How to Read an

Academic Article
Shannon Kovalchick
Dr. John A. Mills
 What is an academic journal?

• Academic journals are periodicals in which researchers

publish articles on their work.
• Most often these articles discuss recent research.
• Journals also publish theoretical discussions and articles that
critically review already published work.
• Academic journals are typically peer-reviewed journals.
• Some, but not all, search engines that search for periodical
sources identify whether or not the sources are from peer-
reviewed publications
 What is the peer-review
process?
Getting published in peer-reviewed (also called “refereed”) academic journals
usually involves three or four steps.
1. Submit an article manuscript for consideration.
2. Journal editors will send the submission to other scholars who do similar
work and who are qualified to review the article. Generally, editors will send
submissions to be reviewed by three other scholars.
3. Editors will evaluate the reviews and decide whether to reject or accept the
submission. Usually, the response is either a rejection or an acceptance
contingent on the author making revisions.
4. If the author is asked to make revisions, they are to edit and resubmit the
article for another round of reviews. Sometimes the article is accepted at this
point and other times authors are asked to make further revisions.
What is the purpose of academic
articles?
• Scholars write academic articles to share their ideas with their peers, usually
within their own academic discipline (e.g., physics, literature, psychology).
• Articles fall under the realms of:
• research reports: presentation of an original study or studies
• literature review articles: discusses existing research about a problem and suggests paths
for future studies
• theoretical articles: discusses existing theories that explain observation, and often
proposes new theories or a new perspective on theories
• Because they already share a highly specialized background, they often assume
that their readers already understand some of the fundamental knowledge of
the field as well as the jargon.
• Jargon requires on-going attention.
 Choosing an article

• When looking through journals, databases, etc. that

show you dozens (or hundred) of articles, you need
to narrow down your list to read.
• Read the title: titles typically reveal the main
theory or variables being investigated in the article
• Read the abstract: the abstract will give you more
information about the context of the theory and
variable to see if it relates to your topic
 Reading an academic article 

Different things require different reading (e.g. phone book,

dictionary, novel, textbook); Academic articles cannot be read
effectively in the same way as other things.
The contents of an academic article cannot be grasped by a
single reading. You have to engage with it several times, but in
different ways.
• Step 1: Skim the whole article
• Step 2: Determine your purpose for reading the article
• Step 3: Read specific sections critically to fulfill your purpose
 Step 1: Skimming the article
• Skim reading makes use of a normal convention for structuring writing: placing key
information at the beginning of a “chunk” of text, then elaborating on that in the rest of
that “chunk”
• Two types of “chunks”– paragraphs and paper sections

• 1st type of chunk: paragraphs. In non-fiction writing, it is most usual to put the key
sentence of the paragraph at beginning, then elaborate on that key sentence.
• State, then elaborate, is the general rule. Because of that, we can usually obtain a good
understanding of what an author is saying by reading only the first sentence of paragraphs.

• You may have to force yourself to stop reading after the first sentence, but if the section is
relevant to your purpose you will come back to it.

• 2nd type of chunk: sections. In research journals, the articles are broken down into
sections, most often abstract, literature review, methods, results, and discussion.
• As with paragraphs, the general rule for sections is 'state then elaborate'. So, immediately after
the section heading, the first paragraph will generally contain key information for that section.  
 Step 1: Skimming the article

• There are two sections that usually are particularly

useful in understanding the article.
• the Introduction
• the Conclusion
• Here, an author will generally end the section with a
paragraph that makes important points. Now we can modify
the previous rule:

• So, read fully the first and last paragraph of the

Introduction and the Conclusion sections
 Step 1: Skimming the article:
Review the figures and tables
• As you skim read through the article, you will have
noticed that the text is interrupted by a set of diagrams.
• Diagrams, or figures, are usually intended to display an
idea in a way that is easier to see and grasp than is
possible with text.
• While skimming, look over any tables you encounter to
see what kind of information they are displaying. If the
information is relevant to your purpose, you can look at
it more closely later.
 Step 1: Skimming the article

Combining the skimming strategies for the two types

of “chunks”, in each section you will read the entire
first paragraph, then the first sentence in each
paragraph after that. For the introduction and
conclusion, also read the entire last paragraph. Read
the topics of all tables and charts.
 Step 2: Determining purpose
Different purposes for reading articles require attention to different areas.
• Overview of topic
• Focus on the introduction and conclusion.
• Research ideas
• Read the introduction and conclusion, looking for further research suggestions in conclusion, then
critically read the methods section.
• Planning an experiment
• Critically read the methods section.
• General knowledge
• Carefully read the whole article making sure you understand it all.
• Assignment for a course
• Think about the goal of the assignment. Critically read what you might use to achieve that goal.
 Step 3: Reading critically:
Skill
Treat critical reading as a skill to develop personal & academic responses. It can be
developed through practices, such as:
• Marking and looking up all vocabulary and concepts that your are unfamiliar with
• Taking notes of the text's main ideas and adding your own responsive comments
• Talking to others about what you have read
• Relating a given text to others in the syllabus by identifying similar or contrasting
themes
• Explaining what the text means to a non-specialist and noting what you would
have to add to make it intelligible (This will help you to see the underlying,
unstated assumptions.)
• Asking yourself: “How can I convince my peers/teachers that I understand what
this is about?”
 Step 3: Reading critically:
Attitude
Treat critical reading as an attitude towards the communication of ideas.
• Think of reading an article like hearing someone else’s perspective on a
specific topic.
• Remain open minded to the fact that your previously held ideas may be
wrong.
• Do not make the mistake of thinking that authors are always right.
• Keep in mind that writers of academic articles are trying persuade you to
agree with their ideas.
• Keep in mind the influence both the author’s ideological affiliations and
biases in writing the article as well as your own in reading the article.
• Remain willing to look up vocabulary and concepts in the article that you are
unfamiliar with to expand your knowledge and fully understand the article.
 Step 3: Reading critically:
Questions while reading
…think about the following questions to help you read critically:
• What is the author’s purpose for writing this paper/ conducting this research?
• What are the main points of this text?
• Can you put them in your own words?
• What sorts of examples are used? Are they useful? Can you think of others?
• What factors (ideas, people, things) have been included? Can you think of anything that
has been missed out?
• Is a particular bias or framework apparent? Can you tell what 'school of thought' the author
belongs to?
• Can you work out the steps of the argument being presented? Do all the steps follow
logically?
• Could a different conclusion be drawn from the argument being presented?
• Are the main ideas in the text supported by reliable evidence (well researched, non-
emotive, logical)?
• Do you agree or disagree with the author? Why?
• What connections do you see between this and other texts?
• Where does it differ from other texts on the same subject?
• What are the wider implications——for you, for the discipline?
 Assess the strength/validity of
the argument
While continuing to close read for the subtle rhetorical ways in which the writer builds his or her case, use the following
questions to help you sort out the building blocks of the writer's argument:
1. Evidence
• What evidence does the author offer in support of the position put forth? (Identify all pieces of evidence you find.)
• What is the nature of each piece of supporting evidence? For example, is it based on empirical research, ethical consideration,
common knowledge, anecdote?
• How convincing is the evidence? For example, does the research design adequately address the question posed (#1 above)? Are the
ethical considerations adequately explored and assessed? Have you read or heard anything on this subject that confirms or
challenges the evidence?
2. Counter arguments
• What arguments made in opposition to the author's views were described?
• Were these arguments persuasively refuted?
• What evidence was used in the refutation?
3. Effectiveness
• What were the strengths of the article?
• Was it difficult to read and understand? If so, why? If not, why not?
• Were you able to follow the moves of the article from thesis to evidence, for example?
• Did the structure of sentences and paragraphs and the overall organization guide you and help you follow the author's intent?
• Did all the material seem relevant to the points made?
What to look for in each section
By knowing the point of each section, you'll find what you need quickly
and without being bogged down by the convoluted language in these
academic journal articles.
Academic articles, particularly research reports, generally contain the
following:
• abstract
• introduction
• literature review
• methods
• data
• results
• conclusion
• bibliography
 Abstract
This is the summary of the journal article. Almost all journal articles
have an abstract. The abstract appears as a short paragraph at the start
of the article, sometimes italicized or indented to set itself apart from
the rest of the article.

Editors/publishers usually have rules about the structure

What's important: The abstract tells you the point of the article. Always
read the abstract to make sure the article is suited toward your paper's
topic.
 Introduction / Literature
Review
The writer's introduction is the first section of the paper. Although not always labeled, it generally
introduces the topic, the thesis, and tells readers why the research is important.
What's important: Look for the thesis; what's the author trying to prove or show? How do they intend to
contribute to their field? Read the first and last paragraph of the introduction; the thesis is oftentimes located
there. If you cannot find the thesis in those two places, you may have to scan the whole introduction.
Literature Review (or "A Review of the Literature")

A literature review looks at past research on the author's thesis. The literature review demonstrates to other
researchers that the author is thoroughly acquainted with their topic. It is not always marked as a separate
section from the introduction.
What's important: If you're still searching for sources for your paper, a literature review can point you to
other sources you can use. It can also broadly educate you on this area of research. If you're not looking
for more research and you have a good grasp on the material, feel free to skip over this section.
• Questions:
• What is the overall purpose of the research?
• How does the research fit into the context of its field? Is it, for example, attempting to settle a controversy? show the
validity of a new technique? open up a new field of inquiry?
• Do you agree with the author's rationale for studying the question in this way?
 Methods
In this section, the author details how they will try to support (or disprove) their thesis.

What's important: You should know how the writer obtained their information and explain that in your
paper. Did they use a survey? What type of survey? Who did they survey? Or did they do an experiment?
What type of experiment? How did they get test subjects?
• Questions:
• (If an experiment:) How did the researchers manipulate variables in order to test them?
• Were the measurements appropriate for the questions the researcher was approaching?
• Often, researchers need to use "indicators" because they cannot measure something directly--for
example, using babies' birthweight to indicate nutritional status. Were the measures in this
research clearly related to the variables in which the researchers (or you) were interested?
• If human subjects were studied, do they fairly represent the populations under study?
• Were the measurements appropriate for the questions the researcher was approaching?
• Often, researchers need to use "indicators" because they cannot measure something directly--for
example, using babies' birthweight to indicate nutritional status. Were the measures in this
research clearly related to the variables in which the researchers (or you) were interested?
 Data
• All the data the author collected from their research is located in
this section. This is often incorporated in the results section.

• What's important: Although it depends on your purpose for reading

the article, looking at the data in combination with the results gives
you a more unbiased result of their experiment.
• Sometimes, you'll want to skip this section entirely. If you're
interested in a specific point of the author's research (and which is
unlikely to be covered by the author in the conclusion) or are
interested in replicating the research, then you may want to check
out the data section.
 Results
The author explains the results of the data.

What's important: Like the data section, this section can be skipped over depending on
your interests. The conclusion's section should be the final is-my-thesis-right-or-
wrong statement, and the conclusion is usually clearer than the results section. If the
article's conclusion doesn't satisfy you, then you may want to look at the results
section.
•  Questions
• What is the one major finding?
• Were enough of the data presented so that you feel you can judge for yourself how the
experiment turned out?
• Did you see patterns or trends in the data that the author did not mention? Were there problems
that were not addressed?
 Conclusion / Discussion
The author's summary of the journal article. The author will also explain whether his or her
thesis is correct, the implications, and what other research can be done.
What's important: This section is vital. If you use this article as a source, you better know
the general outcome of the author's research. It is a good idea to read this section after
you read the abstract, then again after reading the rest of the article. Was it proven
wrong? Right? Inconclusive? You can always turn to the results section if you can't find
the answers you're looking for here. You may also find a suggestion for future research in
the discussion of limitation that guides your own project.
• Questions:
• Do you agree with the conclusions drawn from the data?
• Are these conclusions over-generalized or appropriately careful?
• Are there other factors that could have influenced, or accounted for, the results?
• What further experiments would you think of to continue the research or to answer remaining
questions?
 Bibliography/Works
Cited/References
The bibliography is the list of sources the author has
used.
What's important: If you're in need of more sources,
take a glance through the titles of this section. You
may find articles you can use in your paper.
What is the journal from which the article is taken?
 Final Advice
• If you are reading articles for a research project, find a method of
organizing your research that works for you. One way is to sort them by
your purpose for reading.
• If you plan on using the information in any paper in any way, make sure
your know proper APA citation (or other citation styles you are using)
and gather all of the information from the article you need to do a full
citation before letting it leave your possession, and if possible make note
of how you can easily access the article again (what database you used,
if it is in the library, if a professor owns a copy, etc.).
• Keep reading articles. The more articles you read, the easier it is to get
useful information from them, and they become less of a chore to read.