| Section | Description |
|---|---|
| Abstract | A paragraph briefly summarizing the article |
| Introduction | Provides background, states the purpose of the research, may discuss previous research leading up to the study, and may state a hypothesis or question |
| Literature Review (OPTIONAL) |
Discussion of existing research on the subject (NOTE: Not all papers will have a literature review). Sometimes, a literature review will be published on its own without original research or analysis being added to it. These are not research articles, but review articles. |
| Methods (& Materials) | Describes how the research was conducted, with details about the study sample, assessment measures and procedure |
| Results | A summary of the findings presented in text or table format, may have individual sections with specific information |
| Discussion | Explains how the results answered the research question |
| Conclusion | Summarizes discussion and may suggest future areas for research |
| References | A listing of works cited by the author(s) |