Reading a Scholarly Research Article

Estimated time to complete: 10-15 minutes Supported Objectives: CO1: Develop three clearly-written, well-researched, persuasive papers which demonstrate both critical reading and critical thinking skills. CO2: Demonstrate an ability to find, evaluate and integrate academic sources into your research papers and presentations in a manner consistent with US academic culture and UW-Madison’s policy on academic integrity.

Journal articles usually have a quite rigid structure that is determined by the particular journal in which they appear and by the type of research being reported; this makes extracting information from them sometimes easier than from less rigid text types. The reporting of empirical research will mostly follow the format of abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, conclusion.

Find a scholarly research article and identify the sections

 

The structure of a scholarly research article

 

Function	Reading Strategies
Abstracts provide a complete overview of what the research is about, what it did, how it did it, what it found and what those results mean.	Given the function of the abstract, you should read it first to gain a general understanding about the whole paper/research.
Introductions usually provide a brief review of previous research, a rationale or reason for the research and an outline of exactly what it is that the research is aiming to do.	This diagram provides an outline of the sequence of information presented in the introduction. Knowledge about this structure will help you to locate relevant information and develop a clearer picture of what the research.
Method sections do what their titles suggest: describe the methods used in the research.	Scan for relevant details.
Results sections also do what their titles suggest: describe the results found.	You will sometimes find the results and discussion sections are combined.
Discussion sections provide an interpretation of what the results actually mean in terms of the field and the original research question or hypothesis.	Read the discussion section to understand what the results mean.
Conclusion or General Discussion section will be present particularly in research papers where the results of several experiments have been presented and discussed. This section provides a forum for a holistic discussion of the meaning and implications of the research. It also details the implications of the research and make recommendations about further research or policy and practice in the relevant area.	Read the conclusion or general discussion section for an understanding of the key issues resulting from the research.

From: https://unilearning.uow.edu.au/reading/1d.html Links to an external site.

How to read a scholarly research article

Follow the 9 steps below as you read a scholarly research article you have found. You will notice that some information will be either missing, or in a different location.

NEVER cite from the abstract

 

After reading the abstract, you can decide whether to read further. If you don't think the article relates to your research question, move on and find something else. Alternatively, skip to step 9 and see if there is any useful information in the references. Ready to read on...?

5. Scan the article to find out:

a. more specific information about the research subjects

b. what kind of data was collected on them and how it was collected [This may be in a section called “Methods” or “Procedure.”]

6. Take a good look at any graphs or charts to see if they contain useful information. If they are too difficult for you to interpret, ignore them.

7. Look at any (non-mathematical) sections titled “Results,” “Summary of Results” or “Discussion.” Ignore the statistical analysis in these sections. Sometimes parts of these sections will contain highly technical language that you cannot and do not need to understand. Try reading the first sentence of each paragraph. If that first sentence is too technical, you can probably skip the whole paragraph.

As you read, highlight and take notes on the most important findings of the study and what the authors think those results mean. Also take time to write questions or comments in the margins—or make double-entry notes--on parts directly related to your research questions. Don't forget to note down important references information and page numbers. You will save time later by taking good notes now.

8. If you want or need to get a more complete view of the research, go back and read any sections that can help you answer the following questions:

a. Was this research based on any prior research in the field? How does this research relate to, or improve on this prior research? [This will probably be in the first section of the paper, but may also be at the end]

b. What variables are included in the study? How are these variables measured? [This might be in the “Methods” section]

c. Did the researchers make any predictions about their findings? [Look in the beginning of the paper for this information]

d. Do the researchers describe the limitations of the study? [Look at the end].

9. Look at the references section. How can this section help you with your further research?