3. (Re-)Design Your Search Strategy
How much background information do you already have from sources? Do you know what kinds of information to be looking for?
Are there specific kinds of sources your assignment requires?
Where can you find those sources? How do you read those kinds of sources?
What is strategic reading?
Strategic reading involves using techniques to efficiently and effectively understand scholarly journal articles. This is your first level of evaluating the information without reading the entire work, in order to decide if it is worth your time.
Other works, such as books and popular articles, also benefit from considering and adapting these techniques as well.
Different sources are formatted in different ways and have varying expectations for what they will communicate and how. If you approach a research article with the same understanding as a fiction book, you're going to be very confused - so be mindful of what sources you're dealing with.
The Basics
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Anatomy of a Scholarly ArticleThis interactive guide from NC State Libraries does a great job at covering the different parts of a scholarly article.
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Strategic Reading BasicsAccessible handout with reminders about four steps to strategically read scholarly articles.
Reading Articles Effectively
Return to this document when you start to tackle reading the scholarly articles that seem like the best sources in your research so far.
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Strategies for Reading Scholarly Articles EffectivelyReading scholarly articles is difficult. They’re long and filled with complex vocabulary. Plus they are very different from other types of readings (such as textbooks) that you’re expected to read for class. These reading strategies will help you tackle reading scholarly articles.
Example topic:
How did the COVID-19 Pandemic affect college students’ mental health? And what self-care strategies are most effective to improve young adults’ mental health?