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PSYC 2321: Data Analysis for Psychology (Lea)

What is the most efficient way to read academic articles?

You will likely have to read several articles before you find ones that are useful to your assignment. The most effective way of reading a psychology article is not from beginning to end. You will likely get bogged down in the details of the study. Rather, read the journal article in the following order:

  1. Abstract
  2. Discussion
  3. Introduction
  4. Results
  5. Methodology

By the time you have read the abstract and discussion, you should have a good idea whether or not this study will be useful for your paper. If it is, then proceed to read the entire article. If it's not, move on to the next study.

For more details on how to read scientific articles, access these resources: