 Reading scientific articles can be tricky. They are often long and full of complicated procedures and terminology. So, why read them? Scientific articles provide current or up-to-date information, whereas your textbook might be out of date. Scientific articles also explicitly state their methodology, which allows you to replicate their study. And they share their raw data, which is helpful if you need to extract results for your own research. You can critically evaluate their conclusions based on the data presented and determine if it is credible or relevant research. But how do you actually read a scientific article efficiently? The great thing about scientific articles is they follow a pretty standard format that's easy to break down and read. Your first step is to read the abstract. This brief paragraph at the beginning of the article will provide you with a concise summary of the author's research, results, and interpretations. This will help determine if the article is relevant. Your second step is to read the introduction. This will briefly explain the background of the research, why it was conducted, how, etc. In this section, you need to identify the big question. What's the point? What are the authors trying to answer with their research? This will provide the foundation for the study. The next step is to read the results. Pay close attention here to the charts and the graphs. These are quick summaries of the data they collected and the sample size they used. Ask yourself, do the results answer the author's questions? Now read the discussion and conclusion sections. These sections summarize what the authors think the results mean. Here, you want to note if you agree with their conclusions. Are there alternate conclusions? Weaknesses in their study. Your final step is to read the methodology section. How do the authors approach answering this question? Do the methods seem appropriate for the question? Are the explanations thorough enough that you could confidently recreate their research? Other helpful tips for reading scientific articles include having a scientific dictionary ready to look up terminology you are unfamiliar with, skimming the article once, then going back through and doing a thorough read, taking notes this time, and then looking up what other researchers in the field have to say about this study. Remember, if you need help, you can always ask a librarian.