JOURNAL READING

A 12-week course to focus on reading journal articles

What is an academic journal article?

A journal article:
 Presents original research
 Is discipline-specific
 Is peer-reviewed
 Follows academic writing conventions
 Needs background knowledge to be read
effectively
Why should we read this?
 To be updated with current knowledge
 To know what has been discovered and what
questions remain unanswered, so you can
choose a research topic
 To get an idea how you carry out a research
 To use it for your reference
 To impress others (you are a SCHOLAR!)
Types of articles published
in a journal
 The Systematic Organization
• Topic & info about the authors
Title

• Brief overview
Abstract

• Background info
Introduction • Statement of the research questions

• Hypothesis
Literature Review • Conceptual framework

• How the research was conducted

Methods • Procedures, instruments and variables

• All the data of the research + figures, tables, graphs

Results

Discussion & • The interpretation and implications

Conclusion
• Citations of sources
References
Barriers
INT
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CO MIDA
NF T
US ING
0_ ING… …
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 The length of articles
 Students’ vocab
 Complicated and uninteresting content
 Time constraint
 Family pressure
 Work
 Procrastination
 Laziness or lack of motivation
ABSTRACT
Contains:
1. Purpose of the study (WHY)
2. Methodology (HOW)
3. Results (WHAT’s been found)
4. Conclusion (WHAT’s the meaning)
INTRODUCTION
 Purposes: creating readers’ interest in the subject
and providing them with enough information to
understand the article

 Leading readers from broad information (what is

known about the topic) to more specific
information (what is not known) to a focal point
(what question the authors asked and answered).

 Thus, authors describe previous work that led to

current understanding of the topic (the broad) and
then situate their work (the specific) within the
field.
METHODS
 Tell the reader what experiments were done
to answer the question stated in the
Introduction

 Fully understand the design of the

experiments and evaluate their validity
RESULTS & DISCUSSION
 Contains results—statements of what was
found, and reference to the data shown in
visuals (figures and tables)

 Discussion also functions to provide a clear

answer to the question posed in the
Introduction and to explain how the results
support that conclusion.
Qs before & during Reading
 Who are these authors?
 What journal is this?
 Have I taken the time to understand all the

terminology?
 Have I gone back to read an article or review

that would help me understand this work

better?
 Am I spending too much time reading the less

important parts of this article?

 Is there someone I can talk to about confusing

parts of this article?

Qs after Reading
 What specific problem does this research address?
Why is it important?
 Is the method used a good one? The best one?
 What are the specific findings? Am I able to
summarize them in one or two sentences?
 Are the findings supported by persuasive evidence?
 How are the findings unique/new/unusual or
supportive of other work in the field?
 How do these results relate to the work I’m interested
in? To other work I’ve read about?
 What are some further experiments that would answer
remaining questions?
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REFERENCES
 Pathol. 2013. Art of reading a journal article: Methodically
and effectively. [Last accessed on 20 April 2018]. Available
from:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3687192/  
 Purugganan and Hewitt. Available from:
http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~cainproj/courses/HowToReadSc
iArticle.pdf