Finding, Reading & Evaluating Scholarly Sources

Anatomy of a Scholarly Research Article

Research articles in the sciences and social sciences  tend to be concise reports of results from quantitative and/or qualitative analysis, and focus on the discussion of results, methods, and limitations.

The infographic below describes the components of scholarly research articles in the Social and Physical Sciences. The majority of articles in these disciplines will have the sections listed below:

How to Read a Scholarly Article

Reading scholarly articles is a skill that you can improve to become a critical and efficient reader. The process can be different depending on the discipline the article was written for. 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 an article, practice scanning the following sections (where available) and skim their contents:

1. Read the abstract

An abstract is a summary of the article, and will give you an idea of what the article is about and how it will be written. If there are lots of complicated subject-specific words in the abstract, the article will be just as hard to read.

2. Read the conclusion

This is where the author will repeat all of their ideas and their findings. Some authors even use this section to compare their study to others. By reading this, you will notice a few things you missed, and will get another overview of the content.

3. Read the first paragraph or the introduction

This is usually where the author will lay out their plan for the article and describe the steps they will take to talk about their topic. By reading this, you will know what parts of the article will be most relevant to your topic!

4. Read the first sentence of every paragraph

These are called topic sentences, and will usually introduce the idea for the paragraph that follows. By reading this, you can make sure that the paragraph has information relevant to your topic before you read the entire thing.

5. The rest of the article

Now that you have gathered the idea of the article through the abstract, conclusion, introduction, and topic sentences, you can read the rest of the article!

Watch this video on Reading Scholarly Articles:

While you Read

Your reading should be guided by your class topic or your own research question or thesis.

For example, as you read, you might ask yourself:

• Is the article relevant to a class theme or to my own work?
  • What questions does it help to answer, or what topics does it address?
• Does the article offer any unique perspectives or new information?
  • Are these relevant or useful to me?
• Can I use the contents of the article in any other ways?
  • Does the article offer a helpful framework for understanding my topic or question (theoretical framework)?
  • Do the authors use interesting or innovative methods to conduct their research that might be relevant to me?
  • Does the article contain references I might consult for further information?

Scholarly "Conversation"

An academic book or journal article is not an isolated, self-contained package of information. Rather, think of each academic text as one contribution to a scholarly conversation.

In most academic texts, the authors will provide you, the reader, with an outline of the conversation that's been going on so far. This is called the Literature Review. 

A literature review presents and evaluates previous scholarship on a topic, identifies an unsolved problem or unanswered question in the field, and reveals how the authors plan to resolve this gap in our understanding. In the sciences and social sciences, these elements are often stated explicitly. 

Some things to consider as you are researching: 

1. Look behind and ahead of a source. Who does the author mention in their work? Who mentions this source in their work?
2. Find its purpose. How does a source contribute to its subject field? Does the source refute, support, or contribute knowledge and in what ways?
3. Learn the jargon. What is the structure and language used in the discipline?
4. You are also part of the conversation. What do you have to say about the subject?  Your research provides an entry point for you to engage with a community of scholars in your field. You do this by reading the works of others, building upon their ideas,  attributing credit when necessary, and even publishing your own work. Understand your place in the field and know that your voice matters.