Scholarly articles can seem challenging to read. Because they are written for experts in the field, they tend to use a jargon and assume you know something about the topic. But, here are a few tips to help make sense of those articles to use them effectively.
Most scholarly article follow a specific style. Knowing what those parts are can help you focus on just what you need to read.
This is a summary of the article. Read it first. If the abstract doesn't mention your topic, stop right there. The abstract is always first. It may appear above the article or as the first paragraph.
This usually follows the abstract. It's another type of summary, telling the reader why they should care about the article and/or why the study was needed. It's the "road map" to the text.
This part shows the research that went before the research done in the paper. It shows where the gaps in the research were that this article is trying to fill. This can be long or short and may include sub-headings. If you don't know much about the topic, this will help to fill in the background.
This describes in detail how the research was conducted. It will outline the procedure - how data was captured or measured. It will usually include charts, tables, diagrams, and possibly equations. You would read this if you wanted to duplicate the study.
Here's where the results come in. It may also include more charts and diagrams. Skip to the discussion. This is where the author's will tell you how they interpreted their results. It will highlight the most important data and point to where future research could continue.
Here is a final summary of the article that adds to the abstract and introduction by telling you what was learned. It will also discuss limitations of the study - what held it back.
All the sources that the author(s) consulted in their research. This is a really good source for finding further resources. Don't ignore it.
It's not necessary to read the entire article to get a feel for it. If all you can find on your topic are scholarly articles, don't feel put off or that you need to change your topic. Just try following this reading order to get the feel for the article.
1. Abstract.
2.Conclusion
If those two sections give you valuable information and make you feel this article will help, then go back and read:
3.Introduction
4. Discussion
If you need more background information, read the
5. Literature Review
Another reading technique would be to read the first sentence of every paragraph after reading the abstract and conclusion. Those topic sentences will let you know what each paragraph will discuss. This would let know in reading the entire article whether you could skip those paragraphs or not.