A journal article in clinical or counseling psychology has five major sections. All articles begin with an abstract, which is a short paragraph summarizing the research question and key findings. The next section is an introduction that provides background information on the topic. The methods section details how researchers answered their question of interest. This is followed by a results section that presents the data and a discussion section that summarizes important conclusions drawn from the results. References of other work cited in the paper are provided at the end of the article.
Each of the five sections of a journal article has an important function. Read the abstract first; this short paragraph will tell you what is being researched, why the research question is important and what researchers found out about their problem.
The introduction section presents background information drawn from other research studies to help you understand why the current research question is of interest. Authors also include their main hypotheses about the result of the study in the introduction.
The methods section is structured to help readers understand what specifically was done in the experiment. After reading the methods section, you should understand the procedure well enough to replicate the experiment yourself.
The results section is where researchers present the data collected in the experiment in table and graph form. These visual representations allow other scientists to understand complicated data.
The final section, the discussion, tells readers what important conclusions resulted from the study. Researchers draw conclusions that confirm or deny their hypotheses based on the data presented in the results section.
There are several important features of a research article that you should look for. First, identify the main hypotheses presented by the researchers. At the end of the article, look back at them to see if the experiment confirmed or denied the authors' predictions.
You can also ensure that you understand the research methodology by making a diagram or sketch of the experimental design. Pretend you are a participant in the study and walk yourself through the different steps in the experiment. Understanding exactly what researchers did in the study helps you understand their results and conclusions.
Many people reading clinical psychology articles look at the graphs or tables without understanding whether results are statistically significant. Researchers use statistical tests to verify if experimental groups are meaningfully different from one another in a particular domain. The specific statistical tests used may be confusing if you do not have a strong background in mathematics. Look at the reported p-values, which tell if a test of differences between two groups is significant. In clinical psychology, p-values of less than .05 are considered statistically significant. Any p-values below .05 mean that two groups are different from one another.
The results section can be dense and jargon-filled, so don't worry if you cannot understand all of it. Researchers restate conclusions in clearer, less technical language in the discussion section.
It is not important to read every word of a clinical psychology article from beginning to end. Read the abstract first to determine if the study is of interest to you. Many people then skip to the methods and results section to understand exactly what researchers did and what was found. They may return to the introduction section later if they are interested in understanding background information in the field.
Also, don't forget about the references section at the end of the article. While they are easy to overlook, references are a great way to find more studies in a particular field of clinical psychology. Look for keywords that interest you to identify additional articles that may be useful in your studies.