Article Summary (20%) MSPM, Fall 2011

By this time you are sure to have chosen a research topic. Select at least five (5) articles related to your topic. Write a summary for each article separately. The summary should include the following; 1. Give full bibliographic reference in Harvard or APA style 2. Present the main/ important details in your own words. Possible format could be the following; a. Introduction - Give a brief introduction (1-3 sentences) to give the necessary background to the study and state its purpose; why was the study conducted? What was it about? b. Procedures - describe the specifics of what this study involved; e.g., participants? What did they do? Under what conditions? For how long? What was measured? What was being compared? c. Findings discuss the major findings and results. How useful or significant is this (what did the author(s) say about it?) d. Conclusions - In your own words, summarize the researchers conclusions. What was the major outcome of the study? 3. Personal comments Give your reaction to the study? Such as: What did you learn from the study? How might you apply the results in your career? 4. Relate how this study relates to the topic you have selected (your project). Please note that any information which is word for word from the article must be in quotation marks with the page number identified, for example: (p. 38), otherwise it is considered plagiarized. I strongly recommend that with the exception of perhaps one or two sentences, the summary should be in your own words. Please use current research. My advice would be to stay with articles no more than three to five years old. And also note that when you need, for example, 5 articles, you should start with about 10 because it allows you to choose the best articles in terms of the scholarship, and in terms of how well they relate to your own argument. The assignment should not be more than five pages (this is the maximum, one page per summary). Use Times New Roman with font size 12 and line spacing 1.5. The cover page should indicate your name, name of the program and your registration number, submission date plus a certification that the work is original (not a copy/paste piece of work). Please send a soft copy and submit a hard (printed) copy as well. Following is the Assessment Rubric for marking your assignment.

Note: You do not have to attach the selected articles; but do keep them handy. I may ask for all or any of these.