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UGS 302: Art of Asking Questions / Hansen

How to read a scholarly source

Have you ever seen one of these articles before?

The sentiments I hear the most by undergraduates reading scholarly articles for the first time are:

  • This is long. Do I have to read the whole thing?
  • I don't understand anything this article is saying.

Here are my thoughts:

  • These articles are incredibly dense and use jargon and the language of experts in the discipline. They are tough to get through.
  • The structure of a scholarly article in the sciences and social sciences is consistent enough that you can skim through it quickly to see if the article is relevant to your research. This way you don't spend too much time on articles that don't help your cause.

Here is my recommended approach to get started:

  1. Read the abstract first. Grab keywords for your next search and note unfamiliar terms. Is there a list of keywords below the abstract? Note those as well.
  2. Read the introduction. You will learn the background of the research question at hand. What are people arguing about? Who is arguing about it? What is the author's thesis? Make note of the references discussed here because these are the major ones upon which the author is building their argument.
  3. Look at the pictures! Graphs, tables, charts - any visual display of data. Can you understand the data being communicated? Do you think it would be useful to you in your own research?

This is not where you stop, but this is the point at which you decide whether or not to proceed with the article. Do you think it is a promising source to help you understand your question? To use as evidence? If so, read on!

How to read a scientific article

Use this infographic from a scholarly publisher in the sciences. It walks you through approaching a scientific article - even if you aren't an expert.

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