Research articles tend to have 6 or 7 parts, each part is normally labeled.
1. Abstract: This is the first part of the article, normally at the top and set apart from the rest of the article. The abstract describes what the article is about.
2. Introduction: This is the first part of the actual text, it explains why the researchers selected the topic to study and why it is important.
3. Literature Review: In this section the authors discuss research that is important to their study, this section can be long or short. Sometimes the introduction and literature review sections are combined.
4. Methods/Data Analysis: The methods portion of the article explains how the researchers actually conducted the research. Often it will include information on the participants and data collection methods used. They will also explain how the data was analyzed. This section may also include limitations of the research.
5. Results: This is where the authors tell you what they found.
6. Discussion: Here the authors discuss how their findings (results) tie back into the other research done in the field and why what they found is important. They may also give ideas for further research.
7. References: This sections includes all the references to items cited within the body of the article.