Libguides Understanding Research Read A Scholarly Article

Leo Migdal

-Dec 12, 2025, 12:17 PM

libguides understanding research read a scholarly article

This page will focus on reading scholarly articles — published reports on original research in the social sciences, humanities, and STEM fields. Reading and understanding this type of article can be challenging. This guide will help you develop these skills, which can be learned and improved upon with practice. There are many different types of articles that may be found in scholarly journals and other academic publications. For more, see: Describes who is responsible for this work.

May be one person, a group, or an institution. Make note of authors and institutions you see repeatedly during your search process. Describe the content in quick words or phrases. Help you place the work in context with other literature. Good for quick reference! P laces the research in context with prior work.

Analyzes important contributions that the author(s) believe are relevant and that the article builds upon to create new knowledge. Sometimes includes a theoretical framework. A good place to look to find additional sources for your research! Skipping around is encouraged when reading a scholarly article: 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. The abstract previews the entire article, makes it easier to judge whether it is relevant.

Learn more about the topic of study and what the authors learned through their research. Applies to both sciences and humanities: Welcome to the Understanding and Reading Scholarly Articles LibGuide! This guide is designed to help build your understanding about how to find and critically read scholarly articles, particularly in STEM and social sciences. Use the tabs at left to navigate through information about the scientific research process, citation based searching, and reading primary research articles. Research papers generally follow a specific format.

Here are the different parts of the scholarly article. The abstract, generally written by the author(s) of the article, provides a concise summary of the whole article. Usually it highlights the focus, study results and conclusion(s) of the article. In this section, the authors introduce their topic, explain the purpose of the study, and present why it is important, unique or how it adds to existing knowledge in their field. Look for the author's hypothesis or thesis here. Introduction - Literature Review (Who else)

Many scholarly articles include a summary of previous research or discussions published on this topic, called a "Literature Review". This section outlines what others have found and what questions still remain. The resources below identify and define the parts of a scholarly article -- including: And suggest ways to navigate through and takes notes on these different sections in order to distill and process the key information to apply it to your own research analysis and writing. Please note that although some of the links below focus on "scientific" papers, the principals they build upon are relevant for reading any kind of scholarly article. Reading scholarly articles is a skill that you develop.

Unlike a book chapter or magazine article you might read from start to finish, research articles are organized in a way that facilitates a more selective reading process, i.e. skimming and/or reading sections in a different order. There is no single way to correctly read a scholarly article. Even the researchers you're working with (PI, postdocs, grad students) may their own way of breaking down and reading articles, both within and outside of their field. Along with asking about their practices, here are some other resources: This page will focus on reading scholarly articles — published reports on original research in the social sciences, humanities, and STEM fields.

Reading and understanding this type of article can be challenging. This guide will help you develop these skills, which can be learned and improved upon with practice. Describes who is responsible for this work. May be one person, a group, or an institution. Make note of authors and institutions you see repeatedly during your search process. Describe the content in quick words or phrases.

Help you place the work in context with other literature. Good for quick reference! P laces the research in context with prior work. Analyzes important contributions that the author(s) believe are relevant and that the article builds upon to create new knowledge. Sometimes includes a theoretical framework. A good place to look to find additional sources for your research!

An explanation of how and why the authors approached the examination of their question and the collection of data. May include information about the limitations of their chosen methodology. Cunningham, A., & Hannon, R. (2013). Reinforcing College Reading Strategies in the Library Classroom. LOEX Quarterly, 40(1).

https://commons.emich.edu/loexquarterly/ vol40/iss1/4 Middlesex Community College Jean Burr Smith Library. (2017). How to Read a Scholarly Journal Article. https://mxcc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/How-to-read-a-scholarly-article_rev7_2016.pdf Reading Techniques.

(2017, April 18). Dartmouth Academic Skills Center. https://students.dartmouth.edu/academic-skills/learning-resources/learning-strategies/reading-techniques Scanning and skimming are essential when reading scholarly articles, especially at the beginning stages of your research or when you have a lot of material in front of you. Many scholarly articles are organized to help you scan and skim efficiently. The next time you need to read a scholarly article, use the following chart as a guide:

info This is a space for the teal alert bar. notifications This is a space for the yellow alert bar. Scholarly articles come from academic or professional journals and are written by experts in their field. They're based on lots of research, and many even include an original study the authors performed themselves. You'll notice they have a big reference section at the end, and most go through a tough peer review process before they're ever published. Journals typically have other experts in the field review articles before publication.

In a blind peer review, reviewers know the author's name. In a double-blind peer review, neither the author(s) nor the reviewers know the identities of the others. To find the level of peer review of a particular journal, you usually need to look at the editorial statement of that journal. First, quickly note the bibliographic information: the author, title, date, and where it was published. This is usually located at the top of the first page. This page lists tips or ways that you can use to read a scholarly research article.

While there are a lot of tips given, there is not necessarily one right way to read a research article; it depends on what you find most useful. The information given below came from the University of Southern California. Effectively reading scholarly research is an acquired skill that involves attention to detail and an ability to comprehend complex ideas, data, and theoretical concepts in a way that applies logically to the research problem... Here are some specific reading strategies to consider. Highlighting Key Points and Taking Notes Taking notes as you read will save time when you go back to examine your sources.

Here are some suggestions: Write down thoughts that come to mind that may help clarify your understanding of the research problem. Here are some examples of questions to ask yourself: There are many ways to read a scholarly article, just as there are many different types of scholarly articles. The suggestions on this page are general best practices. However, you should always double check with your professor to see if they want you to read in a specific way or for specific information.

Here are a few best practices when reading through a scholarly article. They are taken from library guides from Brown University, the University of Southern California, and Defiance College. California State University, San Bernardino 5500 University Parkway, San Bernardino CA 92407 +1 (909) 537-5000 CSUSB Palm Desert Campus 37500 Cook Street Palm Desert, CA 92211 +1 (760) 341-2883

Libguides Understanding Research Read A Scholarly Article

People Also Search

This Page Will Focus On Reading Scholarly Articles — Published

May Be One Person, A Group, Or An Institution. Make

Analyzes Important Contributions That The Author(s) Believe Are Relevant And

Learn More About The Topic Of Study And What The

Here Are The Different Parts Of The Scholarly Article. The