review
● Provides the foundation for your research,
demonstrates you understand what other
researchers have published
Methods or Methodology
● Describes the processes used in minute detail
in clear and concise language
● Discusses the theoretical framework applied
to answer the research question
● Describes:
○ Population (age, gender, ethnicity etc),
location of study (classroom, lab etc),
how participants were found, materials
or questions used, type of study
(quantitative/qualitative), procedures
used to gather information
● Study must be able to be replicated by another
researcher

10. Results
● Describes the results
and what can be
concluded
● Analysed data is in the
results often in a table
or graph
(Southern Research 2015)
Reading a scientific paper:
Sections - Results vs. Discussion
Discussion
● Highly detailed discussion of
results and their implications in
the field of psychology
● Show how the results
agree/disagree with previously
published literature

11. References
Fenn, A. (Photographer). Harlow with rhesus monkey [digital image]. Retrieved from
http://images.google.com/hosted/life/fd55c8d0ff5bee43.html
Pain, E. (2016). How to (seriously) read a scientific paper. Science, 360(6391),
doi:10.1126/science.caredit.a1600047
Southern Research. (Photographer). (2015) Local high school students perform life sciences and
engineering experiments in Southern Research Labs [digital image]. Retrieved from
https://southernresearch.org/news/local-high-school-students-perform-life-sciences-and-engineering-
experiments-in-southern-research-labs