How to Read a Scholarly Article
Scholarly or peer-reviewed articles are written by experts for other experts. They can be about current research projects or reviews of multiple research papers on a certain topic. Read scholarly articles in this order:
1. Abstract
Gives you a very brief overview of the whole paper. It's at the beginning of the paper, usually just below the authors' names. It may be labeled "abstract."
2. Conclusion/Discussion
Gives you the new information the authors learned. It's the section at the end of the paper, just before the references.
3. The Rest of the Article
If after reading the above parts, you feel that the article is not useful for you, stop and look for other papers. If you do feel that the paper has information you can use, read the entire article.
Reading Tips
- Look up terms/vocabulary you don't know
- Take notes as you read
- Keep track of citations as you go
Other help
