Reading scholarly articles is difficult because these are texts written by experts in a narrow field for experts in that same field.
One day you will be an expert in your particular field of study.
You will be:
- Familiar with conversations that experts in a topic area are having.
- Able to recognize and evaluate research methodologies commonly used in your field.
- Able to evaluate the use of and relevance of evidence presented in an article to analyze as evidence in your own research.
- Familiar with the jargon and the common accepted knowledge in a field.
It will remain difficult to master reading these articles outside of your discipline or field of study, but I have some advice. Once you understand the structure of the texts, they become easier to read and understand.
| Components |
Key Points |
| Abstract |
- Short summary of the article includes:
- the research question being addressed
- why it is worthwhile to conduct this study
- how the study was conducted
- the main findings of the study
|
| Introduction |
- Discusses main research contributions and knowledge on the topic
- Positions the author's approach to the topic and identifies their unique contributions ("they say this, I say this")
|
| Methods/ Methodology |
- Identifies approach / instrument used to conduct a study
- Identifies how the author gathered the data analyzed in the study
- May discuss limitations of the study
|
| Discussion |
- Analyzes the data collected or the results of the experiment
- Includes tables, charts, etc. for data visualization
|
| Conclusion |
- Restates the problem addressed in the paper
- Summarizes key takeaways from the research
- Discusses the significance and implications of the research
- Based upon these findings, suggests new approaches for studying the problem
|
| References |
- List of research cited in paper
|
Not all research papers are organized in such a manner, but all research papers provide these components whether they are labeled thus or not.
