Reading a scholarly journal article need not be daunting. Here are some suggestions:
- Read the abstract first. This should give you a complete overview of the article.
- Skim the article to get a sense of the sections and general contents.
- Read the abstract/introduction and then skip to the conclusion or discussion section. This will help you get an overall sense of the article and whether or not it is relevant to your research.
- If, after skimming, the article appears to fit the needs of your research project, then read each section carefully.
*Adapted from Oregon State University Libraries, "What is a scholary article?" and sourced from North Carolina State University Library.