US Academic Reading: Home

Reading academic texts is an active process. You must engage with the text in order to retain and analyze the information presented. Follow these steps when approaching scholarly sources:

Preview: Before you begin to read, scan the source. In a journal article, look at the title, abstract, introduction, charts/images, and conclusion.  In a print text, scan the title, back cover, front/rear flaps, and table of contents. Skimming the text this way prepares you by allowing you to see the length and organization of the text and to predict what the reading will be about. *This stage is important for ruling out articles that may not apply to your research question.

Read: At this stage, do not skim or read passively. Take notes in the margin and highlight or circle key words, phrases, and important concepts. You may need to pause to look up words or concepts with which you are unfamiliar. As you are reading, keep note of connections to previous learning/readings as well as questions to follow up on. Don't be afraid to read out of order! The introduction, discussion, and conclusion are most important. If they don't address your research question, move onto the next article. *Only highlight when necessary. If you are highlighting every other sentence, you are not distinguishing the main ideas. Use different colors to highlight for different purposes (i.e. terms to look up, potential quotes to use)

Summarize: In order to ensure that you understand and retain the information, write a quick summary. This could be a few sentence or a bullet list of the main ideas of the text and/or critical analysis of the author's argument. Write down additional questions you may have that you can answer by reading further. 

Review: Before using the source in a project or formal discussion, skim through the text and your notes, and reread any summary or analysis you have written.

Authors:

• Usually more than one author
• Researchers and academic professionals
• Have education and professional credentials in their field
• Often have other published works

Audience:

• Other researchers and scholars (to support additional original research)
• Professionals (for professional development, current trends/research)
• Advanced students (research projects)

Publications:

• Academic/Scholarly Journals
• Peer-reviewed
• Discipline specific

Language:

• Vocabulary specific to the discipline

Title

• Describes what the article is about 
• Often includes important keywords

Abstract

• One paragraph
• Summarizes research and conclusion
• Usually written by author(s)

Introduction

• Explanation of topic and purpose of the study
• Hypothesis/Thesis

Literature Review

• Review of existing research (including gaps)
• Provides context

Methodology

• Discusses how the study was performed
• Should be detailed enough for someone to repeat the study

Results

• Findings of the study
• Data and/or statistical information

Discussion

• Significanc of results
• In-depth analysis

Conclusion

• Final thoughts
• How findings relate to hypothesis
• Strengths and weaknesses of the study
• How findings contribute to field and suggestions for further research

Graphics

• Charts, graphs, images
• Usually in Results or Appendices

References

• Primary sources (original documents, data, experiments)
• Secondary sources (other scholarly articles and research)
• Citation format (most common: MLA, APA, Chicago)
  • In-text citations (parenthetical or footnotes)
  • Citation list (References, Bibliography, or Works Cited)

Though several databases offer access to scholarly journals, the main ones available through PDS for multidisciplinary research are:

JSTOR

EBSCOhost Web (Academic Search Premier)

Click here to visit our full list of databases

You can print out articles, write in (your own!) print books, or make photocopies to annotate, but there are also many tools available to annotate websites and PDFs. Here are some to consider:

Adobe Acrobat  

• App download
• All PDS students have access (SSO Google account)
• PDF only

Hypothesis

• Chrome extension/website
• Must create an account
• Annotations can be shared with group members
• PDF and web

Other simple to use tools:

• Kami
• XODO
• Diigo