1. Journal Articles and Critical Analysis
Louise Livesey
Academic Skills Adviser
17/01/2019
Academic Skills Advice

2. Academic Skills Advice
Today’s plan
Different types of journal articles
Format and sections’ content of typical journal articles
Critical analysis – what is it?
Reading strategies
Choosing journal articles
All in one click
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Academic Skills Advice

3. Academic Skills Advice
2.Format and sections’ content of
typical journal articles
Activity 1: Match the section to the content
Abstract: a brief summary
Introduction: generally provide background information to contextualise the study. It often includes the research question/s or hypothesis the researcher is looking into and the structure of the paper.
Literature review: is simply what other people have written about the topic under investigation. It reveals the gap or weakness in the previous research proving space for the project under investigation.
Research design/methodology: discusses the theoretical framework in which the research is positioned and includes a review of the literature. Also includes an account of the methodology and methods. There may be some discussion as to the strengths and weaknesses of the design.
Results/Findings: a summary of all the relevant findings which concludes with key findings and any themes or issues that have emerged.
Discussion: an examination and interpretation of the findings and how they have helped to answer (or not) the research question/s or hypothesis. Covers a reflection on how the choice of data collection methods and tools may have impacted on findings. Should include a summary of whether the findings support or challenge the existing literature.
Conclusion: Reflects the introduction and evaluate how far the study answers the research questions, in terms of certainty and generalizability.
Above section adapted from Wallace and Wray (2011).
Click for each section
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Academic Skills Advice

4. Academic Skills Advice
3.Critical analysis – what is it?
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Academic Skills Advice

5. Academic Skills Advice
4.Reading strategies
Skim: general impression of text; some markings made; specific sections read
Scan: looking for particular topics/evidence; taking notes and highlighting text; read entire text
Detail: in-depth understanding
of text; comprehensive
notations made; reading text
from start to finish
Click for each section and corresponding picture
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Academic Skills Advice

6. Academic Skills Advice
4.Reading strategies
ACTIVE READING: concentrate, retain, notes
Plan your reading:
Time
Chunks
Breaks
Routine:
Timetable
Environment and time
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Academic Skills Advice

7. Academic Skills Advice
5.Choosing journal articles
What journal is the article taken from?
Look at the title
Read the abstract
1This content analysis of gender role portrayals in 49 episodes of 40 distinct United States tween television programs aired in 2011 examined two genres: teen scene (geared towards girls) and action-adventure (geared towards boys)./ 2This programming is of interest because tweens are a lucrative market, they watch more television than any other age group, and television programs are created specifically for them./ 3Furthermore, members of this special group are in an important developmental stage in which social and intellectual schema are established and identity and gender are explored./ 4The analysis focused on the numbers of male and female characters in both genres, and the gender role portrayals of characters in terms of appearance, behaviors, and personality characteristics in the two genres./ 5Results show that females, compared to the U.S. population, were underrepresented in the action adventure genre, but that the gender distribution in the teen scene genre mirrored the male–female distribution in the U.S. population./ 6Overall, compared to males, females were more attractive, more concerned about their appearance, received comments about their “looks.” /7Females were presented similarly in both genres./ 8Overall, males were shown in varying levels of attractiveness, and were portrayed more stereotypically in the action adventure genre./ 9Exploring these results through the lenses of cultivation theory and social cognitive theory shows that tween viewers could potentially develop narrow conceptions about their range of possibilities in the world./
and Activity 2: breaking down sentences
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Academic Skills Advice

8. Academic Skills Advice
5.Choosing journal articles
You have learnt….
A. If research was primary or secondary in nature
B. The focus of the research
C. Why they have researched this subject
D. Methodology and method
E. The results
The theories employed to interpret findings
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Academic Skills Advice

9. Academic Skills Advice
5.Choosing journal articles
Breaking down the abstract means… You save You can
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Academic Skills Advice

10. Academic Skills Advice
References
Burns, T. and Sinfield, S. (2012) Essential Study Skills: The Complete Guide to Success at University. 3rd Edition. London: Sage Publications Ltd.
Fisher, K. (2012) How to crowd fund community projects. London: The Guardian. [online] Available at: [Accessed: ]
Ribotsky, K. (2014) Understanding Why Your Patients Choose You as a Provider.
[online] Available at: [Accessed: ]
Sharpston, N. (2013) On Writing: Skipping Stones vs Going Deeper. [online] Available at: [Accessed: ]
Wallace, M. and Wray, A. Critical Reading and Writing for Postgraduates. 2nd ed. London: Sage Publications Ltd.
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Academic Skills Advice

11. Academic Skills Advice Service
Where are we? Accessed via Chesham Building B0.23. Give us a call or come speak to us Monday-Friday and 1-4.
Who am I? Louise, the dedicated workshop adviser.
Who can help me with study and writing skills? Lucy and Russell run Instant Study Skills Advice sessions every weekday and Writing Skills Clinics three times a week. You can also access self-help resources on our webpage.
Who can give me maths advice? Helen and Michael specialise in Maths support for students though clinics and pre-booked appointment.
How do I get in touch? Telephone:
17/01/2019
Academic Skills Advice

12. Academic Skills Advice
Any questions?
17/01/2019
Academic Skills Advice