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Steps to read original research
Reading a scholarly journal article does not need to be daunting. Here are some suggestions:
- Read the Abstract and skim the Introduction (look specifically for the thesis statement) and Conclusion or Discussion section. These sections should tell you what the authors intended to prove, quickly how they went about it and what happened with the particular study.
- Read the Methods and Results section. These are likely the most complex parts of the article. But, these sections will detail the author(s) methodology and the results of their research.
- Re-read and take notes. As you are reading, try to answer the follow questions about the article:
- How does this research fit into what is previously known? How is this research unique?
- How was the study designed?
- How is this study relevant?
- Who does the author represent and how was the study funded?
