DTS 468: The Structure of Research Articles

Understanding how a research article is structured will help you as you write your own. 

Below is information and example articles that you should review, in order to comprehend why they are written a certain way.

Steps to crafting a lit review:

1. Review the current (new) and foundational (past) literature (aka research articles) of your topic. 
   1. It's important to gain an understanding of your topic's research history, in order to properly comprehend how and why the current (emerging) research exists.
2. Take notes on how the sources "talk" with each other.
   1. Are there disagreements on some issues, and consensus on others?
   2. How does this impact the path of research and discovery?
3. Are there any gaps in the research? 
   1. Many articles will have a Limitations section, or a Discussion section, wherein suggestions are provided for next steps to further the research.
   2. These are goldmines for helping you see a possible outlook of the situation. 
4. Identify any gaps in the literature that are of a particular interest to your research goals in order to justify why your own research should be performed. 

Below are some articles that provide very good examples of an "Introduction" section, which includes a "Review of the Literature."

• Sometimes, there is both an Introduction section, and a separate Review of the Literature section (oftentimes, it simply depends on the publication)

Citation Resources

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