Most scientific articles are structured in a similar way.
Title: tells you what the article is about in the most general sense.
Abstract: describes the article in approximately 250 words. Look for keywords and terms to help determine if the article is relevant to your research.
Introduction: will include general background, problem, hypotheses or research questions, expected outcome, significance of the study, and definition of terms.
Literature review: examines the current research that informs the design of a study, or the approach toward a problem.
Methodology: includes a description of the participants, research instrument, process of data collection and analyses
Results: a comprehensive description of the outcome of the study. Often will include tables or specific numbers.
Discussion and/or Conclusion: attempts to place the results in a larger context within the field. Sometimes includes flaws or problems with the design or implementation of the study, and suggests further avenues of research.
References or Works Cited: Citations for every article referred to in the article. A Bibliography, by contrast, includes complete citations for every resource consulted.
Endnotes or Footnotes: provides supplemental information or citations.
Types of Articles
Empirical Research Articles: usually around 5-20 pages and are complete descriptions of original research findings.
Literary Analysis Articles: provide analysis of a particular work from a specific critical or theoretical point of view.
Literature Review Articles: do not cover original research but instead look at results of multiple articles on a particular topic. These articles are valuable as overviews of the research on a particular topic.
Letters/Communications: Short descriptions of the latest study or research findings which are usually considered urgent for immediate publication.
Book Reviews: review recently published books in a particular field. Often contain critique or praise for newly published books.
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Covers mathematics, economics, ecology, religion, history and more. Contains full text and indexing for most titles beginning in the late 1990s. Coverage varies by title.
Contains full text articles and indexing for more than 160 journals and a dozen full-text monographs. Subject coverage includes librarianship, classification, cataloging, bibliometrics, online information retrieval, information management and more.
General Subject Databases
Offers broad subject coverage in a variety of subject areas.
Academic Search Complete: Your secret weapon for crushing college assignments! This mega-database is packed with tons of full-text articles on just about everything. Need info for your psychology paper? Check. Looking for sources on climate change? Got it. With easy searching and loads of peer-reviewed content, you'll find exactly what you need to nail your projects. Don't waste time Googling - Academic Search Complete is your shortcut to academic success!
Academic OneFile: Your one-stop shop for acing those papers! Dive into millions of articles from top journals and magazines on practically any subject. Whether you're cramming for a history exam or need sources for your English essay, this database has your back. Easy to search, packed with reliable info, and always up-to-date. Say goodbye to stressing over finding good sources – Academic OneFile makes research a breeze!
Contains full text for nearly 1,700 periodicals covering general reference, business, health, education, general science, multicultural issues and much more. This database also contains full text more than 500 reference books, over 107,000 primary source documents, and an Image Collection of over 510,000 photos, maps & flags.
Google Scholar Search
We suggest using the recommended databases first, but Google Scholar can offer additional sources.
