Reading and Literature Studies · Reading Informational and Graphic TextsReading Scholarly and Academic Texts: Abstracts, IMRaD and the Features of Research Writing
1.2 2.1 2.2About 70 minutes
Learning goals- I can tell a scholarly article apart from a popular article and explain what peer review does and does not guarantee.
- I can use the IMRaD structure to read a research article in a strategic order.
- I can identify the function of each sentence in an abstract.
- I can explain how features such as citations, DOIs, figures and limitations sections help a reader judge a study.
- I can compare what a study actually claims with how a news headline reports it.
Words to know
scholarly article
An article written by researchers for other experts, usually peer-reviewed and published in an academic journal.
peer review
A process in which other experts in the field evaluate a study before a journal publishes it.
abstract
A short summary (often 150 to 300 words) at the start of a scholarly article giving its question, method, findings and conclusion.
IMRaD
Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion: the standard structure of a research article.
DOI
Digital Object Identifier: a permanent code that links to one published article.
limitations
The part of a study where researchers explain what their method could not show.
grey literature
Research published outside academic journals, such as government reports and reports by agencies or research institutes.
Hook: a new study shows...
You have seen headlines like Study shows coffee makes you live longer or Scientists prove screens ruin sleep. Behind each one is a research article that almost never says shows or proves so bluntly. Learning to read the original is one of the most useful things you can take into university, where many courses assign journal articles from first year on.
Scholarly articles look intimidating because they are written for experts. But they follow a predictable form, and once you know it, you can read them in a smart order instead of from top to bottom.
Building on Lesson 1
In Lesson 1 you saw that a scholarly article's main challenge is structure and vocabulary, so the best strategy is to survey before you study. This lesson shows exactly what to survey and why.
Scholarly versus popular
The table below compares the two forms. Neither is bad: a good news article can explain a study clearly. But only the scholarly article shows the method, so only it lets you check the claim yourself.
What peer review does: experts check that the methods are reasonable and the conclusions follow from the results before publication.
What peer review does not do: it does not guarantee the findings are true or final. Reviewers do not usually rerun the study. Later studies can fail to repeat a result. Treat peer review as a filter, not a stamp of truth.
| Feature | Scholarly (journal) article | Popular article (news, magazine) |
|---|
| Written by | researchers in the field, named with institutions | journalists or writers, sometimes quoting researchers |
| Written for | other experts | the general public |
| Review | peer-reviewed before publication | edited, not peer-reviewed |
| Structure | abstract, IMRaD sections, references | headline, lede, quotations, no formal method section |
| Language | technical, hedged (suggests, associated with) | plain, often stronger verbs (shows, proves) |
| Sources | full in-text citations and a reference list | links or named sources, rarely full citations |
The IMRaD structure
Most research articles in the sciences and social sciences use IMRaD:
- Introduction: starts broad (the topic), narrows to a gap in what is known, and ends with the research question. The last paragraph of the introduction is gold: it usually states exactly what the study set out to do.
- Methods: who or what was studied, how many, and how. This is where you check whether the evidence can support the claim.
- Results: what was found, often in tables and figures.
- Discussion: what the results mean, how they fit other research, and the limitations.
The shape is often drawn as an hourglass: wide at the start, narrow in the middle, wide again at the end.
A strategic reading order: abstract → last paragraph of the introduction → figures and tables (with their captions) → discussion and limitations → methods (when you need to judge the evidence). Humanities articles (history, literature) usually do not use IMRaD; they read more like long essays with footnotes, so for them, survey the introduction and conclusion and follow the topic sentences.
Reading an abstract
An abstract compresses the whole article into a paragraph. Each sentence has a function: background, aim, method, results, conclusion (sometimes with a limitation). Here is an abstract to practise on.
Car-Free Weekends and Local Spending: Evidence from Three Ontario Towns (an invented abstract written for this lesson; the towns, data and authors are not real)
Many municipalities are debating whether to close main streets to cars, yet local evidence on economic effects remains limited. This study examined whether weekend closures of downtown streets were associated with changes in spending at nearby businesses. Using anonymized card-transaction data for 214 businesses in three Ontario towns, we compared two summers: one before and one during weekend closures. Weekend spending rose by 6% to 11% across the three towns, while weekday spending showed no significant change. Food and drink businesses gained most; hardware and auto-service businesses showed small declines. These results suggest that weekend closures may support many, though not all, downtown businesses. Because the study covered one summer of closures and did not account for weather, longer studies are needed.
Worked exampleLet's label the function of each sentence in the abstract
Identify the function of each sentence in the invented abstract above, then state the study's main finding in one plain sentence.
- Sentence 1 (background): Many municipalities are debating... It names the topic and the gap (evidence remains limited).
- Sentence 2 (aim): This study examined whether... Notice the careful verb associated with: the study looks for a link, not proof of cause.
- Sentence 3 (method): card-transaction data, 214 businesses, three towns, two summers compared.
- Sentences 4 and 5 (results): weekend spending up 6% to 11%; weekday spending no significant change; food and drink gained most; hardware and auto-service fell slightly.
- Sentence 6 (conclusion): closures may support many, though not all businesses. Two hedges in one sentence.
- Sentence 7 (limitations): only one summer; weather not accounted for.
- Plain-language finding: In three towns, weekend spending rose 6% to 11% during one summer of closures, mostly at food and drink businesses, but the study cannot rule out other causes such as weather.
Labelling functions turns a dense paragraph into a map. The plain-language version keeps the hedges, because they are part of what the study actually claims.
The same abstract, compressed to one line per function. Most abstracts follow this background → aim → method → results → conclusion pattern, even when the headings are not printed.Features that help you judge a study
- Author names and institutions: who did the work, and where.
- In-text citations: (Nguyen & Roy, 2021) in APA style, or (Nguyen and Roy 14) in MLA. They show which claims come from earlier research. et al. (Latin et alii, and others) shortens a long author list.
- DOI: a permanent identifier such as 10.xxxx/... that lets you find the exact article.
- Figures and tables with captions: read the caption, axis labels, units and sample size before the numbers.
- Limitations: the most honest paragraph in the article. Skipping it is how headlines overclaim.
- Funding and conflict-of-interest statements: who paid for the research, and whether any author has a stake in the result.
- References list: lets you follow the conversation backward to earlier studies.
Grey literature (government reports, reports by research institutes and agencies) uses different features: an executive summary instead of an abstract, numbered recommendations, and appendices. Statistics Canada releases and many provincial reports are grey literature.
Worked exampleLet's compare the study with a headline about it
A news site reports the invented study with this headline: Car bans boost business, study proves. Compare the headline with the abstract.
- Verb: the abstract says suggest and may; the headline says proves. That is an overclaim.
- Scope: the abstract says many, though not all businesses, and reports declines for hardware and auto-service; the headline says business in general.
- Word choice: the study is about weekend closures of downtown streets; car bans sounds broader and more dramatic.
- Missing limitation: one summer, weather not controlled. The headline drops this.
- Fairer headline: Weekend street closures linked to higher spending in three Ontario towns, study suggests.
The headline changes the verb, the scope and the key term, and it drops the limitation. Reading the abstract yourself lets you catch all four changes.
Just for funIn 2015 a physics paper measuring the mass of the Higgs boson listed more than 5,000 authors. In a case like that, et al. is doing a lot of heavy lifting.
Hands-on activityRead a real abstract
You need: a computer or phone and about 30 minutes.
- Go to Google Scholar (scholar.google.com) or your public library's article databases (many Ontario libraries offer free access with a library card).
- Search a topic from your independent study and open an article whose abstract you can read for free.
- Copy the abstract into your notes and label each sentence: background, aim, method, results, conclusion, limitation.
- Write a plain-language finding that keeps the hedges.
- Search for a news story about the same study, if one exists, and compare its headline with the abstract using the four checks: verb, scope, key term, limitation.
What to look for: every sentence labelled; a plain-language finding that does not overclaim; specific differences quoted from the headline.
Your turn
1What does IMRaD stand for?
Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion.
2Where in an introduction will you usually find the research question?
In the last paragraph of the introduction, after the writers have narrowed from the broad topic to the gap.
3Name two things peer review does not guarantee.
It does not guarantee the findings are true or final, and reviewers usually do not rerun the study. (Also acceptable: it does not rule out errors or later failure to replicate.)
4In the invented abstract, which sentence states a limitation, and what is it?
The last sentence: the study covered only one summer of closures and did not account for weather.
5What is a DOI, and why is it useful?
A Digital Object Identifier, a permanent code for one published article, so readers can always find the exact source.
6Why is associated with a careful phrase in the aim sentence?
It claims a link, not that the closures caused the change, because the design cannot rule out other causes.
7What replaces an abstract in a government report?
More practice: warm-up
1Is a magazine article that quotes a scientist a scholarly article?
No; it is a popular article. A scholarly article is written by the researchers and peer-reviewed.
And others (Latin et alii).
3Which IMRaD section tells you how many participants were studied?
4Which section often contains tables and figures of findings?
5Name one feature of grey literature.
Any one: executive summary, numbered recommendations, appendices, published by a government or agency rather than a journal.
More practice: on your own
1Explain why the suggested reading order puts methods last.
Methods are the densest section. Once you know the question, findings and limitations, you read the methods with a purpose: to judge whether they can support the claim. Reading them first, without context, is slow and confusing.
2Write a fairer headline for: Teens who read for fun are smarter, study proves, assuming the study found a link between reading for pleasure and test scores in one province.
Sample: Reading for pleasure linked to higher test scores in one province's teens, study suggests. It replaces proves with suggests, smarter with the measured outcome (test scores), and states the scope.
3Why should you read the funding statement of a study about the health benefits of a snack bar?
If the snack company paid for the research, there is a possible conflict of interest. It does not prove the study is wrong, but it is a reason to look for independent studies that reach the same result.
4In the invented study, why might hardware and auto-service businesses have declined?
Their customers are more likely to need a car to carry purchases or to bring a vehicle in. This is an inference; the abstract reports the decline but does not explain it.
5How does reading a humanities article differ from reading an IMRaD article?
Humanities articles usually have no methods or results sections; they argue like long essays with footnotes. Survey the introduction and conclusion for the thesis, then follow topic sentences and the footnotes for evidence.
Challenge
1A classmate says: The study is peer-reviewed, so the headline must be right. Write a two-sentence response.
Sample: Peer review checks that the study's methods and conclusions are reasonable, but the headline was written by a journalist, not peer-reviewed, and it can overstate what the study found. We need to compare the headline with the study's own hedged conclusion and limitations.
2Design a better study than the invented one, changing two features of the method, and explain how each change answers a limitation.
Sample: (1) Study three summers of closures, not one, so a single unusual summer cannot explain the result. (2) Add comparison towns with no closures and record daily weather, so changes that also happened elsewhere, or that came from sunny weekends, can be separated from the effect of the closures.
3Explain how the features of a scholarly article (citations, methods, limitations) express a set of values about knowledge.
They show that academic knowledge is meant to be checkable and cumulative: citations credit earlier work and let readers trace claims; methods let others repeat or challenge the study; limitations admit uncertainty openly. The form itself values transparency and humility over persuasion, which is why its language is hedged.
Quiz
1. What does peer review mean?
2. In IMRaD, the research question is usually found...
3. Which sentence from the invented abstract states a limitation?
4. The headline Car bans boost business, study proves overclaims mainly because...
6. Which reading order is most strategic for a dense research article?
What this lesson teaches: ENG4U Reading and Literature Studies 1.2 (choosing reading strategies), 2.1 (text forms: the scholarly article, the popular article and the report) and 2.2 (text features: abstract, citations, DOI, figures, limitations).
How to help at home:
- When a news story says a new study shows..., ask your teen to find the study's abstract and compare. It is a quick, real-world exercise.
- Ask them to explain IMRaD to you in their own words; teaching it is a good test of understanding.
- If your public library offers free database access, help them set it up.
Common difficulties:
- Reading top to bottom and giving up in the methods. Encourage the strategic order.
- Treating peer review as proof. It is a filter; later research can overturn a finding.
- Dropping hedges in summaries. A plain-language summary must keep words like may and linked to.
Facts used: the abstract, towns and data are invented for teaching. A 2015 physics paper (ATLAS and CMS collaborations) on the Higgs boson mass listed more than 5,000 authors.