Writing 100 (Lanser)

Skipping around is encouraged when reading a scholarly article.

• begin by reading abstract
• skim the introduction and jump to the end to read the conclusion
• then, look at the results to view the data (graphs, charts, images, etc.)

Skimming these sections first will allow you to quickly determine if the article is relevant to your research and if you should do an in-depth reading.

• What is the focus of the journal the article is published in?
• Who are the authors?
• When was the article published? Is it too old for your intended use?
• What questions did the authors explore? What did they try to learn?
• How did the authors conduct their study? What methodology did they use?
• How many people participated in the study? Who are the participants?
• What conclusions did the authors draw from their study?
• What does the article help you learn? How much does is help you? What questions does the article help you answer?

Read the abstract first

The abstract previews the entire article, makes it easier to judge whether it is relevant.

Titles can only tell you so much about the content of the article. The Abstract acts as a preview for the entire article, including the methods and results. By reading the Abstract first, you can get a better idea of what the article is actually about, if it relates to what you are researching, and whether it is worth your time to read the rest of it.

Next, read the intro and the conclusion

Learn more about the topic of study and what the authors learned through their research.

• These two sections give you the background information for the topic of the article as well as what happened in the study.
• The introduction includes info about previous studies/papers that relate to the current one.
• The conclusion will provide a summary of the the study findings or analysis and an explanation of how their research contributes to their specific field of study.
• By reading the conclusion you see whether the study answered the original research question and what the authors see as the next steps in their research.

Take a look at results, i.e. tables, charts, graphs or images 

Get a better idea of the results of the research or analytical study.

Closely look at the visual representations of the data. See what conclusions you come to and make note of them. When you read through the entire article, compare your own conclusions to what the authors saw in their results and data

Do an in-depth reading

Now that you have pre-read some of the article and are sure it relates to your research topic, do an in-depth reading. 

Read the article from start to finish.

• Take notes.
• Summarize sections or paragraphs.
• Keep a subject dictionary or the Internet/Wikipedia close by. If you come across any unfamiliar terms, you can quickly look them up.  
• Keep track of the citation information of the articles you do read and want to use in your research. Look at the References/Works Cited list. You may find additional scholarly articles related to your research.