Need an expert trained in accessing information? Kent Librarians can provide direction to relevant electronic and print resources, and facilitate navigation of vast internet materials using advanced search strategies.
Try these to strengthen your searches:
Read the Abstract First: the abstract is an overview of the article and can be useful when judging whether it is relevant.
Jump Around: Skip around the article. Start with the abstract, introduction, conclusion, and images or data. If it looks useful, read it from beginning to end.
Mark it Up: Take notes, highlight, and ask how the information relates to your research.
| Abstract | A brief summary of the article, including research question, methodology and results. |
| Introduction | Background information about the topic, leading up to why this study is being done. May include a brief literature review. |
| Methods | Description of the study procedures, set-up and how data was collected. |
| Results/Findings | Presentation of the data from the study. This section often includes tables, charts, or other visualizations of the data. |
| Discussion | Analysis of the data and how the study relates to existing knowledge of the topic. The authors evaluate whether their results answer their research question. |
| Conclusion | The authors wrap up the article by discussing how their study contributes to the research on the topic and by outlining future potential research questions or studies. |
| References | List of resources that the authors consulted when developing their research and subsequently cited in their article |
UC Merced Library
Peer reviewed articles are written by experts in their respective fields. After being written, these articles are reviewed by other experts to ensure the quality and accuracy of the article before publication.