Should you read a journal article from start to finish?

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Reframing the task of reading a journal article helps set expectations about how to approach scholarly work. 
Option a: 'a. No' suggests you should not read the article from start to finish in a strict, linear way. In practice, researchers often skim for gist first, focusing on elements like the abstract, figures, tables, and conclusions to decide relevance. Then they may zoom in on methods or specific sections as needed. This approach saves time, helps you extract the core findings quickly, and allows you to assess the article’s value before committing to a full, detailed read. It also supports reading multiple articles efficiently by prioritizing the most informative parts first. 
Option b: 'b. Yes' implies a mandatory, all-at-once reading in strict order. While some readers might eventually read cover-to-cover for thorough understanding, doing so as a default can be inefficient and may not suit the way most scholarly writing is structured. Skimming the abstract and conclusion, inspecting figures, and identifying the hypotheses or methods of interest are often more effective first steps; insisting on a linear, start-to-finish read can lead to time wasted on pages that reiterate background you already know or on methodological details that aren’t central to your current goal. 
In addition, a full sequential read can be less productive when the article is long or dense, or when your goal is to locate specific information, replicate a study, or evaluate the relevance to your own work. Therefore, while reading the entire article eventually might be useful in some contexts, the strategy of reading from start to finish is not universally recommended as the default approach.

FOUND101-25B (HAM) Reading an IMRD article

Should you read a journal article from start to finish?

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