Who can type three 1-page journal articles? Two observational studies and one experimental study. Use the following uploaded documents to write the summaries. Please provide me with the PDF of the article you have chosen to use to write the journal summaries.

How to Summarize a Research Article

Research articles use a standard format to clearly communicate information about an

experiment. A research article usually has seven major sections: Title, Abstract,

Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, and References.

Determine your focus

The first thing you should do is to decide why you need to summarize the article. If the

purpose of the summary is to take notes to later remind yourself about the article you may

want to write a longer summary. However, if the purpose of summarizing the article is to

include it in a paper you are writing, the summary should focus on how the articles

relates specifically to your paper.

Reading the Article

Allow enough time. Before you can write about the research, you have to understand it.

This can often take a lot longer than most people realize. Only when you can clearly

explain the study in your own words to someone who hasn’t read the article are you ready

to write about it.

Scan the article first. If you try to read a new article from start to finish, you’ll get

bogged down in detail. Instead, use your knowledge of APA format to find the main

points. Briefly look at each section to identify:

• the research question and reason for the study (stated in the Introduction)
• the hypothesis or hypotheses tested (Introduction)
• how the hypothesis was tested (Method)
• the findings (Results, including tables and figures)
• how the findings were interpreted (Discussion)

Underline key sentences or write the key point (e.g., hypothesis, design) of each

paragraph in the margin. Although the abstract can help you to identify the main points,

you cannot rely on it exclusively, because it contains very condensed information.

Remember to focus on the parts of the article that are most relevant.

Read for depth, read interactively. After you have highlighted the main points, read each

section several times. As you read, ask yourself these questions:

• How does the design of the study address the research questions?
• How convincing are the results? Are any of the results surprising?
• What does this study contribute toward answering the original question?
• What aspects of the original question remain unanswered?

Plagiarism. Plagiarism is always a risk when summarizing someone else’s work. To

avoid it:

• Take notes in your own words. Using short notes or summarizing key points in
your own words forces you to rewrite the ideas into your own words later.

• If you find yourself sticking closely to the original language and making only
minor changes to the wording, then you probably don’t understand the study

Writing the Summary

Like an abstract in a published research article, the purpose of an article summary is to

give the reader a brief overview of the study. To write a good summary, identify what

information is important and condense that information for your reader. The better you

understand a subject, the easier it is to explain it thoroughly and briefly.

Write a first draft. Use the same order as in the article itself. Adjust the length

accordingly depending on the content of your particular article and how you will be using

the summary.

• State the research question and explain why it is interesting.
• State the hypotheses tested.
• Briefly describe the methods (design, participants, materials, procedure, what was

manipulated [independent variables], what was measured [dependent variables],

how data were analyzed.

• Describe the results. Were they significant?
• Explain the key implications of the results. Avoid overstating the importance of

the findings.

• The results, and the interpretation of the results, should relate directly to the
hypothesis.

For the first draft, focus on content, not length (it will probably be too long). Condense

later as needed. Try writing about the hypotheses, methods and results first, then about

the introduction and discussion last. If you have trouble on one section, leave it for a

while and try another.

If you are summarizing an article to include in a paper you are writing it may be

sufficient to describe only the results if you give the reader context to understand those

results.

For example: “Smith (2004) found that participants in the motivation group scored higher

than those in the control group, confirming that motivational factors play a role in

impression formation”. This summary not only tells the results but also gives some

information on what variables were examined and the outcome of interest. In this case it

is very important to introduce the study in a way that the brief summary makes sense in

the larger context

Edit for completeness and accuracy. Add information for completeness where necessary.

More commonly, if you understand the article, you will need to cut redundant or less

important information.

Stay focused on the research question, be concise, and avoid generalities.

Edit for style. Write to an intelligent, interested, naive, and slightly lazy audience (e.g.,

yourself, your classmates). Expect your readers to be interested, but don’t make them

struggle to understand you. Include all the important details; don’t assume that they are

already understood.

• Eliminate wordiness, including most adverbs (“very”, “clearly”). “The results
clearly showed that there was no difference between the groups” can be shortened

to “There was no significant difference between the groups”.

• Use specific, concrete language. Use precise language and cite specific examples
to support assertions. Avoid vague references (e.g. “this illustrates” should be

“this result illustrates”).

• Use scientifically accurate language. For example, you cannot “prove”
hypotheses (especially with just one study). You “support” or “fail to find support

for” them.

• Rely primarily on paraphrasing, not direct quotes. Direct quotes are seldom
used in scientific writing. Instead, paraphrase what you have read. To give due

credit for information that you paraphrase, cite the author’s last name and the year

of the study (Smith, 1982).

• Re-read what you have written. Ask others to read it to catch things that you’ve
missed.

Adapted from: Summarizing a Research Article 1997-2006, University of Washington

Journal Article Summaries
Due Date: April 10, 2021

Purpose: The purpose of these journal article summaries is to help you understand
how epidemiological research is conducted and reported in healthcare. You will be
asked to find and read three (3) peer-reviewed articles from three different study
designs, two that are observational studies and one that is an experimental study
design. The observational study designs are ecological, case-control, and cohort. The
experimental study designs are RCT, parallel, community trials, factorial designs,
therapeutic or preventive trials. You may not use any of the studies that have been used
in the book as case studies or as examples.

Skills: The purpose of the journal article summaries is to help you practice the following
skills that are essential to your success in Healthcare Administrator.
• Understanding basic disciplinary knowledge and research methods/tools
• Applying basic disciplinary knowledge and research methods to summarize peer-

reviewed journal articles
• Analyzing
• Synthesizing
• Creating a summary to provide a brief overview of the topic/study

Knowledge: This assignment will help you to become familiar with the following
important content knowledge in this discipline:
• Understanding the different types of epidemiologic studies that are employed in

healthcare.

Task: You will complete three (3) journal article summaries and submit your completed
summaries in the designated assignment folders in D2L. You will report out your
summaries in the in-class meeting.
• Find and read three (3) peer-reviewed articles from three different study designs:

Two (2) Observational studies and one (1) Experimental study
• Journal article selection criteria: Please read the following to assure that you have

selected a correct article to summarize.
o Each article should be a peer-reviewed journal article that utilizes a specific

study design.
o When selecting a journal article, READ the entire journal article, not just the

abstract. READ the article a few times, as you may find that the article you
selected may not match the study design you chose. When you have found an
appropriate journal article, again, READ the entire article a few times so that
you understand what this article is all about.

o Article must have been written within the last 10 years (2011 – 2021).
o Unacceptable journal articles include meta-analysis, literature review,

summary review, a report, or an editorial
• Submit each of the journal articles
• Each summary will be on a separate page. You will have three separate

submissions
• Every summary should be one-page in length
• Every summary will be two – three paragraphs long
• Format for each summary. Follow these directions

o All summaries shall be typed
o Typeset: Times New Roman, 12-point Font
o Paragraph spacing: 1.5 or double-spaced
o Header: Use the three (3) section header.

 To find the Header formatting tool: In word, go to Insert – Header- use
drop down, find the Blank (Three Columns) and click on this to insert this
header format. Make sure that your header is in Times New Roman
typeset and 12-point font. (Usually the default is Calibri, 11-point font, so
make sure you change this font)

 This header should be on all three of your summaries.
The following goes at the top of the page under header:

Your Name HCMG 6500 Article Summary

o At the top of your page, you will provide the journal article information in the
following APA format:
 Journal article: Author(s). (Year of publication). Article Title. Journal

name, volume, number, pages, DOI. *Make sure this is in APA 6th
format.

 Example:
Yeager, V. A., Ferdinand, J. D., Beitsch, M.D., & Menachemi, N. (2015).
Local Public Health Department Characteristics Associated with
Likelihood to Participate in National Accreditation. Am J Public Health,
105(8), 1653-1659. doi 10.2105/AJPH.2014.302503

o Hit enter, then start typing your summary

o Paragraph 1 & 2: Summarize the article. This should be one-two paragraphs.
Please refer to the articles that are in D2L regarding how to summarize an
article.

o Paragraph 3: What did you learn from this study? Provide a few sentences of
what you learned when reading this study that you did not know before
reading this study. This should be your last paragraph. Begin this paragraph
by stating the following: What I learned from this study is…

Criteria for Success: To be successful in writing these summaries, follow all the
directions above. Your papers will be graded based on following the directions, using
proper grammar, and summarizing the information in your own words, as well as turning
in a copy or a link to the journal articles.

To assist you in writing up the summaries, there are three handouts in D2L. Read these
before beginning to write the summary. Students who have read and reviewed these
handouts received better grades than those who chose not to follow the directions and

did not read these handouts. The articles are:
o How to Write a Summary
o Summarizing a Research Article
o How to Summarize a Research Article

Remember: Do not quote directly form the article, instead, summarize in your own
words what the author(s) have stated in the article.

NOTE: Turnitin will be utilized to detect plagiarism. A grade of a zero (0) will be
awarded for any plagiarized papers.

How to Write a Summary

With thanks to: Swales, John M. and Christine B. Feat. Academic Writing for Graduate Students,

Essential Tasks and Skills. Ann Arbor: U Michigan P, 1994. 105-130.

Preparing to Write: To write a good summary it is important to thoroughly understand the
material you are working with. Here are some preliminary steps in writing a summary.

1. Skim the text, noting in your mind the subheadings. If there are no subheadings, try to
divide the text into sections. Consider why you have been assigned the text. Try to
determine what type of text you are dealing with. This can help you identify important
information.

2. Read the text, highlighting important information and taking notes.

3. In your own words, write down the main points of each section.

4. Write down the key support points for the main topic, but do not include minor detail.

5. Go through the process again, making changes as appropriate.

For example:
Global Implications of Patent Law Variation

A patent is an exclusive right to use

an invention for a certain period of time,
which is given to an inventor as compen-
sation for disclosure of an invention.
Although it would be beneficial for the
world economy to have uniform patent laws,
each country has its own laws designed to
protect domestic inventions and safeguard
technology. Despite widespread variation,
patent laws generally fall under one of two
principles: the first-to-file and first-to-
invent. The first-to-file principle awards a
patent to the person or institution that
applies for a patent first, while the first-to-
invent principle grants the patent to the
person or institution that was first to invent –
and can prove it. Most countries have
adopted the first-to-file system. However,
the United States maintains a first-to-invent
system, despite obvious shortcomings. A
result of countries employing different

patent law principles is inconsistency of
patent ownership.
This first sentence is a general definition. It
may be safe to assume that your audience is
already familiar with patents; thus you do
not have to include it in your summary.

This is the main idea.

The classification of the two principles is
important.

Ignore specific details about the different
principles. The terms are self-explanatory.

It is important to point out that most of the
world follows one system and the United
States another.

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Include a description of the problem
surrounding variation in patent laws.

Patent ownership is not recognized
globally. On the contrary, ownership may
change depending on the country. It is not
uncommon for an invention to have two
patent owners – one in the United States and
one in the rest of the world. This unclear
ownership often has economic
consequences. If a company is interested in
using a patented invention, it may be unable
to receive permission from both patent
owners, which in turn may prevent
manufacture of a particular product. Even if
permission is received from both owners,
pay royalties to both may be quite costly. In
this case, if the invention is useful enough, a
company may proceed and pass on the
added cost to consumers.
International economic tension has
also been increasing as a result of differing
policies. Many foreign individuals and
companies believe that they are at a serious
disadvantage in the United States with
regard to patent ownership because of the
logistical difficulties in establishing first-to-
invent status. Further, failure of the United
States to recognize patent ownership in other
countries is in violation of the Paris
Conventions on Industrial Properties, which
requires all member nations to treat all
patents equally. The conflict surrounding
patents has prompted the World Intellectual
Properties Organization (WIPO) to lobby for
universality in patent laws. WIPO maintains
that the first necessary step involves
compelling the United States to reexamine
its patent principle, taking into account the
reality of a global economy. This push may
indeed result in more global economic
cooperation.

Provide some support/explanation for the
problem, but not all the details

Describe this other problem associated with
differing patent principles.

Provide some explanation, but not all the
details.

Describe the action taken to solve the
problem.

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Writing the Summary:

When writing the summary there are three main requirements:

1. The summary should cover the original as a whole.
2. The material should be presented in a neutral fashion.
3. The summary should be a condensed version of the material, presented in your own

words.

* * Also do not include anything that does not appear in the original. (Do not include your own
comments or evaluation.)
and
Be sure to identify your source.

For example:

In his paper “Global Implications of Patent Law Variation,” Koji Suzuki (1991) states
that lack of consistency in the world’s patent laws is a serious problem. In most of the world,
patent ownership is given to the inventor that is first to file for a patent. However, the United
States maintains a first-to-invent policy. In view of this, patent ownership can change depending
on the country. Multiple patent ownership can result in economic problems; however, most
striking is the international tension it causes. The fact that the United States does not recognize
patent ownership in other countries, in violation of the Paris Convention on Industrial Properties,
has prompted the World Intellectual Properties Organization (WIPO) to push the United States to
review its existing patent law principles.

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