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Reading journals

We can save time by looking at the following features of journals and journal articles.

  • Back cover
  • Table of contents
  • Abstract
  • Key words
  • Introductions and conclusions
  • Headings and section summaries
  • References

Most journals in Education list the articles on the first page as well as the back cover.

The table of contents helps the reader to identify the topic, author(s) and page numbers. They may also:

  • list book and resource reviews
  • author index with biographic data
  • list of reviewers
  • guidelines for contributors.

The abstract at the beginning of academic articles presents a summary of its contents. It may also include the methodological approach and outcomes.

Key words placed beneath that abstract in some journals are another way to assess the value of the article. Introductions and conclusions are also valuable guides to the suitability of the contents.

Introductions present an overview while the conclusion can summarise the contents and identify areas of further research.

Headings and section summaries used in the body of the article can direct the reader to specific information.

References used in the article can lead the reader to related studies and further work by particular authors.

Reading online journal articles and conference papers

Most recent academic journals are now available online through the Monash University Library databases and electronic resources Opens in a new window .

Reading journal articles online requires similar strategies to identify key parts of the text and to locate a range of relevant literature. The major difference is that you would scroll through the text rather than turn individual pages. Look for:

  • the abstract
  • key words
  • the conclusion
  • a table of contents.

You can also download an article or print it out. Though it is best to print articles if you need to analyse them closely, to save yourself the cost of printing it is even more important to scan the key parts of an article before hitting the print button.

word outputDownload a printable version of this page (.doc ~10kb)
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