Faculty Resources
MacMillan, M., & MacKenzie, A. (2012). Strategies for integrating information literacy and academic literacy: Helping undergraduate students make the most of scholarly articles. Library Management, 33(8/9), 525-535.
Fujimoto, Y., Hagel, P., Turner, P., Kattiyapornpong, U., & Zutshi, A. (2011). Helping University Students to "Read" Scholarly Journal Articles: The Benefits of a Structured and Collaborative Approach. Journal of University Teaching And Learning Practice, 8(3),
Weir, R. (2011). It's not Harry Potter. Inside Higher Ed. http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/instant_mentor/essay_on_teaching_students_to_read_journal_articles
Parts of an article
Wait...how do I read this stuff?
Here are a few tips about reading scholarly articles. Most important? Remember reading front to back is for novels and mysteries! Don't be afraid to read out of order.
- Label the article parts
- Start with the abstract—it should unlock the rest of the article
- Read back to front.
- Figure out what they found out first, then figure out how they got there
- If the graphs don’t make sense, ignore them and read their explanation of the graphs instead.
- Look up words you don't know
- Summarize as you read--it saves time.
Student Resources
- Critical Reading research guideFrom Harvard
- Predatory Reading (pdf download)From Bowdoin
- Anatomy of a Scholarly ArticleFrom NC State
- How to Read a Scholary Article (video)From Western University
- Reading Games: Strategies for reading scholarly sources (pdf download)By Karen Rosenberg from Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, Volume 2
- Taking Notes from Research ReadingFrom University of Toronto
- How to Read and Review A Scientific Journal ArticleFrom Duke University