Research Articles (1.3)

Question 1

What are the typical sections of research articles?

Answer 1

• Title
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• References

Question 2

Title & Abstract

Answer 2

At beginning of an article
Brief summary of
•Motivation
•Research question
•Methods
•Results
•Interpretation

Question 3

Introduction

Answer 3

Briefly summarizes what we do and do not 
know regarding the research question, and 
why that question is important to answer.
•Includes a range of introductory info
•Motivation
•General topic
•Specific topic
•Research question
•Literature review
•Theories and hypotheses
•Brief into to the present research and 
predictions

Question 4

Methods

Answer 4

•Specific details about the design.
•Important for replicating and 
evaluating the research
•Usually includes sub-sections
-Subjects
--How many, age range...
•Equipment & Materials
•Procedure
-Coding, sampling, etc.

Question 5

Results

Answer 5

Statistical analyses
•Text & Figures
•Little to no interpretation

Question 6

Discussion

Answer 6

Briefly restates the motivation, what was 
done, and what was found.
Interpret the results.
Describe their relevance.
Relate them to the broader literature.
-theories
-other findings
Mention limitations.
Possible future research questions.

Question 7

Reference

Answer 7

• APA format is used in most cog sci
  publications.
• Useful for finding relevant research
  to follow up on.

Question 8

How to do APA formatting:

Answer 8

•In text citations
•Author’s name in parentheses
•Spontaneous facial mimicry has been observed in sun bears (Taylor, Hartmann, Dezecache, Te Wong, & Davila-Ross, 2019)
•Author’s name as part of the text
•Taylor et al. (2019) observed spontaneous facial mimicry in sun bears.
•et al. is used after the first time a paper is cited in the work.
•et al. is also used the first time a paper is cited if there are 6 or more authors
•Reference section
•Journal articles
•Taylor, D., Hartmann, D., Dezecache, G., Te Wong, S., & Davila-Ross, M. (2019). Facial
complexity in sun bears: exact facial mimicry and social sensitivity. Scientific Reports,
9(1), 1-6.
•Other media (e.g., a chapter in an edited book) are referenced using a different format in APA

Question 9

What are some strategies for reading research articles?

Answer 9

Getting the gist
•Read the title
•Skim the abstract
•Look at the figures and tables
•Skim the beginning and end of the intro and/or discussion

Question 10

What are review articles?

Answer 10

Summary of current state and understanding of a topic.

• Critical and constructive
• Identifies gaps
• Rarely presents new data
• Useful to getting to know a topic

Question 11

What are meta analysis?

Answer 11

A type of statistical analysis and review article that combines and analyzes the data from multiple experimental papers that ask the same question. Useful for addressing how reliable findings are