How to Read a Correlational/Experimental Research Article

In bold, the sections of the research article are outlined so you know where to find all of the
information.
________________Where there are blank lines, fill in the appropriate information from the
research article you are currently reading.
In italics, you will find examples of the specific research component being discussed.
I. Abstract: Summary of the key points of the article
-Statement of topic ________________________________
-Research question: What are the researchers studying in this experiment? What are they
looking at?
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Example: Is there a difference in anxiety levels between college males and college
females?
-Independent variable: the variable the researchers have control over and can choose and
manipulate. It is what the researchers think will affect the dependent variable. In some
cases, the independent is not manipulated but is something that is already there and is
fixed that we want to test to see if it affects something else, the dependent variable.
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Example: The researchers are interested in how gender (male or female) affects anxiety
-Dependent variable: what is affected and measured in the experiment. The dependent
variable responds to the independent variable. It is called dependent because it "depends"
on the independent variable.
_________________________________________________________________
Example: The researchers are interested in how anxiety level is affected by (or depends
on) gender
-Hypothesis: specific prediction about the variables being tested by the study
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_________________________________________________________________
_
Example: The researchers hypothesize that college-age women report higher anxiety
levels than college age men
-Stated findings about relationship
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II. Introduction
-Literature review
Explains previous studies related to the same topic
Identifies limits of these studies

Restates research question and hypothesis

-Rationale for current research study
III. Methods: A description of how the hypothesis was tested
-Participants: Who was a part of the study
Key Components:
Sample Size
_________________________________________________________________
Demographics: age, sex, location, race/ethnicity, class
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Example: A total of 137 people were recruited to participate in the online study (86.1 %
White, .7% Black, 7.3% Hispanic/Latino, 5.8% Asian, .7% Native American, .7%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, .7% Middle Eastern). Participants ranged in age from 15 to
78 years (M = 26.71, SD = 12.69); four participants did not report their age. The
majority of the sample was female (68.6% female, 29.9% male), while two participants
did not report their sex.
-Materials: How did the researchers measure variables?
Key components:
What instrument/method was used?
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How was it scored? What does a high or low score mean?
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Example: The researchers used the Anxiety Inventory (BAI; Beck, Epstein, Brown, &
Steer, 1988), a 21-item measure assessing cognitive and somatic symptoms of anxiety.
Example items are: unable to relax and wobbliness in legs. Respondents rate how
much they have been bothered by each symptom over the past week on a 4-point scale
ranging from 0 (not at all) to 3 (severely). Items are added to obtain a final score from 063. Scores of 10-18 indicate mild to moderate anxiety, 19-29 moderate to severe anxiety,
and greater than 30, severe anxiety (Beck et al., 1988).
-Procedures: Describes each step of how the research was conducted, follows a time-line
Key Components:
Instructions given to participants
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
What participants did?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Example: Researchers recruited participants by asking them to assist with a project for a
psychology course by taking an online survey. The link for the online questionnaire was
e-mailed to participants. The first page asked participants to give informed consent and
then participants proceeded to the questionnaire section. Participants answered 11 items

on anxiety and 12 items on demographics. At the completion of the questionnaire,

participants were thanked for completing the survey, debriefed about the research goals
of the study, and provided contact information in case of further questions.
IV. Results: Data is summarized in this section, relationships among variables/differences among
groups are reported
Key Components:
What statistical test was used?
Were the results statistically significant?
_________________________________________________________________
Was the hypothesis supported or not?
_________________________________________________________________
Example: Overall, the mean anxiety score was 2.06 (SD=.53) with a range of 1.40. A
between-subjects t-test indicated there was no difference in mean score for females
(M=103, SD=5.26) and for males (M= 101, SD=5.42), F (1, 12)=.39, p= 851. This data
did not support the hypothesis that female college students are overall more anxious than
male college students.
V. Discussion: Results are summarized in word form
Key components:
Hypothesis is restated and said if it is supported by the data
_________________________________________________________________
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Limitations of the study are talked about
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Possible implications of results
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