| Abstract | Brief summary of the article, including research question, methodology and results. |
| Introduction | Background information about the topic, leading up to why this study is being done, and may include a brief literature review. |
| Methods | Description of how the study procedures, set-up and how data was collected. |
| Results/Findings | Presentation of the data from the study. This section often includes tables, charts, or other visualizations of the data. |
| Discussion | Analysis of the data and how the study relates to existing knowledge of the topic. The authors evaluate whether their results answer their research question. |
| Conclusion | The authors wrap up the article by discussion how their study contributes to the research on this topic and outline future potential research questions or studies. |
| References | List of resources that the authors consulted when developing their research and subsequently cited in their article. |
Example
Housework as Non-normative Gender Display Among Lesbians and Gay Men
Subscription article; log into the Portal to view the entire article.
| Literature Review | Systematic Review | Meta-Analysis |
| a narrative review that describes and discusses the state of the research on a specific topic or theme. | a comprehensive review of all relevant studies on a particular topic or question. The systematic review is created by following an explicit methodology for identifying / selecting the studies to include and evaluating their results. | the statistical procedure for combining data from multiple studies. This is usually but not always presented with a systematic review. |
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Example Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Families Subscription article; log into the Portal to view the entire article. |
Example Subscription article; can only access the abstract; request from another library through the interlibrary loan form. |
Example A Meta-Analysis of Developmental Outcomes for Children of Same-Sex and Heterosexual Parents Subscription article; can only access the abstract; request from another library through the interlibrary loan form. |
Read the article's abstract and / or methods section for clues!
| Qualitative | Quantitative | Mixed Methods |
| "Qualitative methods are ways of collecting data that yield results such as words or pictures. Some of the most common qualitative methods in sociology include field research, intensive interviews, and focus groups" (Blackstone, 2012). | "Quantitative methods, on the other hand, result in data that can be represented by and condensed into numbers. Survey research is probably the most common quantitative method in sociology, but methods such as content analysis and interviewing can also be conducted in a way that yields quantitative data" (Blackstone, 2012). | a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. |
Blackstone, Amy. 2012. Principles of Sociological Inquiry – Qualitative and Quantitative Methods. Saylor Foundation. Retrieved February 25, 2019 (https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/principles-of-sociological-inquiry-qualitative-and-quantitative-methods).