Familiarity with the standard parts of an article, what the intent and purpose are of each, will make reading articles easier. This can be especially helpful for scanning an article to see if it is one you want to read more carefully.

Abstract – a summary of the purpose, methods and conclusions that can help you decide if the article is relevant to your research. 

Introduction – provides a general overview and background of the study.

Literature Review – a review of research in the area up to the time of the study, giving additional background information and placing the study in its scholarly context.

Methodology – This part is an elaboration of the procedures undertaken from start to finish, focus of the study, and how data are collected and organized to complete the experiment. 

Results – a presentation of data gathered in the study, usually with some analysis.

Discussion – the author’s interpretation of the results of the study and the conclusions they draw from them.

References – listing of journal articles and other sources referred to by the author in preparing for the study.  The references can be an extremely useful way to find additional sources for your own research.

*The references are a bibliography of the sources the researchers used to inform their research and this is a great place to look for similar studies or studies that would be useful for your assignment or research paper.  You can try to find the studies in a database using the information in the references.

In scientific journals, many of the articles you find will be about particular studies that a researcher or team has conducted. These articles are often labeled as "original research" and are empirical research, as they report on actual study results and contain or use data culled from actual observations or experiments. Empirical studies are also called primary or original research studies.

How to read a scholarly article:

• Slide tutorial from Purdue University Libraries

Parts of a scholarly article

• Interactive tool from NSCU Libraries

Tip: Read the abstract of the article. If you understand the abstract, you should be able to follow the article. If the abstract is difficult, the article will most likely be difficult to read. Some articles are dense and written for a high level of expertise meant for a very specific expert audience. Don't worry if you can't understand an article--skim your search results to find something more appropriate or ask a librarian for assistance. We're here to help!