# Understanding Research Articles

### **Understanding the structure of a journal article**

A journal article has distinct parts that (if read knowledgeably) will allow readers to quickly and effectively read the study. In other words, do not think to read it beginning to end like a piece of light fiction.

#### Where to start:&#x20;

1. Identify the title, the author(s), the journal title and the date of publication. This knowledge will give you a lot of information even before your start to read the work itself.
   1. A well-chosen title will suggest not only the subject matter of the book, but also its central argument. **Try to understand the title**, or even rewrite it in your own words. That act of translation helps you see the nuances the author has often thought about it making the title (or … sometimes they are suuuuuuuper blunt and obvious). Sometimes titles are inscrutable and don’t make sense even after you’ve read the article – be forewarned.&#x20;
   2. **Figure out who the author(s) is/are**. Even a quickly google of their names will bring you to their academic profile page, online curriculum vitae (i.e. academic resumé), or Wikipedia entries (for the more illustrious, infamous and usually, older academics). Where and when someone is writing is helpful to give the context of study (i.e. the writings of someone in 1942 Germany might show some strong influences even on medieval topics). Knowing what other works someone has written also gives you a good sense of what to expect from them.&#x20;
   3. **Look at the first footnote**. It usually provides acknowledgements – i.e. shout-outs to people who have helped in the writing of the article. This helps you understand the people (i.e. group of scholars) to which the author(s) is/are connected and usually says something about their methodological/ theoretical positioning.&#x20;
   4. Some **journal articles have abstracts**, in which the main argument, sources used, and historiography are summarised in a paragraph. Abstracts are hard to write so the author will either devote a sentence for each major section (useful!) or try to summarize the overall sense (also useful). Read it – since usually they will have a hyper-condensed version of the paper in it. Usually abstracts are written as the very final process of publication, so if the scholar is exhausted and tired of the article, it may be not terribly well written – be forewarned.&#x20;
   5. The **publication date** is useful to get a sense of how recent the scholarship is and to situate it in its historiographical sense. Recognize however that some articles take a long time to come to print and so might not talk about the most recent studies in a field from the last few years.
   6. **Identify the journal**. Find the journal website and read its missions statement and description (usually an “about” page). Often they will tell you what kind of history they publish (e.g. only social history, or only Digital Humanities …), which will allow you to quickly situate the article in a theoretical and methodological tradition.

**2. Take a quick look at the work’s structure** – does it have a hierarchy of sections/ chapters. Journal articles will usually have sections delineated by headings; monographs will have chapters. Usually the structure will follow a similar pattern:

1. introduction with the main argument and historiographic context (i.e. the ideas of other historians in the field),
2. the main body where the historical evidence for the argument is presented
3. the conclusion, where the argument is summarised and there may also be authorial suggestions for future research

3\.    **Read the introduction and conclusion first**. They are often the most important for you to read first, since the author usually explains the question that started their research and the answers they found. It may be helpful to read not only the introduction, but also the conclusion before reading the body of the article/book. The introduction usually will explain how the sections/ chapters are intended to fit together and the conclusions will emphasize more strongly the significance of the work. By reading the introduction and conclusion, you will have a good sense of what the work is about.&#x20;

4\.    Now look at the main body of the work. **Read the first sentence of each paragraph**. The first sentence (or topic sentence) should give you the main building blocks of the author’s argument.&#x20;

5\.    Now ask yourself:

1. Is the author’s argument persuasive?&#x20;
2. Does the evidence support the author’s conclusions?&#x20;
3. Is the article balanced and supported by verifiable facts?
4. Do you agree or disagree with the content of the article and the arguments used to persuade the reader?

These final questions need some reflection. Think about your ideas and your assessment of the article you have analyzed and come to a conclusion about the article about its usefulness.&#x20;
