Reading scholarly articles can be a difficult task. Scholars have done their research and written up their results for many reasons, but not for many audiences. Although you as a student need to use the articles in your assignment, they were not written specifically for you. (No offense).
The fact is, these scholars are experts in their field writing for other experts. They are using specialized language that can be difficult for someone new to understand. So, you can sit down with an article and start reading, but you may become discouraged pretty quickly.
The tips below are to help you read scholarly articles STRATEGICALLY. These tips can help you approach a scholarly text for easier reading and better understanding.
Read the Abstract first. The Abstract will preview the entire article, makes it easier to judge whether it is relevant.
For the Sciences:
Titles can only tell you so much about the content of the article. The Abstract acts as a preview for the entire article, including the methods and results. By reading the Abstract first, you can get a better idea of what the article is actually about, if it relates to what you are researching, and whether it is worth your time to read the rest of it.
For the Humanities:
Next, read the Introduction and Conclusion. Learn more about the topic of study and what the authors found out in the process.
Applies for both sciences and humanities:
Literature review: An overview of previous scholarship on the present topic. Gives both author and reader a context for where the article falls in the literature. Likely to be a separate section within the introduction or right after it.
Take a look at the tables, charts and graphs.
Get a better idea of the results of the research or analytical study.
For the Sciences:
For the Humanities:
Read it! (For real this time.)
Now that you have pre-read some of the article and are sure it relates to your research topic, read the whole thing. It still might not be easy, but it will not be as hard as if you were reading it with no context.
Some more tips about reading: