Wastewater Management in New York April 30

Writing a Journal
Article

Journal articles: components
– Title

– Author(s)

– Abstract: the summary

– Introduction: what was the context that inspired this research?

– Literature review: how have other researchers studied this issue or similar issues?

– Methods: what did the author(s) do to reach their results?

– Findings: what were the results from this research study?

– Discussion: what do these results mean? What should be done?

– Conclusion: what are the main arguments that the author(s) make?

Journal articles: how to read them
1. Start with the abstract

2. Read the conclusion

3. Read the Introduction

4. Read the findings

5. Read the methods

6. Read the discussion

7. Read the conclusion again

8. Re-read from start to finish if needed

How to start writing
● Start with the methods

● Results / findings

● Discussion

● Introduction

● Conclusion

● Abstract

Methods section
1. Data

1. Geographic scope / sample population + WHY THIS SCOPE / SAMPLE?

2. Type of data: quantitative or qualitative or both

3. What is it? (e.g., locations, survey responses, atmospheric carbon volume over time, etc.)

2. Data collection:

1. How was the data gathered?

2. If surveying or interviewing, how were participants identified and recruited?

3. Data Analysis: How was data analyzed? Why were these analysis methods used?

4. Validation: How was the data or results validated?

Activity: Understand the methods section
● Read the methods section of my article
● Identify the following:

○ Data: what is the geographic scope? What is the sample population? Why?
What type of data is used?

○ Data collection: What methods were used to collect data? How were
participants identified and recruited?

○ Data analysis: What methods were used to analyze the data? Why were these
methods used?

○ Validation: Was there any validation strategy used? If so, what?

In pairs:

● Describe the where, how, what, and why for your planned or collected

● Where: what’s the geographic scope of your data?

● How will you collect the data?

● What: identify the basic properties e.g., quantitative or qualitative

● Why: Identify two reasons you will use this data, and one limitation

Your methods section

Journal articles: how to find them

– Google scholar (scholar.google.com)

– JSTOR (Browse by subject)

– Hofstra library – speak with a librarian!

Journal articles: how to read them
1. Start with the abstract

2. Read the conclusion

3. Read the Introduction

4. Read the findings

5. Read the methods

6. Read the discussion

7. Read the conclusion again

8. Re-read from start to finish if needed

Journal articles: ACTIVITY
Part 1: Find and article that can be relevant to your research (from the

journal you selected). Write down the following about the Journal Article:

● Article title

● Author name(s)

● Year published

● Journal name, volume

● Page numbers

Journal articles: ACTIVITY
Part 2: Read the article and write down the following:

● What is the problem they tried to solve? (What questions did they

ask?)

● What were the main findings?

● What methods were used to reach those results/conclusions?

● What’s the argument made?

● In what ways is this article helpful for your research?

Pay attention to how each section is written and what it includes.

Journal articles: how to cite them (list of references)

APA:

Last name, Initials. (Year). Article title. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), Page

range. DOI or URL

Chicago Manual Style:

Author’s Last Name, First Name. Year. “Title of Article: Subtitle.” Title of

Journal Volume, Issue: page range. DOI or URL or Database Name.

Journal articles: how to cite them (in-text citations)
APA:

(Author last name, Year) – (Pesci, 2012)

(First author last name et al., Year) – (Pesci et al., 2023)

For direct quotes: (Author last name, Year, p. X) – “Quote” (Pesci, 2012, p. 14)

Chicago Manual Style:

(Author last name Year) – (Pesci 2012)

(First author last name et al. Year) – (Pesci et al. 2023)

For direct quotes: (Author last name Year: X) – “Quote” (Pesci 2012: 14)

Annotated bibliography exercise
1. Use APA or Chicago manual style to write the citation for the journal article you found

for the list of references.

2. Write a summary that includes your answers to these questions:

● What is the problem they tried to solve? (What questions did they ask?)

● What were the main findings?

● What methods were used to reach those results/conclusions?

● What’s the argument made?

● In what ways is this article helpful for your research?

Citation exercise

1. Use APA or Chicago manual style to write the citation for the

journal article you found for the list of references.

2. Choose a finding from the article that you may want to

include in your research paper or proposal

3. Paraphrase the finding into a sentence and include an in-text

citation.

Citation management tools
● Zotero
● Mendeley