The goal of using this template is to provide a structured approach to note-taking by providing a list of features that will likely be relevant to reading and synthesizing scholarly sources across the field of behavior genetics. The primary audience for this template is yourself in the future. Many papers will have multiple phenotypes, methods, and findings - it’s up to you to decide which parts are of primary interest for you to take away from the article personally.

This template in particular is for use with Review sources. Review sources are scholarly sources that summarize previous empirical work (that is, they do NOT report a new analysis of data, as in an empirical paper). In most cases, Review sources will be identifiable by NOT having a Methods section or a Results section.

Copy and paste the empty template below into your article summary document. See the detailed instructions at the bottom for information about how to fill out each field.

Template

Citation:

What is the topic of this paper?

Which themes does the paper address?

Click here to view the list of 20 themes common in behavior genetics. You are not limited to only these themes.
  • Theme:
    • Explain how:
  • Theme:
    • Explain how:
  • Theme:
    • Explain how:
  • Other major topic(s)?
    • Describe:

What is your favorite table or figure? Why?

Identify the main points to take away from the article:

  • What is the most important thing we know about the topic?
    • Why is it important?
  • What is the most surprising thing we know about the topic?
    • Why is it surprising?
  • What is the biggest limitation of the current literature on this topic?
    • Why is it a limitation?
  • What is left that we don’t know about the topic?
    • Why is it important?

Detailed Instructions

Most of the questions in the Review summary template are self-explanatory. Questions with more detailed requirements/explanations are described below.

Citation

Provide the citation in APA format. The Purdue OWL website is a handy free guide for APA formatting. If you find a reference on Google Scholar, click the image of the quotation mark to copy the APA-formatted citation.

Which themes does the paper address?

This is useful for organizing the way that a report fits into the bigger picture of our understanding of the topic. You will likely find many instances that fit within the 20 themes in human behavior genetics, but you are welcome to also identify other themes that seem particularly relevant to the specific paper or topic. Aim for about three themes per summary.

What is your favorite table or figure? Why?

A picture (or any display item) is worth a thousand words. Make a note for yourself to remember what pieces were most helpful.

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