Introduction to Scholarly Publishing

Scholarly articles are written by experts in their fields to share knowledge and ideas with other experts, and are only published in scholarly journals. There are two main types of scholarly articles that we will talk about today. These are research articles and review articles.

Research articles present the results of their authors' research. They will usually use the IMRAD (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion) structure. They are written to share research, and they should share enough information that other researchers can replicate them.

Example research article: 

Atypical Anti-Glomerular Basement Membrane Nephritis: A Case Series From the French Nephropathology Group

Review articles conduct a survey of the literature in a field and summarize the research while also identifying themes and patterns in other researchers' work. They can be a great place to get an idea of the current discussion around a topic.

Example review article:

Current Perspectives on the Challenges of Implementing Assistance Dogs in Human Mental Health Care

Jump Around
​It's okay to skip around in a scholarly article. Start by skimming the abstract, introduction, conclusion, and look at images or data representations. If the article looks to be useful for your purposes, read it from the beginning to end. 

Keep It Strategic
While you are reading, reflect on how the article relates to what you want to write about or research. ​​ 

Mark It Up
​​Take notes. Interact with the article. How do the ideas or information presented relate to what you want to write about?

Cut through the Jargon
Unfamiliar technical terms? Google or use a specialized dictionary to find definitions. 

Replay​
If the article is relevant after you've read through it, consider reading it again. 

Find the Source 
​References can be a very useful resource. Be sure to skim the titles in the References section. You could find another scholarly article you want to read. 

Adapted from: https://libguides.valdosta.edu/reading-scholarly-articles