Example Summary of a Research Article

Here is a model summary on a research article. This is what I will be looking for while grading your papers. You should have three separate paragraphs resembling this one on your three different studies. You can also use this as a reference for how to cite a quote within your paper and how to cite the references on your reference page.

 

The authors in this study assessed the relationship between job performance in first-level managers (as rated by their supervisors) and their affective commitment, continuance commitment, and job satisfaction. Affective commitment is defined as an emotional attachment to the organization (Meyer, Paunonen, Gellatly, Goffin, & Jackson, 1989). Alternatively, continuance commitment is based on the costs that employees associate with leaving the organization. Job performance was assessed according to 3 dimensions ((1) composite performance, according to an average on 6 specific activities, (2) overall performance, based on a subjective rating given by the immediate supervisor, and (3) promotability). The participants were 23 district managers and 65 unit managers from a large food service organization. The researchers found that affective commitment was positively related to overall performance and promotability. The correlations between continuance commitment and all 3 performance dimensions were negative and significant. What I learned from this article and these findings is that supervisor ratings of performance and promotability increase as the employees’ affective commitment increases; on the other hand, supervisor ratings of performance and promotability decrease as continuance commitment increases.

 

Reference

 

Meyer, J. P., Paunonen, S. V., Gellatly, I. R., Goffin, R. D., & Jackson, D. N. (1989). Organizational commitment and job performance: It’s the nature of the commitment that counts. Journal of Applied Psychology, 74, 152-156.