Getting Started
Getting Started
Research articles can be dense and intimidating, even to expert researchers. Below are some tips on how to best tackle reading through a research article, and more importantly, understanding it!
With practice, you will find the techniques that work best for you! Until then, remember to breathe, have patience, take notes, and ask for help when you need it.
More Reading Resources
- Anatomy of a Scholarly ArticleAn interactive breakdown from NCSU Libraries.
- Anatomy of a Scholarly Article TutorialAn interactive tutorial from the University of Arizona
- How to Read a Scientific PaperAn interactive tutorial from Purdue Libraries.
- Infographic: How to read a scientific paperA step-by-step Infograph.
- How to (seriously) read a scientific paperTips from experts across the sciences & social sciences.
- Psychology Background SourcesYou can refer to Psychology specific background information to define any unfamiliar terms or concepts
Evidence Pyramid
Not all articles are created equal. The type of article and study design makes a difference in terms of the quality of the information. The image below provides a visual of the best types of articles at the top and lower quality articles at each level down. Filtered information is another way of saying secondary articles. Unfiltered information is another way of saying primary articles or experiment studies.
Critical Reading Questions
- Article Evaluation HandoutKey questions to evaluate each section of original research studies (RCTs, cohort studies, etc)
Decoding Statistics
- Carolyn's Quick Stats Notes- Basic statistics vocabulary
- Links to brief articles to help understand statistics in a healthcare context
- Plain language description of QCC statistics question
- SAGE Research Methods This link opens in a new windowA compilation of books, reference works, journal articles, and instructional videos from across the social sciences that helps users learn various research methodologies.
