Reading Scholarly Articles

Tim Miller · twm2 · 707.826.4959 · Library 02 (Lower Level)

All text, html, css & js Creative Commons License Tim Miller · All photos © Humboldt State University

Goals

What do YOU hope to learn today?

Goals

  • what does 'scholarly' mean?
  • how can we find scholarly articles?
  • what is the best way to read & understand these articles?

What does 'scholarly' mean?

  • Written by experts- usually academics or professionals
  • Reflect research (study, literature review, observations)
  • Written in a systematic and scientific manner

Scholarly articles may...

  • Be 'Authoritative'
    • written by scholars or researchers in the field
    • include technical terms and concepts
    • peer-review:
      a peer-reviewed journal article is reviewed by other experts who check to ensure that the information is unbiased, the methodology is sound, and the information included is reliable and valid.
  • Include statistics, graphs, tables
  • Refer to past & future research
    • points of reference
    • new areas to explore

Finding scholarly articles

Database filters limit to:

scholarly
written by scholars or professionals who are experts in their fields
peer-review
reviewed and evaluated by other experts

Filters in Ebsco

Filters in ProQuest

Identifying scholarly articles

    Look for:
  • plain format
  • technical jargon- written for readers familiar with the field
  • large number of citations & references
  • structure: abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, conclusion, references
  • little or no advertising

Think about the author

While reading, think about:

  • What is the author's hypothesis/view?
  • What does the abstract indicate?
    • Purpose
    • Methods
    • Conclusions

Think about your needs

    Before you begin reading the article:
  • What do you need from the article?
  • What is the purpose of your paper/presentation?
  • Evidence
    • Background information
    • Support your hypothesis/view
    • Recommendations
    • Conclusions

Structure of a Scholarly Article

Abstract
…summary of the article
Introduction
…background & purpose
Methods
…how the research was carried out
Results
…the author's findings
Discussion
…meaning of the results
Conclusion
…the implications
References
…what the author read

Reading

    Skip around
  • You do not need to read EVERYTHING
  • Read what applies to your topic
    Look for useful content
  • Ideas that you might cite
  • Specifics to help you narrow your topic

Example paper: jsbin.com/jazuva

Try It Out

In small groups, find:

  1. Purpose of the article
  2. Overall conclusions
  3. Findings of their study
  4. Recommendations

Writing

Quote - exact language
enclose in quotation marks
cite the source (in-text & reference list)
Paraphrase - your own words
use significantly different language
Cite the source (in-text & reference list)

Writing

Avoid Plagiarism
cite every idea you get from someone else
use quotation marks with quotes
make your paraphrasing significantly different from the original author's words
Full screen
Slide 1 of 16
Edit in JS Bin