Scholarly articles are pretty intense! I don't know if I will understand it!

- you don't have to read the whole thing or read it word for word - skim or scan it
- just focus on your topic
- look for information in the article that is relevant to your research
- take notes as you read
- check out the tips below
1. Read the abstract first - it tells you what the article is about
- in your notes, jot down ...
- what the article is about
- the working hypothesis or thesis
- how it relates to your research
2. Next, read the introduction and discussion/conclusion - covers the main argument, hypothesis/ purpose of the article.
- jot down...
- what the author found and how they found it
- what the research means and why is it important
- new (to you) information about the topic
- note if the information was presented factually or with a hint of bias
- strengths or weaknesses in the argument
- whether or not you find the conclusion valid and why
- if the article works for you, move to the Methods/Methodology section
- if not, delete the article and move on to another
3. Read about the Methods/Methodology. (Skimming is okay.)
- jot down how the author did the research (study survey, etc)
- note if the research is qualitative (describes something) or quantitative (measures something)
- jot down a brief example of how the author did the research
4. Read the results and analysis (may be called "conclusion" or "discussion")
- jot down...
- what did the researchers learn?
- If graphs and statistics are confusing, focus on the explanations around them.
- what did the author find and how did they find it?
- are the results presented in a factual and unbiased way?
- does their analysis agree with the data presented?
- is all the data present?
- what conclusions do YOU come to from this data?
- does it match with the author's conclusions?
5. Look at the author's References or Works Cited List
- should include all of the materials the authors used in the article
- gives credit to other scientists and researchers
- identifies other authors respected in the field
- identifies additional sources of information on the topic
- shows the basis the author(s) used to develop their research
- identifies other articles in the list you might read
If you prefer, watching to reading, check out the short video below for a video explanation about what to look for in a scholarly article.