Research Article Summary Paper The structure of a research summary will resemble that of an original research paper. The summary should be double-spaced, written in 12-point font, and limited to two p

Research Summary for Biochemistry 1 (CHE 303) Purpose of a Research Summary: The purpose of a research summary is to provide a brief overview of a given study , typically of a peer -reviewed research article. It is a separate, stand -alone document containing sufficient detail and clarity to allow a reader to completely understand the contents of the main research study. Most importantly , for students it is a useful tool t o learn to properly interact with and interpret scientific literature. Research Summary Structure : The structure of a research summary wil l resemble that of an original research paper. Your summary should be double -spaced, written in 12 -point font, and limited to two pages , with one - inch margins . The key structural elements of the research summary are broken down as detailed below. For your summary. c learly label each section with the exception of the title. • Title (3pts) – Your title should be informative and unique. Titles typically announce the exact topic , purpose, area of analysis, key finding(s) , or major argument(s) found in that study . o The title should be between 40 – 75 characters. o Do not duplicate the original title. o Make your title bold and centered. o Below your title add : ▪ A summary of Reading et al., 2017 ▪ Written by Your Name Example: Characterization of Membrane Dynamics by HDXMS A summary of Reading et al., 2017 Written by Viridiana Herrera • Abstract – In academic papers, a bstracts are concise and comprehensive summar ies of the major highlights in a given study. The length varies by academic journal. However, since your research summary is an expanded form of an abstract , research summaries do not require an abstract. o You are not required to introduce a n abstract to your summary. • Introduction (12 pts) – Generally, an introduction will provide the necessary context to help familiarize the reader with the subject being presented. Furthermore, introductions will typically d iscuss the current state of investigation of a given field of research and address what is known and what remains to be discovered. In your summary, make sure to discuss the questions and hypotheses that the authors want to address. Clearly state what the goal o f this paper is and how the authors aim to advance the current state of knowledge. Define key words that you deem necessary for the comprehension of the material. o Introduction should be 1 00 – 150 words maximum. • Methodology (10 pts) – In research articles, the location of this section may vary. Sometimes it is in the main text, while other times it is presented as supporting information. Regardless, authors have the duty to provide all crucial details of an experiment so that other scie ntists can replicate their work for validation and expansion of research . In your research summary, most of the experimental details will have to be omitted. Therefore , it is important for you to select the methods that are most unique and relevant to the understanding of this study. Provide a brief overview of the most crucial methods used that resulted in the major findings. o Methodology should be 50 – 100 words maximum. • Results sectio n (15 pts) – Oftentimes, in scientific articles the most relevant data is presented within the paper, while supporting information is presented as supplement. This section typically list s in detail evidence obtained from all experiments. Sometimes, primary data analysis, as well a s initial conclusions, observations and interpretations are briefly made to accompany the results . Analyze the data and determine which content is crucial and which is worth omitting from your summary. You may find it useful to r evisit your introduction an d determine which results better address the hypotheses/aims of the paper to help you select which results to discuss. o Results should be 150 – 200 words maximum. • Discussion (15 pts) – Discussion sections are used to address the results in the context of pre -existing current knowledge among experts in the field. In this section you will find interpretations of the results, theoretical models that can be inferred from the results at hand, comments on the strengths and limitati ons of the study, as well as future directions of the work. Here is the section where you can make your own comment and express your opinion of the results. Are there experiments you think are missing? What could be done to strengthen the message? o 150 – 20 0 words maximum . • Conclusion (10 pts) – Some journals require a conclusion to follow specific instructions. However, they will typically revisit the hypothesis and summarize the overall findings of the paper. o Conclusion should be 20 – 50 words . o Revisit the hypothesis and the results. Determine if the results support or invalidate the original hypothesis. How convincing is the evidence? • References (5 pts) – Scientific articles tend to have an expansive list of references. It is important to give credit where credit is due. For your summary, you will need to reference the article being discussed as well as other sources used to help you write the summary. o Li st a minimum of three references in APA, MLA, or Chicago format. o References do not count towards your 2 -page limit Research Summary Writing Tips (Provided by Edubirdie) 1. Make sure you are always aware of the bigger picture/ direction. You need to keep in mind a complete and coherent picture of the story delivered by the original article. It might be useful rereading it or scanning it quickly to remind yourself of the declared goals, hypotheses, key evidence, and conclusions – this awareness offers constant sense of direction, which ensures that no written sentence is out of context. It is useful doing this even after you have written a fourth, a third, or half of the paper (to make sure no deviation happens). 2. Consider writing a detailed research outline before writing the draft – it might be of great use when structuring your paper. A research summary template is also very likely to help you structure your paper. 3. Sketch the main elements of the conclusion before writing it. This is because a conclusion has to do a number of things: validate/invalidate hypotheses; enumerate key evidence supporting or invalidating them, list potential implications; mention the subject’s importance; mention study limitations and future dire ctions for research. In order to include them all, it is useful having them written down and handy. 4. Consider writing the introduction and discussion last. It makes sense to first list hypotheses, goals, questions, key results. Later , information contained in introduction and discussion can be adapted as needed (for instance, to match a preset word count limit). Apart from this, follow a natural order. 5. Include visuals – you could summarize a lot of text using graphs or charts and improving readability. 6. Be ve ry careful about plagiarism. It is very tempting to “borrow” or quote entire phrases from article, provided how well -written these are, but you need to summarize your paper without plagiarizing at all (forget entirely about copy -paste – it is only allowed to paraphrase and even this should be done carefully). The best way to stay safe is by formulating your own thoughts from scratch. 7. Keep your word count in check. You don’t want your summary to be as long as the original paper (just reformulated). In additi on, you might need to respect an imposed word count limit, which requires being careful about how much you write for each section. 8. Proofread your work, for grammar, spelling, wordiness, and formatting issues Have a fellow student read your work and provide you feedback, if possible. 9. Watch your writing style – when summarizing content, it should be impersonal, precise, and purely evidence -based. A personal view/attitude should be provided only in the critical section (if required). 10. Ask a colleague to read y our summary and test whether he/she could understand everything without reading the article – this will help ensure that you haven’t skipped some important content, explanations, concepts, etc.