Article Summary Instructions

To meet the research requirement you may read and write reviews of research articles. Each accepted article summary counts as a one-hour credit towards your three-hour research requirement for the class.

Here are the instructions for completing article summaries.

  • Find the article list for your class and choose one. Please note that articles are different for each course. Article summaries from other classes will not be accepted.
  • Retrieve and read the article from the UNLV Library.
  • Write a summary of the article.
    • At the top of the summary, include
      • Your first and last name,
      • The instructor/course and section (e.g., Jones/ESP 701-1001)
      • Your NSHE ID number
      • The article title
      • The APA 7th Edition citation for the article
    • Then, carefully read the article and complete these summary questions: 
      • What did the researchers want to find out?
      • How were the data collected?
      • Who were the subjects (study participants)?
      • How many subjects in the study? What kind of subjects?
      • How were the data analyzed (e.g., what kind of tests were given, measurements used?)
      • What was learned (the results of the study)?
      • What did you think about the article?
  • Submit your summary before the deadline*.
    • Double check that you have all of the required information in the header at the top of your summary
    • Make sure you have chosen an article specific to your class
    • Check to see if you have answered all of the questions
    • Save your summary as a Microsoft Word or PDF document
    • Email it to the Research Management System Coordinator at [email]
  • Keep a copy of your summary for your records.
    • You can monitor the status of the summary (pass or no pass) through the [EMS Research Management System] (a.k.a., SONA).

*All summaries must be submitted by midnight (pacific) on Friday of the last week of classes (not final exam week). Any resubmissions must also be turned in by that same day.

Helpful Hints

  • Pay particular attention to the Purpose of Present Study area of the article. Often a clear hypothesis/prediction can be found here. If you are having difficulty, it is sometimes helpful to find the Methods Section and read one paragraph at a time until you see the purpose and/or prediction statement. Also, in the Discussion Section the prediction is often restated (e.g., as we predicted).
  • When looking for information about the subjects, measurement tools, and how they were used, the Methods section is a good place to look. In particular, in the Methods section you will usually find participants, measures, procedures (or some variation of these words). You will also typically find the number and types of participants (e.g., subjects, students), the types of methods of tests or assessments that were used to measure change in the participants, and how these tests or measurement tools were used to collect data (this is often called procedures. When you explain the study/experiment in your own words, the person who reads your explanation should be able to get a general idea about the study without having to read the article.
  • When looking for the results of the study, read the Results section carefully. However, do not overlook the Discussion section. The Results section will provide you with the data, the Discussion section will interpret the data in terminology that is easy to understand.
  • Remember, the assignment is for you to provide your understanding of the article. Please use your own words when answering the questions and not overly rely on quotations.

Have Questions?

Please review these FAQs and contact the EMS subject pool coordinator at ems.subjectpool@unlv.edu if you need additional assistance.