Mastering Research Report Reading: Boost Your Graduate Studies

Abstract

Basics for Understanding Research Reports and Articles Reading is one of the cornerstones of graduate education, along with writing and research. In each course, you will be assigned reading on a weekly basis. Reading assignments may include chapters from textbooks, scholarly articles, reports, documents, PowerPoint presentations, websites, and sample papers. Discussions and written assignments in class are based on reading materials. It is critical that you have the textbooks assigned for your courses. A few general tips on keeping up with reading assignments include: Read the introduction, main headings, and summary of all assignments as a preliminary method of understanding the focus of the reading. Review graphs, tables, charts, and other graphics that help explain the material. Highlight sections of the text or take notes to help you summarize the information. After reading the material, take a few moments to think about what you read and how it applies to the topic you are studying. Read some of your assigned readings every day to keep the concepts and ideas fresh in your mind during the term and to stay on target for completing all assignments on time. Reading Research Reading textbooks is a skill you probably mastered in your undergraduate coursework. Reading research is a skill you need to master as you work through the graduate program. What’s the difference? Most research articles have a similar structure or format that follows American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines. The sections of most research articles include: The Abstract: A short (usually less than 200 words) overview of the article. Read the abstract first to see if the article is relevant to your assignment/study and to get a basic understanding of the research. The Introduction: A description of the problem to be addressed and some background of the issue. The Literature Review: A compilation and summary of relevant research and articles related to the problem and main topic. The Methods Section: Details about how the research was conducted, including participants, procedures, instruments, timeline, and data collection tools. The Results or Findings: What the researchers found or collected from conducting the research. Discussion/Summary/Recommendations/Conclusion: The interpretation of the research and its application for the future. The References: All articles and sources cited and used in developing the study. Tips for Reading Research Reports and Articles The following steps for reading research can streamline the process and help you maximize the time and effort you devote to this important aspect of graduate study: Skim the article quickly looking for basic information in each of the sections. If you are reading an article to determine if it is something you can use for your coursework, the abstract, introduction, and conclusion may be sufficient for you to make that decision. If your professor assigns the article to you, skim each section as a preliminary step in understanding the main idea in the article. Re-read the article focusing on each section of the research. Think about how you would summarize information related to all important aspects of the study. Relate the conclusions of the article to the details in the other sections. Take notes or highlight sections that you may use in your written work. If you plan to use information...