

Journal Article Review in APA Style
By Reenita Patra
Journal article reviews refer to the appraisal of potencies and limitations of an article’s opinion and subject matter. The article reviews offer the readers with an explanation, investigation and clarification to evaluate the importance of the article. A journal article review usually follows the APA style, which is in itself an exceptional mode of writing. Writing a journal article review in APA style requires a thorough reading of an article and then present our personal opinions on its subject matter.
In order to write a journal article review in APA style, one must necessarily conform to the detailed guidelines of APA style of writing. As such, a few tips for writing a journal article review in APA style have been provided in details below.
Tips for Writing Journal Article Review in APA Style
Getting started.
Read the complete article. Most journal articles use highly complicated and difficult language and wording. Thus, it is suggested to read the article thoroughly several times to understand it perfectly. Select a statement that effectively conveys the main idea of your review. Present the ideas in a rational order, keeping in mind that all opinions must sustain the main idea.
Start with a header with citation
Journal article reviews start with a header, including citation of the sources being reviewed. This citation is mentioned at the top of the review, following the APA style (refer to the APA style manual for more information). We will need the author’s name for the article, title of the article, journal of the published article, volume and issue number, publication date, and page numbers for the article.
Write a summary
The introductory paragraph of the review should provide a brief summary of the article, strictly limiting it to one to three paragraphs depending on the article length. The summary should discuss only the most imperative details about the article, like the author’s intention in writing the article, how the study was conducted, how the article relates to other work on the same subject, the results and other relevant information from the article.
Body of the review
The succeeding paragraphs of the review should present your ideas and opinions on the article. Discuss the significance and suggestion of the results of the study. The body of the article review should be limited to one to two paragraphs, including your understanding of the article, quotations from the article demonstrating your main ideas, discussing the article’s limitations and how to overcome them.
Concluding the review
The concluding paragraphs of the review should provide your personal appraisal of the journal article. Discuss whether the article is well-written or not, whether any information is missing, or if further research is necessary on the subject. Also, write a paragraph on how the author could develop the study results, what the information means on a large scale, how further investigation can develop the subject matter, and how the knowledge of this field can be extended further.
Citation and Revision
In-text citation of direct quotes or paraphrases from the article can be done using the author’s name, year of publication and page numbers (refer to the APA-style manual for citation guidelines). After finishing the writing of journal article review in APA style, it would be advised to re-visit the review after a few days and then re-read it altogether. By doing this, you will be able to view the review with a new perspective and may detect mistakes that were previously left undetected.
The above mentioned tips will help and guide you for writing a journal article review in APA style. However, while writing a journal article review, remember that you are undertaking more than just a narrative review. Thus, the article review should not merely focus on discussing what the article is about, but should reveal your personal ideas and opinions on the article.
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Types of APA Papers

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APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6 th edition, second printing of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page. For more information, please consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , (6 th ed., 2 nd printing).
Note: This page reflects APA 6, which is now out of date. It will remain online until 2021, but will not be updated. There is currently no equivalent 7th edition page, but we're working on one. Thank you for your patience. Here is a link to our APA 7 "General Format" page .
There are two common types of papers written in fields using APA Style: the literature review and the experimental report (also known as a "research report"). Each has unique requirements concerning the sections that must be included in the paper.
Literature review
A literature review is a critical summary of what the scientific literature says about your specific topic or question. Often student research in APA fields falls into this category. Your professor might ask you to write this kind of paper to demonstrate your familiarity with work in the field pertinent to the research you hope to conduct.
While the APA Publication Manual does not require a specific order for a literature review, a good literature review typically contains the following components:
- Introduction
- Thesis statement
- Summary and synthesis of sources
- List of references
Some instructors may also want you to write an abstract for a literature review, so be sure to check with them when given an assignment. Also, the length of a literature review and the required number of sources will vary based on course and instructor preferences.
NOTE: A literature review and an annotated bibliography are not synonymous. While both types of writing involve examining sources, the literature review seeks to synthesize the information and draw connections between sources. If you are asked to write an annotated bibliography, you should consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association for the APA Format for Annotated Bibliographies.
Experimental/Research report
In many of the social sciences, you will be asked to design and conduct your own experimental research. If so, you will need to write up your paper using a structure that is more complex than that used for just a literature review. We have a complete resource devoted to writing an experimental report in the field of psychology here .
This structure follows the scientific method, but it also makes your paper easier to follow by providing those familiar cues that help your reader efficiently scan your information for:
- Why the topic is important (covered in your introduction)
- What the problem is (also covered in your introduction)
- What you did to try to solve the problem (covered in your methods section)
- What you found (covered in your results section)
- What you think your findings mean (covered in your discussion section)
Thus an experimental report typically includes the following sections.
- Multiple experiments (if you conduct more than one)
- Appendices (if necessary)
- Tables and/or figures (if necessary)
Make sure to check the guidelines for your assignment or any guidelines that have been given to you by an editor of a journal before you submit a manuscript containing the sections listed above.
As with the literature review, the length of this report may vary by course or by journal, but most often it will be determined by the scope of the research conducted.
Other papers
If you are writing a paper that fits neither of these categories, follow the guidelines about General Format , consult your instructor, or look up advice in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association .
When submitting a manuscript to a journal, make sure you follow the guidelines described in the submission policies of that publication, and include as many sections as you think are applicable to presenting your material. Remember to keep your audience in mind as you are making this decision. If certain information is particularly pertinent for conveying your research, then ensure that there is a section of your paper that adequately addresses that information.
How to Write an Article Review: A Simple Step-by-Step Guide

An article review is one of those academic tasks students face quite often during their education. At first glance, it may seem like a very simple and straightforward task. But article review writing has its peculiarities and pitfalls that can make the process extremely challenging. Knowing how to avoid them can help you save lots of time and nerves and, at the same time, ensure an excellent result. But, how to do it?
If you were assigned to do such a task and have no clue how to write a review of an article, you’ve come to the right place! In this article, we will share with you the most effective tips and tricks that will make writing simple and enjoyable. Let’s dive in!
What Is an Article Review?
An article review is quite a common form of academic assignment in schools and colleges. In a nutshell, this paper requires students to read a specific article, critically evaluate it, and write their observations in the review.
Basically, your review is a constructive, critical assessment of someone else’s work. It explores the strong and weak points of the given piece, gaps, inconsistencies, and other issues, and gives the whole piece an objective evaluation based on all these points.
Working on such an assignment requires excellent analytical and critical thinking skills, as well as the ability to present ideas and arguments in a well-structured way. Therefore, handling this task can be rather difficult.
To help you get on the right track, here are the basic features of article review writing:
- It always includes summarization, classification, in-depth analysis, comparison, and critiques.
- The evaluation and analysis should use research, ideas, and theories relevant to the subject matter.
- Important: A review of an article should not provide new information. Instead, it should explore and evaluate the work of another writer.
Common Types of Article Review
All reviews follow a similar structure and pursue the same goal. However, there are different types of reviews that require a different approach to each.
All in all, we can distinguish three types of this paper based on the kind of article that is being reviewed.
Journal Article Review
If you are reviewing a journal article, you should focus on assessing the strong and weak points of the piece. You should share your own interpretation of the article and provide its in-depth analysis to highlight the value and importance of the piece.
This type of work is probably the easiest and least formal of all.
Research Article Review
When writing a review of the research article, you also have to read, analyze, and evaluate the piece. However, this type of paper needs to have more depth to it compared to a review of a journal article.
The biggest distinctive feature of this work is that along with assessing the strong and weak sides of the article, the author should also evaluate the research methods and use this assessment to conduct further analysis and critique.
Science Article Review
Finally, the last and the most complex type of review is a review of a scientific article. Since scientific articles provide more information on the background of the subject matter, you can use this info to make a more thorough analysis of the piece.
Article Review Format Tips
If you are wondering which format to use for your critical review of an article, the first thing you should do is check with your professor. Typically, a professor should provide you with clear guidelines for your paper writing . If you didn’t get any guidelines or something is unclear, don’t hesitate to ask your professor to clarify it for you.
Some of the main questions you should ask in terms of formating are:
- What citation style is preferred?
- What is the required word count?
- Are you to include a summary, critique, or your personal opinion in the review?
- Are you expected to drive attention to the main idea or theme within the articles?
- Are you to provide background information?
Having the answers to these questions will help you create a high-quality paper that fully meets the requirements of your professor. So, be sure to clarify them.
Just to give you an idea of how everything should look, let’s consider the two most common formats for this type of work. Below, you can find examples of MLA and APA format article review.
APA Article Review
APA style article review is one of the two most common formats. In a nutshell, if you were assigned to write an article review APA, it means that you will need to format your citations according to this style manual. The rest of the paper will have standard formatting.
If you are wondering how to write a review in APA style, here are some tips that will help you create correct bibliographical entries for the most commonly-used sources:
- Web: Author’s last name, initials. (Year, month date of publication). Title. Retrieved from (link to your source)
- Journal: Author’s last name, initials. (Year of publication). Publication title . Periodical title, volume (issue), pp.-pp.
- Newspaper: Author’s last name, initials. (Year, month date of publication). Publication title. The magazine title , pp. xx-xx.
MLA Article Review
The second common style is MLA. Here is how to format your citations if you are assigned to write an article review in MLA:
- Web: Author’s last name, first name middle name initial. “Publication Title.” Website Title. Website Publisher, Date Month Year Published. Web. Date Month Year Accessed.
- Journal: Author’s last name, first name middle name initial. “Publication Title.” Journal Title Series Volume. Issue (Year Published): Page(s). Database Name. Web. Date Month Year Accessed.
- Newspaper: Author’s last name, first name middle name initial. “Publication Title.” Newspaper Title [City] Date, Month, Year Published: Page(s). Print.
Preparing for Writing an Article Review
Of course, writing a review itself is the biggest part of the task. However, as we all know, no task can be completed well without some basic planning and preparation. The pre-writing process is necessary to get you ready for the writing stage and that’s why it is so important.
So, what do you need to prepare?
First and foremost, you need to understand the essence of this task. It is vital that you know what an article review is, what purpose it has, and what is expected of you. Once you know this, there are a few more pre-writing steps to take.
Figure Out How to Organize Your Paper
Before you can get to reading and evaluating the given article, you should have a clear idea of the organization of your future review. Knowing how your paper will be structured will give you an idea of what you should focus on when reading the article.
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To help you get started, here is how your review should be set up:
- Summary of the article. Begin your review by summarizing the article, its key ideas, statements, and information.
- Discussion of the strong points. Next, focus on the positive things. Tell the readers what the author does well, what good ideas he or she brings up, and share some insightful observations.
- Discussion of drawbacks, gaps, contradictions, and inconsistencies of the article . To complete your review, tell the readers about the negative aspects you’ve noticed. Discuss if there is an information gap, lack of research, or unanswered questions.
Go Over the Text
Start by quickly skimming the article. During your first reading, don’t cling to any details. Instead, go over the article’s title and abstract, study the headings, opening sentences of the paragraphs, etc. Then only read the first several paragraphs and jump to the concluding paragraph. These tricks will help you quickly grasp the overall idea of the article and the main points the author makes.
Next, read the entire article to get a complete picture. Here are a few tips to help you make the first reading as effective as possible:
- Look for the general idea and key points.
- Note down any terms, concepts, or words that are not familiar to you.
- Write down all questions you get while reading the article.
- Before you move to the next step, be sure to look up the definitions of the unfamiliar words.
Read the Text Attentively
After you give it the first round of superficial reading and note down everything that seems unclear, you can finally read the article closely.
Follow these tips to make the most of this stage:
- Read the article multiple times to ensure that you got the main idea right.
- Make notes on everything that sounds important or unclear.
- Highlight the most important points and helpful quotes that you can refer to later.
- Connect the content of the article with your own knowledge of the topic. Define if the article agrees or disagrees with what you already know.
Interpret the Article In Your Own Words
Putting the article into your own words is a great trick that will help you define how well you understood the main points. Also, this is a good practice for your writing stage.
After writing down your own interpretation of the article, highlight the main parts that you’d like to discuss in your review.
Based on your interpretation and highlighted points, make a preliminary outline. Then review your outline to cross out everything unnecessary or unimportant.
Create a Detailed Outline
The last stage of preparation is making an outline. Get back to your notes, summary, and preliminary outline to define what to include in your review. Based on this, create a clear, well-organized, and detailed outline. In the next section of our guide, we will give you more tips for making an effective outline.
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Article Review Template & Outline
Writing an outline is the best way to organize all your thoughts and create a solid base for your future paper. It will help you follow the right structure and focus on the right points in your review. Also, an outline will help you see if anything is missing or, on the contrary, if there is anything else you should exclude from your paper.
How to create a good outline? First of all, ensure you are well aware of your teacher’s requirements. There are two sections of the review that are optional - a personal critique and a summary section. You should define if your professor wants you to include these sections or not. If yes, you will also have to add them to your outline. If not, you can follow a standard template.
What parts are included in an outline? The review itself, like any other academic paper, should consist of an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. However, additionally, you may need to include some other sections to your review, such as:
- Pre-title page that shares full information about the article that is being reviewed (i.e. the type of the article, author(s), the title of the publication, etc.)
- Optional author’s contact details (e.g. email, address, phone number, etc.)
- Running head (this element only applies to papers in the APA format)
- Summary page (used to communicate the background, define why the work was done, sum up results and discuss methods)
- Works Cited or References
- Suggested Reading Page (optional)
- Tables and Figure Legends (if required)
Need more help with making an article review outline? Here is a basic sample outline that can serve as a template for your future review:
- Introduction
- Background information
- Article classification
- A brief summary
- Paragraph 1: A strong point or insightful observation + analysis and critique + supporting evidence
- Paragraph 2: A strong point or insightful observation + analysis and critique + supporting evidence
- Paragraph 3: A drawback, gap, inconsistency, or another weak point + analysis and critique + supporting evidence
- Paragraph 4…
- Summary of all discussed points
- Critical evaluation of the author’s work
A Step-by-Step Guide to Article Review Writing
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- Choose the Title
First, create a relevant title that goes in line with the core focus of your paper. Make sure it is clear and concise, but attention-grabbing.
- Cite the Article
Next, you will need to cite the article you are reviewing according to the required citation style.
Here is a sample citation in the MLA style:
Abraham John. “The World of Dreams.” Virginia Quarterly 60.2(1991): 125-67. Print.
- Article Identification
Following the citation, you need to provide the identification details of the article, such as:
- Name of the journal
- Year of publication
The article, “The World of Dreams,” was written by John Abraham and published in Virginia Quarterly in 1991.
- Make a Good Introduction
To create a great introduction, start with the basic info about the article and the thesis for your paper. Move on to a brief summary of the article and its main points.
- Summarize the Article
Provide a more thorough summary of the article. Pay close attention to the key statements, ideas, theories, and findings offered by the author.
- Critique It
Make a critical assessment of the article. First, discuss the positive aspects of the work, explain what the author did well, and support your ideas with arguments. After the positive aspects, discuss what gaps, inconsistencies, and other drawbacks are present in the article.
- Write a Conclusion
Revisit all the points you’ve discussed in your review and shape a clear and logical conclusion.
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The Last Stage: Proofreading and Editing
If you take a look at a truly well-written example of an article review, you will not find any typos or grammar mistakes there. Although the content of your review plays a big role in your success, the quality of the text is also vital.
Although many students still prefer to skip the post-writing process, they make a huge mistake here. If you don’t bother to proofread and edit your review, you risk getting a low grade just because you didn’t fix the errors. That would be a pity, right? That’s true, so here you have all the reasons to devote some more time and energy to revise your draft.
But how to proofread and edit your review effectively? Here are some key tips that should help:
- First of all, be sure to give yourself a few days to rest after you are done with writing. Often, when you start proofreading the text right after you finished it, you are too tired to notice all the mistakes that might be there. So, it is always a good idea to let it rest for a few days.
- One more tip is to read your review several times. As a rule, reading it only once is not enough to notice all the drawbacks.
- Focus on one type of mistake at a time. When revising your work for all types of mistakes at once, you will most likely miss something. But, if you focus on one specific type of mistake during each round of revision, you will be able to identify and eliminate all the errors.
- Use available tools. Finally, we encourage you to make use of the tools you have to simplify and speed up the process. There are many great tools for proofreading and editing that can come in handy. Don’t rely on them completely, but let them save you some time.
Checklist for Revision

Now that you have all the tips for effective proofreading, here is a checklist that will help you define whether you checked everything:
- Text structure
- Tone of voice
- Sentence structure
- Presentation
- Punctuation
- Referencing and citations
Writing an Article Review: 14 Dos and Don’ts
If you have never dealt with this type of assignment before, you are probably wondering how to write article review the right way and avoid common mistakes. We already told you about the main steps in writing and shared some handy article review examples to help you get started. But, we have even more tips in store and we are willing to share them with you.
In the list below, we’ve gathered some of the main tips on what you should and should not do when writing.
- Read the article several times to define its main idea and understand it fully.
- Take notes while you are reading.
- Focus on the impression the article makes.
- If there are any unknown terms, be sure to look them up before writing.
- Base your work on an analysis with insightful observations.
- Check at least one example to know what it should look like.
- Write in the third person and stick to the formal style.
- Make an emphasis on your introduction to engage the readers and make a strong thesis statement.
- Don’t think it is enough to read the article only once.
- Don’t neglect the importance of creating an outline.
- Don’t go with just any title, brainstorm ideas to find a title that is both concise and attention-grabbing.
- Don’t focus only on the positive or, on the contrary, only the negative sides of the article. Instead, make an all-rounded review that highlights both strong points and drawbacks.
- Don’t skip the proofreading and editing stage.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you really need it.
The Bottom Line
If after reading all the guidelines, tips, and examples you are still not sure how to review an article, we’ve got something else for you! There is one more solution to your academic matters that always guarantees 100% success - it is turning for professional help to the team of PaperWriter.
PaperWriter is a professional paper writing service with a huge pool of top-rated paper writers. Here, students of all academic levels can get any kind of help they need. Whether you need mathematics homework help or essay editing assistance - PaperWriter has got you covered. Trust us to take care of your article review and we will make sure that you get the highest grade with literally no effort.
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How to Write an Article Review: Tips and Examples

An article review format allows scholars or students to analyze and evaluate the work of other experts in a given field. Outside of the education system, experts often review the work of their peers for clarity, originality, and contribution to the discipline of study.
When answering the questions of what is an article review and how to write one, you must understand the depth of analysis and evaluation that your instructor is seeking.
What Is an Article Review
That is a type of professional paper writing which demands a high level of in-depth analysis and a well-structured presentation of arguments. It is a critical, constructive evaluation of literature in a particular field through summary, classification, analysis, and comparison.
If you write a scientific review, you have to use database searches to portray the research. Your primary goal is to summarize everything and present a clear understanding of the topic you’ve been working on.
Writing Involves:
- Summarization, classification, analysis, critiques, and comparison.
- The analysis, evaluation, and comparison require use theories, ideas, and research, relevant to the subject area of the article.
- It is also worth nothing if a review does not introduce new information, but instead presents a response to another writer’s work.
- Check out other samples to gain a better understanding of how to review the article.
Types of Review
There are few types of article reviews.
Journal Article Review
Much like all other reviews, a journal article review evaluates strengths and weaknesses of a publication. A qualified paper writer must provide the reader with an analysis and interpretation that demonstrates the article’s value.
Research Article Review
It differs from a journal article review by the way that it evaluates the research method used and holds that information in retrospect to analysis and critique.
Science Article Review
Scientific article review involves anything in the realm of science. Often, scientific publications include more information on the background that you can use to analyze the publication more comprehensively.
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Formatting an Article Review
The format of the article should always adhere to the citation style required by your professor. If you’re not sure, seek clarification on the preferred format and ask him to clarify several other pointers to complete the formatting of an article review adequately.
How Many Publications Should You Review?
- In what format you should cite your articles (MLA, APA, ASA, Chicago, etc.)?
- What length should your review be?
- Should you include a summary, critique, or personal opinion in your assignment?
- Do you need to call attention to a theme or central idea within the articles?
- Does your instructor require background information?
When you know the answers to these questions, you may start writing your assignment. Below are examples of MLA and APA formats, as those are the two most common citation styles.

Using the APA Format
Articles appear most commonly in academic journals, newspapers, and websites. If you write an article review in the APA format, you will need to write bibliographical entries for the sources you use:
- Web : Author [last name], A.A [first and middle initial]. (Year, Month Date of Publication). Title. Retrieved from {link}
- Journal : Author [last name], A.A [first and middle initial]. (Publication Year). Publication Title. Periodical Title, Volume(Issue), pp.-pp.
- Newspaper : Author [last name], A.A [first and middle initial]. (Year, Month Date of Publication). Publication Title. Magazine Title, pp. xx-xx.
Using MLA Format
- Web : Last, First Middle Initial. “Publication Title.” Website Title. Website Publisher, Date Month Year Published. Web. Date Month Year Accessed.
- Newspaper : Last, First M. “Publication Title.” Newspaper Title [City] Date, Month, Year Published: Page(s). Print.
- Journal : Last, First M. “Publication Title.” Journal Title Series Volume. Issue (Year Published): Page(s). Database Name. Web. Date Month Year Accessed.
The Pre-Writing Process
Facing this task for the first time can really get confusing and can leave you being unsure where to begin. To create a top-notch article review, start with a few preparatory steps. Here are the two main stages to get you started:
Step 1: Define the right organization for your review. Knowing the future setup of your paper will help you define how you should read the article. Here are the steps to follow:
- Summarize the article — seek out the main points, ideas, claims, and general information presented in the article.
- Define the positive points — identify the strong aspects, ideas, and insightful observations the author has made.
- Find the gaps —- determine whether or not the author has any contradictions, gaps, or inconsistencies in the article and evaluate whether or not he or she used a sufficient amount of arguments and information to support his or her ideas.
- Identify unanswered questions — finally, identify if there are any questions left unanswered after reading the piece.
Step 2: Move on and review the article. Here is a small and simple guide to help you do it right:
- Start off by looking at and assessing the title of the piece, its abstract, introductory part, headings and subheadings, opening sentences in its paragraphs, and its conclusion.
- First, read only the beginning and the ending of the piece (introduction and conclusion). These are the parts where authors include all of their key arguments and points. Therefore, if you start with reading these parts, it will give you a good sense of the author’s main points.
- Finally, read the article fully.
These three steps make up most of the prewriting process. After you are done with them, you can move on to writing your own review—and we are going to guide you through the writing process as well.
Organization in an assignment like this is of utmost importance. Before embarking on your writing process, you could outline your assignment or use an article review template to organize your thoughts more coherently.
Outline and Template
As you progress with reading your article, organize your thoughts into coherent sections in an outline. As you read, jot down important facts, contributions, or contradictions. Identify the shortcomings and strengths of your publication. Begin to map your outline accordingly.
If your professor does not want a summary section or a personal critique section, then you must alleviate those parts from your writing. Much like other assignments, an article review must contain an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Thus you might consider dividing your outline according to these sections as well as subheadings within the body. If you find yourself troubled with the prewriting and the brainstorming process for this assignment, seek out a sample outline.
Your custom essay must contain these constituent parts:
- Pre-title page : here, you will want to list the type of the article that you are reviewing, the title of the publication, all the authors who contributed to it, author’s affiliations (position, department, institute, city, state, country, email ID)
- Optional corresponding author details : name, address, phone number, email, and fax number.
- Running head : Only in the APA format. It is the title of your paper shortened to less than 40 characters.
- Summary page : Optional, depending on the demands of your instructor. The summary should be maximum 800 words long. Use non-technical and straightforward language. Do not repeat text verbatim or give references in this section. Give 1) relevant background 2) explain why the work was done 3) summarize results and explain the method.
- Title page : full title, 250-word abstract followed by “Keywords:” and 4-6 keywords.
- Introduction
- Body : Include headings and subheadings
- Works Cited/References
- Optional Suggested Reading Page
- Tables and Figure Legends (if instructed by the professor.)
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Steps for Writing an Article Review
Here is a guide with critique paper format from our research paper writing service on how to write a review paper:

Step 1: Write the Title.
First of all, you need to write a title that reflects the main focus of your work. Respectively, the title can be either interrogative, descriptive, or declarative.
Step 2: Cite the Article.
Next, create a proper citation for the reviewed article and input it following the title. At this step, the most important thing to keep in mind is the style of citation specified by your instructor in the requirements for the paper. For example, an article citation in the MLA style should look as follows:
Author’s last and first name. “The title of the article.” Journal’s title and issue(publication date): page(s). Print
Example: Abraham John. “The World of Dreams.” Virginia Quarterly 60.2(1991): 125-67. Print.
Step 3: Article Identification.
After your citation, you need to include the identification of your reviewed article:
- Title of the article
- Title of the journal
- Year of publication
All of this information should be included in the first paragraph of your paper.
Example: The report, “Poverty increases school drop-outs,” was written by Brian Faith – a Health officer – in 2000.
Step 4: Introduction.
Your organization in an assignment like this is of the utmost importance. Before embarking on your writing process, you should outline your assignment or use an article review template to organize your thoughts coherently.
- If you are wondering how to start an article review, begin with an introduction that mentions the article and your thesis for the review.
- Follow up with a summary of the main points of the article.
- Highlight the positive aspects and facts presented in the publication.
- Critique the publication through identifying gaps, contradictions, disparities in the text, and unanswered questions.
Step 5: Summarize the Article.
Make a summary of the article by revisiting what the author has written about. Note any relevant facts and findings from the article. Include the author's conclusions in this section.
Step 6: Critique It.
Present the strengths and weaknesses you have found in the publication. Highlight the knowledge that the author has contributed to the field. Also, write about any gaps and/or contradictions you have found in the article. Take a standpoint of either supporting or not supporting the author's assertions, but back up your arguments with facts and relevant theories that are pertinent to that area of knowledge. Rubrics and templates can also be used to evaluate and grade the person who wrote the article.
Step 7: Craft a Conclusion.
In this section, revisit the critical points of your piece, your findings in the article, and your critique. Also, write about the accuracy, validity, and relevance of the results of the article review. Present a way forward for future research in the field of study. Before submitting your article, keep these pointers in mind:
- As you read the article, highlight the key points. This will help you pinpoint the article's main argument and the evidence that they used to support that argument.
- While you write your review, use evidence from your sources to make a point. This is best done using direct quotations.
- Select quotes and supporting evidence adequately and use direct quotations sparingly. Take time to analyze the article adequately.
- Every time you reference a publication or use a direct quotation, use a parenthetical citation to avoid accidentally plagiarizing your article.
- Re-read your piece a day after you finish writing it. This will help you to spot grammar mistakes and to notice any flaws in your organization.
- Use a spell-checker and get a second opinion on your paper.


The Post-Writing Process: Proofread Your Work
Finally, when all of the parts of your article review are set and ready, you have one last thing to take care of — proofreading. Although students often neglect this step, proofreading is a vital part of the writing process and will help you polish your paper to ensure that there are no mistakes or inconsistencies.
To proofread your paper properly, start with reading it fully and by checking the following points:
- Punctuation
- Other mistakes
Next, identify whether or not there is any unnecessary data in the paper and remove it. Lastly, check the points you discussed in your work; make sure you discuss at least 3-4 key points. In case you need to proofread, rewrite an essay or buy essay , our dissertation services are always here for you.
Example of an Article Review
Why have we devoted an entire section of this article to talk about an article review sample, you may wonder? Not all of you may recognize it, but in fact, looking through several solid examples of review articles is actually an essential step for your writing process, and we will tell you why.
Looking through relevant article review examples can be beneficial for you in the following ways:
- To get you introduced to the key works of experts in your field.
- To help you identify the key people engaged in a particular field of science.
- To help you define what significant discoveries and advances were made in your field.
- To help you unveil the major gaps within the existing knowledge of your field—which contributes to finding fresh solutions.
- To help you find solid references and arguments for your own review.
- To help you generate some ideas about any further field of research.
- To help you gain a better understanding of the area and become an expert in this specific field.
- To get a clear idea of how to write a good review.
As you can see, reading through a few samples can be extremely beneficial for you. Therefore, the best way to learn how to write this kind of paper is to look for an article review example online that matches your grade level.
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Journal Article Reporting Standards (JARS)

APA Style JARS on the EQUATOR Network

Quantitative research
Use JARS–Quant when you collect your study data in numerical form or report them through statistical analyses.

Qualitative research
Use JARS–Qual when you collect your study data in the form of natural language and expression.

Mixed methods research
Use JARS–Mixed when your study combines both quantitative and qualitative methods.
What is APA Style JARS?
APA Style Journal Article Reporting Standards (APA Style JARS) are a set of guidelines designed for journal authors, reviewers, and editors to enhance scientific rigor in peer-reviewed journal articles. Educators and students can use APA Style JARS as teaching and learning tools for conducting high quality research and determining what information to report in scholarly papers.
The guidelines include information on what should be included in all manuscript sections for:
- Quantitative research (JARS–Quant)
- Qualitative research (JARS–Qual)
- Mixed methods research (JARS–Mixed)
Using these standards will make your research clearer and more accurate as well as more transparent for readers. For quantitative research, using the standards will increase the reproducibility of science. For qualitative research, using the standards will increase the methodological integrity of research.
For more information on APA Style JARS:
- Read Editorial: Journal Article Reporting Standards
- View an infographic (PDF, 453KB) to learn about the benefits of JARS and how they are relevant to you
- Listen to a podcast with Drs. Harris Cooper and David Frost discussing JARS and implications for research in psychology
Many aspects of research methodology warrant a close look, and journal editors can promote better methods if we encourage authors to take responsibility to report their work in clear, understandable ways. —Nelson Cowan, Editor, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General
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Watch a video about JARS
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This video describes and discusses the updated APA Style Journal Article Reporting Standards.
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Reporting Qualitative Research in Psychology
Journal article reporting standards for qualitative research

Reporting Quantitative Research in Psychology
Journal article reporting standards for quantitative research

Publication Manual, 7th Edition
The official source for writing papers and creating references in seventh edition APA Style
JARS Resources
- JARS–Quant Article
- JARS–Qual / Mixed Article
- Supplemental JARS Glossary
- Ethic of Transparency in JARS
- Frequently Asked Questions
- JARS–Quant Decision Flowchart (PDF, 97KB)
- JARS–Quant Participant Flowchart (PDF, 95KB)
- JARS–Quant on EQUATOR
- JARS–Qual/JARS–Mixed on EQUATOR
Questions / Feedback
Email an APA Style Expert if you have questions, feedback, or suggestions for modules to be included in future JARS updates.
APA Resources
- APA Databases and Electronic Resources
- APA Journals
- Journal Author Resource Center
- Education and Career
- Psychological Science
- Open Science at APA
- How to Review a Manuscript

Psychological Review
- Read this journal
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Journal scope statement
Psychological Review ® publishes articles that make important theoretical contributions to any area of scientific psychology, including systematic evaluation of alternative theories. Papers mainly focused on surveys of the literature, problems of method and design, or reports of empirical findings are not appropriate.
There is no upper bound on the length of Psychological Review articles. However, authors who submit papers with texts longer than 15,000 words will be asked to justify the need for their length.
Psychological Review also publishes Theoretical Notes—commentaries that contribute to progress in a given subfield of scientific psychology. Such notes include, but are not limited to, discussions of previously published articles, comments that apply to a class of theoretical models in a given domain, critiques and discussions of alternative theoretical approaches, and meta-theoretical discourse on theory testing and related topics.
Disclaimer: APA and the editors of Psychological Review assume no responsibility for statements and opinions advanced by the authors of its articles.
Editor's Choice
This journal’s content is highlighted in the APA Editor's Choice newsletter, a free, bi-weekly compilation of editor-recommended APA Journals articles. More information is available under the submission guidelines .
Journal highlights
CABS 2018 Academic Journal Guide: Grade 4 (top-ranked)
Announcements
- APA endorses the Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) Guidelines
- Call for editorial fellowship nominations
- Each issue of Psychological Review ® will honor one accepted manuscript per issue by selecting it as an “Editor’s Choice” paper. Selection is based on the discretion of the editor if the paper offers an unusually large potential impact to the field and/or elevates an important future direction for science.
- Editorial by Elena L. Grigorenko, PhD, January 2022
From APA Journals Article Spotlight ®
- Believing superstitions that you know aren't true
- Sacrificing strangers vs. helping them: Two dimensions of utilitarian psychology
- Personality: Where does it come from and how does it work?
- How do we learn and use concepts?
- Submission Guidelines
- Editorial Board
- Abstracting & Indexing
- Open Science
Prior to submission, please carefully read and follow the submission guidelines detailed below. Manuscripts that do not conform to the submission guidelines may be returned without review.
To submit to the editorial office of Elena L. Grigorenko, PhD, please submit manuscripts electronically through the Manuscript Submission Portal in Microsoft Word or Open Office format.
Prepare manuscripts according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association using the 7 th edition. Manuscripts may be copyedited for bias-free language (see Chapter 5 of the Publication Manual ). APA Style and Grammar Guidelines for the 7 th edition are available.
Submit Manuscript
Elena L. Grigorenko, PhD Editor, Psychological Review
General correspondence may be directed to the editor's office .
Do not submit manuscripts to the editor's email address.
All submissions should be clear and readable. An unusual typeface is acceptable only if it is clear and legible.
In addition to addresses and phone numbers, please supply electronic mail addresses and fax numbers, if available, for potential use by the editorial office and later by the production office.
Psychological Review ® is now using a software system to screen submitted content for similarity with other published content. The system compares the initial version of each submitted manuscript against a database of 40+ million scholarly documents, as well as content appearing on the open web. This allows APA to check submissions for potential overlap with material previously published in scholarly journals (e.g., lifted or republished material).
Each issue of PPPL will honor one manuscript as the Editor’s Choice .
Selection criteria
The Editor’s Choice article will be selected based on an assessment of the following criteria. In addition to the editor’s own assessment of these criteria, information provided in the peer reviews (numerical ratings and comments) and the AEs’ decision letters will be used as data for selection.
- Diversity: Does the study advance our understanding of how legal institutions and policy makers should work with and treat diverse groups of people? Does the study contribute to improving services for underserved populations?
- Innovation: Does the study lead to significantly new knowledge, ask unexamined questions, and/or use highly novel methods to inform policy and legal practice?
- Methodological rigor: Do the methods meet the highest level of methodological rigor for the particular field of study?
- Policy significance/impact: Does the study have significant and direct implications that can change/improve/increase practices in the legal or policy areas?
Selection process
When the editor prepares the table of contents each quarter, the editor will identify the article that they believe best meets the criteria in consultation with the associate editors.
associate editors will be invited to nominate articles for Editor’s Choice. The editor will consider these nominations in their selection review process.
Masked review policy
Open (i.e., unmasked) review is the default for this journal, though masked review is an option. If you choose masked review, include authors' names and affiliations only in the cover letter for the manuscript.
Authors who choose masked review should make every effort to see that the manuscript itself contains no clues to their identities, including grant numbers, names of institutions providing IRB approval, self-citations, and links to online repositories for data, materials, code, or preregistrations (e.g., Create a View-only Link for a Project ).
There is no upper bound on the length of Psychological Review articles.
Submissions must be under 5 MB in total size.
Psychological Review publishes direct replications if they are relevant to and/or embedded in new or enhanced theories. Submissions should include a mention of the replication in the abstract.
Journal Article Reporting Standards
Authors should review the APA Style Journal Article Reporting Standards (JARS) for quantitative and mixed methods. The standards offer ways to improve transparency in reporting to ensure that readers have the information necessary to evaluate the quality of the research and to facilitate collaboration and replication.
Transparency and openness
APA endorses the Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) Guidelines by a community working group in conjunction with the Center for Open Science ( Nosek et al. 2015 ). Effective August 1, 2021, empirical research submitted to Psychological Review must at least meet the “disclosure” level for all eight aspects of research planning and reporting. Authors should include a subsection in the method section titled “Transparency and openness.” This subsection should detail the efforts the authors have made to comply with the TOP guidelines. For example:
- We report how we determined our sample size, all data exclusions (if any), all manipulations, and all measures in the study, and we follow JARS (Kazak, 2018). All data, analysis code, and research materials are available at [stable link to repository]. Data were analyzed using R, version 4.0.0 (R Core Team, 2020) and the package ggplot , version 3.2.1 (Wickham, 2016). This study’s design and its analysis were not pre-registered.
Links to preregistrations and data, code, and materials should also be included in the author note.
Data, materials, and code
Reviews that include quantitative analyses (e.g., meta-analyses) must state whether data and study materials (if these were created for the review, e.g., coding schemes) are available and, if so, where to access them. Recommended repositories include APA’s repository on the Open Science Framework (OSF), or authors can access a full list of other recommended repositories .
In both the author note and at the end of the method section, specify whether and where the data and material will be available or include a statement noting that they are not available. For submissions with quantitative or simulation analytic methods, state whether the study analysis code is available, and, if so, where to access it.
For example:
- All data have been made publicly available at the [repository name] and can be accessed at [persistent URL or DOI].
- Materials and analysis code for this study are available by emailing the corresponding author.
- Materials and analysis code for this study are not available.
- The code behind this analysis/simulation has been made publicly available at the [repository name] and can be accessed at [persistent URL or DOI].
Preregistration of studies and analysis plans
Preregistration of studies and specific hypotheses can be a useful tool for making strong theoretical claims. Likewise, preregistration of analysis plans can be useful for distinguishing confirmatory and exploratory analyses. Investigators are encouraged to preregister their studies and analysis plans prior to conducting the research (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov or the Preregistration for Quantitative Research in Psychology template) via a publicly accessible registry system (e.g., OSF , ClinicalTrials.gov, or other trial registries in the WHO Registry Network).
Articles must state whether or not any work was preregistered and, if so, where to access the preregistration. If reviews were pre-registered as protocols or if quantitative analyses were pre-registered, include the registry links in the method section and the author note.
- For a systematic review: This review’s protocol was pre-registered at [stable link to protocol]. We followed the PRISMA-P checklist when preparing the protocol, and we followed PRISMA reporting guidelines for the final report.
- For an unregistered review: This review was not pre-registered. We followed PRISMA reporting guidelines for the final report.
Manuscript preparation
Prepare manuscripts according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition). Manuscripts may be copyedited for bias-free language (see Chapter 3 of the 6th edition or Chapter 5 of the 7th edition).
Review APA's Journal Manuscript Preparation Guidelines before submitting your article.
Double-space all copy. Other formatting instructions, as well as instructions on preparing tables, figures, references, metrics, and abstracts, appear in the Manual . Additional guidance on APA Style is available on the APA Style website .
Below are additional instructions regarding the preparation of display equations, computer code, and tables.
Display equations
We strongly encourage you to use MathType (third-party software) or Equation Editor 3.0 (built into pre-2007 versions of Word) to construct your equations, rather than the equation support that is built into Word 2007 and Word 2010. Equations composed with the built-in Word 2007/Word 2010 equation support are converted to low-resolution graphics when they enter the production process and must be rekeyed by the typesetter, which may introduce errors.
To construct your equations with MathType or Equation Editor 3.0:
- Go to the Text section of the Insert tab and select Object.
- Select MathType or Equation Editor 3.0 in the drop-down menu.
If you have an equation that has already been produced using Microsoft Word 2007 or 2010 and you have access to the full version of MathType 6.5 or later, you can convert this equation to MathType by clicking on MathType Insert Equation. Copy the equation from Microsoft Word and paste it into the MathType box. Verify that your equation is correct, click File, and then click Update. Your equation has now been inserted into your Word file as a MathType Equation.
Use Equation Editor 3.0 or MathType only for equations or for formulas that cannot be produced as Word text using the Times or Symbol font.
Computer code
Authors of accepted articles who report new computer simulations of models, or new data-analysis software, are required to provide the code as online supplemental material ("additional content") at the time of final manuscript submission. It is important to include adequate documentation so that the code can be downloaded and used by other researchers.
Because altering computer code in any way (e.g., indents, line spacing, line breaks, page breaks) during the typesetting process could alter its meaning, we treat computer code differently from the rest of your article in our production process. To that end, we request separate files for computer code.
In online supplemental material
We request that runnable source code be included as supplemental material to the article. For more information, visit Supplementing Your Article With Online Material .
In the text of the article
If you would like to include code in the text of your published manuscript, please submit a separate file with your code exactly as you want it to appear, using Courier New font with a type size of 8 points. We will make an image of each segment of code in your article that exceeds 40 characters in length. (Shorter snippets of code that appear in text will be typeset in Courier New and run in with the rest of the text.) If an appendix contains a mix of code and explanatory text, please submit a file that contains the entire appendix, with the code keyed in 8-point Courier New.
Use Word's insert table function when you create tables. Using spaces or tabs in your table will create problems when the table is typeset and may result in errors.
LaTex files
LaTex files (.tex) should be uploaded with all other files such as BibTeX Generated Bibliography File (.bbl) or Bibliography Document (.bib) together in a compressed ZIP file folder for the manuscript submission process. In addition, a Portable Document Format (.pdf) of the manuscript file must be uploaded for the peer-review process.
Academic writing and English language editing services
Authors who feel that their manuscript may benefit from additional academic writing or language editing support prior to submission are encouraged to seek out such services at their host institutions, engage with colleagues and subject matter experts, and/or consider several vendors that offer discounts to APA authors .
Please note that APA does not endorse or take responsibility for the service providers listed. It is strictly a referral service.
Use of such service is not mandatory for publication in an APA journal. Use of one or more of these services does not guarantee selection for peer review, manuscript acceptance, or preference for publication in any APA journal.
Submitting supplemental materials
APA can place supplemental materials online, available via the published article in the PsycArticles ® database. Please see Supplementing Your Article With Online Material for more details.
Abstract and keywords
All manuscripts must include an abstract containing a maximum of 250 words typed on a separate page. After the abstract, please supply up to five keywords or brief phrases.
List references in alphabetical order. Each listed reference should be cited in text, and each text citation should be listed in the References section.
Examples of basic reference formats:
Journal article
McCauley, S. M., & Christiansen, M. H. (2019). Language learning as language use: A cross-linguistic model of child language development. Psychological Review , 126 (1), 1–51. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000126
Authored book
Brown, L. S. (2018). Feminist therapy (2nd ed.). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000092-000
Chapter in an edited book
Balsam, K. F., Martell, C. R., Jones. K. P., & Safren, S. A. (2019). Affirmative cognitive behavior therapy with sexual and gender minority people. In G. Y. Iwamasa & P. A. Hays (Eds.), Culturally responsive cognitive behavior therapy: Practice and supervision (2nd ed., pp. 287–314). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000119-012
Data set citation
Alegria, M., Jackson, J. S., Kessler, R. C., & Takeuchi, D. (2016). Collaborative Psychiatric Epidemiology Surveys (CPES), 2001–2003 [Data set]. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR20240.v8
Software/Code citation
Viechtbauer, W. (2010). Conducting meta-analyses in R with the metafor package. Journal of Statistical Software , 36(3), 1–48. https://www.jstatsoft.org/v36/i03/
Wickham, H. et al., (2019). Welcome to the tidyverse. Journal of Open Source Software, 4 (43), 1686, https://doi.org/10.21105/joss.01686
All secondary data and program code and other methods from other articles should be appropriately cited in the text and listed in the References section.
Preferred formats for graphics files are TIFF and JPG, and preferred format for vector-based files is EPS. Graphics downloaded or saved from web pages are not acceptable for publication. Multipanel figures (i.e., figures with parts labeled a, b, c, d, etc.) should be assembled into one file. When possible, please place symbol legends below the figure instead of to the side.
- All color line art and halftones: 300 DPI
- Black and white line tone and gray halftone images: 600 DPI
Line weights
- Color (RGB, CMYK) images: 2 pixels
- Grayscale images: 4 pixels
- Stroke weight: 0.5 points
APA offers authors the option to publish their figures online in color without the costs associated with print publication of color figures.
The same caption will appear on both the online (color) and print (black and white) versions. To ensure that the figure can be understood in both formats, authors should add alternative wording (e.g., “the red (dark gray) bars represent”) as needed.
For authors who prefer their figures to be published in color both in print and online, original color figures can be printed in color at the editor's and publisher's discretion provided the author agrees to pay:
- $900 for one figure
- An additional $600 for the second figure
- An additional $450 for each subsequent figure
Permissions
Authors of accepted papers must obtain and provide to the editor on final acceptance all necessary permissions to reproduce in print and electronic form any copyrighted work, including test materials (or portions thereof), photographs, and other graphic images (including those used as stimuli in experiments).
On advice of counsel, APA may decline to publish any image whose copyright status is unknown.
- Download Permissions Alert Form (PDF, 13KB)
Publication policies
APA policy prohibits an author from submitting the same manuscript for concurrent consideration by two or more publications.
See also APA Journals ® Internet Posting Guidelines .
APA requires authors to reveal any possible conflict of interest in the conduct and reporting of research (e.g., financial interests in a test or procedure, funding by pharmaceutical companies for drug research).
- Download Disclosure of Interests Form (PDF, 38KB)
In light of changing patterns of scientific knowledge dissemination, APA requires authors to provide information on prior dissemination of the data and narrative interpretations of the data/research appearing in the manuscript (e.g., if some or all were presented at a conference or meeting, posted on a listserv, shared on a website, including academic social networks like ResearchGate, etc.). This information (2–4 sentences) must be provided as part of the Author Note.
Authors who have posted their manuscripts to preprint archives prior to submission should include a link to the preprint.
Authors of accepted manuscripts are required to transfer the copyright to APA.
- For manuscripts not funded by the Wellcome Trust or the Research Councils UK Publication Rights (Copyright Transfer) Form (PDF, 83KB)
- For manuscripts funded by the Wellcome Trust or the Research Councils UK Wellcome Trust or Research Councils UK Publication Rights Form (PDF, 34KB)
Ethical Principles
It is a violation of APA Ethical Principles to publish "as original data, data that have been previously published" (Standard 8.13).
In addition, APA Ethical Principles specify that "after research results are published, psychologists do not withhold the data on which their conclusions are based from other competent professionals who seek to verify the substantive claims through reanalysis and who intend to use such data only for that purpose, provided that the confidentiality of the participants can be protected and unless legal rights concerning proprietary data preclude their release" (Standard 8.14).
APA expects authors to adhere to these standards. Specifically, APA expects authors to have their data available throughout the editorial review process and for at least 5 years after the date of publication.
Authors are required to state in writing that they have complied with APA ethical standards in the treatment of their sample, human or animal, or to describe the details of treatment.
- Download Certification of Compliance With APA Ethical Principles Form (PDF, 26KB)
The APA Ethics Office provides the full Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct electronically on its website in HTML, PDF, and Word format. You may also request a copy by emailing or calling the APA Ethics Office (202-336-5930). You may also read "Ethical Principles," December 1992, American Psychologist , Vol. 47, pp. 1597–1611.
Other information
Visit the Journals Publishing Resource Center for more resources for writing, reviewing, and editing articles for publishing in APA journals.
Elena L. Grigorenko, PhD University of Houston, United States
Associate editors
Kara J. Blacker, PhD Naval Medical Research Unit Dayton, United States
Julian Elliott, PhD Durham University, United Kingdom
Eva Gilboa-Schechtman, PhD Bar-Ilan University, Israel
Andrew Heathcote, PhD University of Newcastle, Australia
Natalie Sabanz, PhD Central European University, Austria
Han L. J. Van der Maas, PhD University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
Michael R. Waldmann, PhD University of Göttingen, Germany
Angela Yu, PhD Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany
Consulting editors
John R. Anderson, PhD Carnegie Mellon University, United States
Marjan Bakker, PhD University of Tilburg, Netherlands
Deanna Barch, PhD Washington University, United States
Jennifer A. Bartz, PhD McGIll University, Canada
Denny Borsboom, PhD University of Amsterdam, Holland
Nick Chater, PhD University of Warwick, United Kingdom
Joey T. Cheng, PhD York University, Canada
Chi-yue Chiu, PhD The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Clintin P. Davis-Stober, PhD University of Missouri, United States
Leonidas Doumas, PhD University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Eli Finkel, PhD Northwestern University, United States
Cleotilde Gonzalez, PhD Carnegie Mellon University, United States
Tom Griffiths, PhD Princeton University, United States
Ulrike Hahn, PhD University of London, United Kingdom
Catherine A. Hartley, PhD New York University, United States
Steven J. Heine, PhD University of British Columbia, Canada
Joni Holmes, PhD Cambridge University, United Kingdom
Jonathan D. Huppert, PhD The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Michael J. Kahana, PhD University of Pennsylvania, United States
Tatsuya Kameda, PhD University of Tokyo, Japan
Katherine H. Karlsgodt, PhD University of California, Los Angeles, United States
David Kellen, PhD Syracuse University, United States
Clare Kelly, PhD University of Dublin, Ireland
Charles Kemp, PhD University of Melbourne, Australia
Rogier A. Kievit, PhD Radboud University, Netherlands
Michael D. Lee, PhD University of California, Irvine, United States
Stephan Lewandowsky, PhD University of Bristol, United Kingdom
Matthew Lieberman, PhD University of California, Los Angeles, United States
Daniel R. Little, PhD University of Melbourne, Australia
Gordon Logan, PhD Vanderbilt University, United States
Tina Malti, PhD University of Toronto, Canada
Jon Maner, PhD Florida State University, United States
Andrew J. Martin, PhD University of New South Wales, Australia
Janet Metcalfe, PhD Columbia University, United States
Vijay A. Mittal, PhD Northwestern University, United States
John Opfer, PhD The Ohio State University, United States
Adam Osth, PhD The University of Melbourne, Australia
Jörg Rieskamp, PhD University of Basel, Switzerland
Ajay Bhaskar Satpute, PhD Northeastern University, United States
Disa Sauter, PhD University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
R. Nathan Spreng, PhD McGill University, Canada
Mark Steyvers, PhD University of California, Irvine, United States
Marius Usher, Tel Aviv University, Israel
Chandan Vaidya, PhD Georgetown University, United States
Daniel T. Willingham, PhD University of Virginia, United States
Wendy Wood, PhD University of Southern California, United States
Virgil Zeigler-Hill, PhD Oakland University, United States
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Transparency and Openness Promotion
APA endorses the Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) Guidelines by a community working group in conjunction with the Center for Open Science ( Nosek et al. 2015 ). The TOP Guidelines cover eight fundamental aspects of research planning and reporting that can be followed by journals and authors at three levels of compliance.
- Level 1: Disclosure—The article must disclose whether or not the materials are available.
- Level 2: Requirement—The article must share materials when legally and ethically permitted (or disclose the legal and/or ethical restriction when not permitted).
- Level 3: Verification—A third party must verify that the standard is met.
As of August 1, 2021, empirical research, including meta-analyses, submitted to Psychological Review must, at a minimum, meet Level 1 (Disclosure) for all eight aspects of research planning and reporting. Authors should include a subsection in their methods description titled “Transparency and openness.” This subsection should detail the efforts the authors have made to comply with the TOP guidelines.
The list below summarizes the minimal TOP requirements of the journal. Please refer to the Center for Open Science TOP guidelines for details, and contact the editor (Elena L. Grigorenko, PhD) with any further questions. APA recommends sharing data, materials, and code via trusted repositories (e.g., APA’s repository on the Open Science Framework (OSF)), and we encourage investigators to preregister their studies and analysis plans prior to conducting the research. There are many available preregistration forms (e.g., the APA Preregistration for Quantitative Research in Psychology template, ClininalTrials.gov , or other preregistration templates available via OSF ). Completed preregistration forms should be posted on a publicly accessible registry system (e.g., OSF , ClinicalTrials.gov, or other trial registries in the WHO Registry Network).
A list of participating journals is also available from APA.
The following list presents seven fundamental aspects of research planning and reporting, the TOP level required by Psychological Review , and a brief description of the journal's policy. (The journal also publishes replications if they are relevant to and/or embedded in new or enhanced theories.)
- Citation: Level 1, Disclosure—All data, program code, and other methods developed by others should be appropriately cited in the text and listed in the references section.
- Data Transparency: Level 1, Disclosure—Article states whether the raw and/or processed data on which study conclusions are based are available and, if so, where to access them.
- Analytic Methods (Code) Transparency: Level 1, Disclosure—Article states whether computer code or syntax needed to reproduce analyses in an article is available and, if so, where to access it.
- Research Materials Transparency: Level 1, Disclosure—Article states whether materials described in the method section are available and, if so, where to access them.
- Design and Analysis Transparency (Reporting Standards): Level 1, Disclosure—The journal strongly encourages the use of APA Style Journal Article Reporting Standards (JARS-Quant and/or MARS).
- Study Preregistration: Level 1, Disclosure—Article states whether the study design and (if applicable) hypotheses of any of the work reported was preregistered and, if so, where to access it. Authors may submit a masked copy via stable link or supplemental material or may provide a link after acceptance.
- Analysis Plan Preregistration: Level 1, Disclosure—Article states whether any of the work reported preregistered an analysis plan and, if so, where to access it. Authors may submit a masked copy via stable link or supplemental material or may provide a link after acceptance.
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Finding and summarizing research articles - apa format, introduction.
Writing a summary or abstract teaches you how to condense information and how to read an article more effectively and with better understanding. Research articles usually contain these parts: Title/Author Information, Abstract, Introduction, Methodology, Result or Findings, Discussion or Conclusion, and References. To gain a better understanding of an article, try reading the abstract and the discussion or conclusion first and then read the entire article.
Finding an Article
PsycINFO Research Database The American Psychological Association’s (APA) renowned resource for abstracts of scholarly journal articles, book chapters, books, and dissertations, the largest resource devoted to peer-reviewed literature in behavioral science and mental health.
PsycINFO Tutorial
Journal Article Request If you can't find the free full text version of a research article, please complete and submit this form. An LRC staff member will then place an interlibrary loan request on your behalf.
Summarizing an Article
The following websites offer advice and instruction on summarizing articles:
Andrews University: Guidelines for Writing an Article Summary
UConn: How to Summarize a Research Article
Resources for APA Style
APA (7th ed.) Formatting and Style Guide Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL)
APA Style Website American Psychological Association
Books in the LRC
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.): BF76.7 .P83
Sample APA Citations
In-text citation.
If the author’s name is included within the text, follow the name with (year)
Example: Jones (2009) found that diabetes symptoms improve with exercise.
If the author’s name is not included within the text, follow the sentence with (Last Name, year).
Example: Increased exercise resulted in diminished diabetes symptoms (Jones, 2009).
Reference Citation
Author’s last name, A. A., & Author’s last name, B.B. (year).Title of article. Title of Journal , volume (issue), page number – page number. https://doi.org/xxxxx
Iscoe, K. E., & Riddell, M. C. (2011). Continuous moderate-intensity exercise with or without intermittent high-intensity work: Effects on acute and late glycaemia in athletes with Type 1 diabetes mellitus. Diabetic Medicine , 28 (7), 824-832. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-5491.2011.03274.x

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Getting started · Start with a header with citation · Write a summary · Body of the review · Concluding the review · Citation and Revision.
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APA Article Review · Web: Author's last name, initials. (Year, month date of publication). Title. Retrieved from (link to your source) · Journal:
Using the APA Format · Web: Author [last name], A.A [first and middle initial]. (Year, Month Date of Publication). Title. · Journal: Author [last
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The sample papers show the format that authors should use to submit a manuscript for publication in a professional journal and that students should use to
APA Style Journal Article Reporting Standards offer guidelines on what ... your study data in numerical form or report them through statistical analyses.
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APA format for Article Analysis Asst. 14K views 5 years ago ... 10 How to Summarize a Journal Article. TheEricmuck. TheEricmuck.
Writing a summary or abstract teaches you how to condense information and how to read an article more effectively and with better understanding. Research