Student researchers might find scholarly journal articles challenging to read, 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 not really relevant to your research topic.
- Read the outside sections
- 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.
- Read the INTRODUCTION and the CONCLUSION - These sections will provide you with the hypothesis of the article and a summary of the main findings.
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Decision Time - If the article is relevant to your topic, continue with the steps below. If not, find a different article.
- Read the inside sections
- 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.
- Read the DISCUSSION - This section should tell you how the authors interpreted the results.
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Skim the Article - Quickly browse through the remaining pages to get a general idea of the content.
- Take Notes - Write down or highlight key points, questions you might have, and look up unfamiliar terms.
- Ask questions – To get a better understanding of the article, talk with your instructor or your classmates about any questions you might have.
- Re-read the article - one last read should provide you with an extra layer of understanding.
- Apply - When you are ready to start writing, utilize the important pieces of the article to support your research paper.