How to Read Journal Articles

Here is a guide for reading a journal article more efficiently and effectively. Try using these tips to find the information that will be most helpful for you.

Abstract

Strategy: Read the title and the abstract first.

Tips:

  • Identify the "literature gap" or the problem the research is trying to solve.
  • Determine whether this study might be helpful to your research.

Introduction

Strategy: Read the last paragraph in the introduction to learn about the study purpose

Tips:

  • Skim the literature review section.
  • Highlight important notes about how other scholars have contributed to this research.
  • Identify any other articles you want to read from this section.

Methods

Strategy: Skim the methods section to briefly learn about the study design.

Tips:

  • Look for key words to give clues about how the study was conducted (e.g., case study, cohort study, randomized trial).

Results

Strategy: Scan the tables and charts to get familiar with the key findings.

Tips:

  • Don’t get stuck here. If the results are unclear, you can often learn more about the results in the discussion section.

Discussion

Strategy: Read the first part of this section carefully, which will summarize the results and explain the implications of the research. Take notes on the key findings.

Tips:

  • The authors will often use signal words to organize their discussion of three of four key findings.
  • Look for transition words here and pay close attention to the sentences that summarize the main finding, such as "the first theme shows how teens rely on social media to maintain friendships ..."

Review

Strategy: Go back and reread any part that was unclear.

Tips:

  • Focus on getting the most clarity about the results and discussion sections.