LIM Health Sciences resources

How to Read a Scientific Article

1. Read the article's title and abstract. The abstract is a summary of the article.  Does the article have clearly outlined objectives to the research, and precise conclusions? 

2. If the article does not have an abstract, read the conclusions or the summary at the end of the article first. 

3. If the article is on-topic and a quality source with clear research objectives and logical conclusions, read the article beginning to end. Is there anything surprising? does the article support or refute your hypothesis
   
   Art of reading a journal article: Methodically and effectively