New student researchers might find scholarly journal articles intimidating, but do not be afraid to engage with this type of information.  Develop a plan for reading these articles, so you can find useful information without reading a long, complex article that's of no real use to your topic.

1. Read the outside sections
   1. Read the ABSTRACT (summary) -   This should give you a quick overview of the article’s main points.  By reading the abstract, you should be able to determine if the article is relevant to your topic.   
   2. Read the INTRODUCTION and the CONCLUSION - These sections will provide you with the hypothesis of the article and a summary of the main findings.

2. Decision Time - If the article is relevant to your topic, continue with the steps below.  If not, find a different article.

3. Read the inside sections
   1. Read the METHODS and RESULTS - These sections provide the details of how the experiment/study was conducted and what the authors learned through the research process.
   2. Read the DISCUSSION - This section should tell you how the authors interpreted the results.

4. Skim the Article - Quickly browse through the remaining pages to get a general idea of the content.

5. Take Notes - Write down key points, questions you might have, and look up unfamiliar terms.
6. Ask questions – To get a better understanding of the article, talk with your instructor or your classmates about any questions you might have.
7. Re-read the article - one last read should provide you with an extra layer of understanding.
8. Apply - When you are ready to start writing, utilize the important pieces of the article to support your research paper.

Books don't often have an abstract that summarizes the main points of the material, but you can learn to skim a book so you don't waste time reading information that is irrelevant to your research.

1. Table of Contents - this will give you a general idea of what the book covers. If there is one section in particular that focuses on your topic, consider reading that section.
2. Preface and Introduction - the preface provides key information the author believes is important to their work. The introduction sets up the author's argument and should outline the information to follow.
3. Index - check the index for important people, terms, or events. Go to those pages and find those details.
4. Skim the contents - read the first sentence of each paragraph.  Look for information relevant to your research topic.
5. Data - look at the charts, graphs, or other illustrations.  This information might be useful for your research paper.
6. Italicized or bold words -  usually indicate something important
7. Focus on key sections - Identify and read the sections most relevant to your topic.
8. Re-read sections that are not clear
9. Take notes - record the page numbers of important thoughts, quotes, and details, so you can find them later.

CAUTION:  This process does not work well with fiction materials.