James B. Duke Memorial Library: How to Read a Scholarly Article

JCSU Library Highlights

Suggestions to Reading a Scholarly Article:

Throughout your academic years at JCSU you may be asked to do research using scholarly journal articles, also called academic or peer-reviewed articles. Look for scholarly articles that have been written, edited, or reviewed by experts with advanced degrees and years of experiences.

It is important to understanding the content of the article and know how to read it.

Review the article components and specified structures or outlines. 

• Title

Tile page is vivid and STATES what the paper is about.

• Abstract

Short Summary of the article with the purpose and findings. Determine if the article is useful to you at this point.

• Introduction

The introduction may state the problem, what is known, or research questions.

• Methods or Materials

This section may state how the research was conducted and what procedures were used for the research.

• Results

You may see the findings of the research as well as graphs, statistics, or charts.

• Discussion / Conclusion

Explanation of the results. Will further research be needed in the future?

• References

List of all sources used by the authors.