The resources below identify and define the parts of a scholarly article -- including:
And suggest ways to navigate through and takes notes on these different sections in order to distill and process the key information to apply it to your own research analysis and writing.
Please note that although some of the links below focus on "scientific" papers, the principals they build upon are relevant for reading any kind of scholarly article.
Reading scholarly articles is a skill that you develop. Unlike a book chapter or magazine article you might read from start to finish, research articles are organized in a way that facilitates a more selective reading process, i.e. skimming and/or reading sections in a different order.
There is no single way to correctly read a scholarly article. Even the researchers you're working with (PI, postdocs, grad students) may their own way of breaking down and reading articles, both within and outside of their field. Along with asking about their practices, here are some other resources:
Grad students, postdocs, and faculty briefly describe their approaches to reading scientific papers. Written in response to this more humorous piece
A "three pass" approach to reading a paper.
Focus on "dissecting" articles
Includes a tutorial on understanding the parts of a scientific article.
Video tutorial on taking notes while reading a scientific article.
Presentation on reading scientific papers, using "Are all apples red?" as an example.
