Using journal articles

Ross Woods, 2020

You have a research topic and now need to do a review of journal articles.

Before you start, what does your institution expect?

  1. Some institutions specify a minimum number of articles to be used while others require that the search be exhaustive.
  2. Some assume that research frontiers progress rapidly, so they specify that articles must be published within a certain time, for example, within the last three or five years.
  3. Other institutions allow older items and do not specify that articles must be recent. This prevents research from going in circles. Some topics have become unfashionable but later come back into fashion. Some problems were adequately resolved in the past, and researchers might re-consider those solutions. However, researchers also need to make sure that they also use newer sources to make sure they consider any recent developments.

What kinds of articles are in research journals?

  1. Articles in research journals are usually very specialized and have narrow topics. They normally add to theory in their field. If they are experimental in some way, they have particular methodologies and tightly defined populations. The approach is based on the shared belief that theory develops through a large amount of specialized research items. These can then be reviewed to create more generalized conclusions.
    Research journals occasionally include "how to" articles, often relating to methodology. These are useful as textbooks.
  2. Articles in professional journals are often less specialized, and are primarily used to consider implementational issues and improvement of practice.
  3. Very specialized articles usually have very specialized relevance, so many articles in the same field will not be relevant to your particular research topic.

How do you find an article?

  1. See the library and use the search facility for each repository.
  2. Titles normally represent the contents very well, so a title will give you a good idea of the whole article.
  3. Many articles are now free, either free online or free to use through a library. Other articles will cost you. If the article is directly relevant to your topic, you might need to pay for a copy.

What do you do when you find an article that appears to be suitable?

  1. Many articles have an abstract (i.e. a summary) at the beginning. Read it. If the article is relevant to your topic, skim-read the rest of the article. It will usually have a series of section headings.
  2. If it is not relevant, don't waste time on it, even if it's interesting. Move on quickly.
  3. If it could be relevant, keep a record of it so you can find it again. Keep a copy if copyright allows it, even if it is not useful now.
  4. If it is relevant:
    1. Keep a copy if copyright allows it.
    2. Decide exactly how it is relevant, that is, to which particular aspect of your task it relates.
    3. Read the whole article carefully and make notes of your thoughts.
    4. Check for assumptions. Do you want to make the same assumptions?
    5. Check for references to other publications; you might get some good leads.
    6. Check the methodology, which should be described in enough detail for someone else to replicate it. It is especially useful when researchers have adapted a methodology for a specific set of circumstances.

By the way ...

These guidelines are also applicable for considering researches other than journal articles, especially dissertations.