As part of your research, you will need to read as widely as possible on the topic you are researching to inform your study.
It is impractical to read every word of every article. By using the techniques outlined below, you can ascertain the main arguments of articles without spending hours reading information that is not useful to your study.
To access further information on this page, click on the quick links in the box below.
Whilst not all research articles use the same structure, the following diagram shows the most common sections.
When reading the article for the first time, use the following scanning process:
To identify the paragraphs you wish to read in more depth:
The example below mentions the methodology as being quantitative in both the abstract and on page 4 of the article. See the highlighted sections for clues.
The first reference to the methodology is in the abstract.
Then on page 4 the methodology section outline the methodology more fully.
Jere, J.N. & Ngidi, N. (2020). A technology, organisation and environment framework analysis of information and communication technology adoption by small and medium enterprises in Pietermaritzburg. South African Journal of Information Management, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.4102/sajim.v22i1.1166.
The first reference to the methodology is in the abstract. See the highlighted sections for clues
The methodology is further explained in the methodology section.
Sahin, A. (2014). The role of information and communication technologies in schools: Perspectives of teachers. (International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, 3(2), 112 – 124. https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARPED/v3-i2/919
The first reference to the methodology is in the abstract. See the highlighted sections for clues.
The methodology is then further elaborated on in section 3.
Thottoli, M. M. (2024). Leveraging information communication technology (ICT) and artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance auditing practices. Accounting Research Journal, 37(2), 134-150. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARJ-09-2023-0269
For the above video, you only need to watch up to 7:30mins