How to Read Journal Articles in the Social Sciences

Phillip C. Shon received his M.A. and Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from the University of Illinois (Chicago); he also holds an M.A. in linguistics and a B.A. in philosophy from Northeastern Illinois University (Chicago). He is currently a Professor of Criminology at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology where he teaches courses in homicide and criminological theory. He is the author of How to Read Journal Articles in the Social Sciences (2nd ed.). London: Sage, 2015; Language and Demeanor in Police-Citizen Encounters. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2008; Respect, Defense, and Self-Identity: Profiling Parricide in Nineteenth-Century America, 1852-1899. New York: Peter Lang, 2014. He is a co-editor (with Dragan Milovanovic) of Serial Killers: Understanding Lust Murders. (eds). Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2006. Phil grew up in Chicago. He no longer hides the shame of being a Cubs fan, and has completely forgotten Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series. He is patiently awaiting the Chicago Bears to come up with a sequel to the “Super Bowl Shuffle” before they return once more to the Promised Land.

Shon provides an excellent guide on how to read journal articles. The reading code sheet helps to demystify the role of journal articles as proposals to knowledge and journals as forums for debate. I have used the book over the last five years with my students (many of whom are international and studying in a second language) with great success. The book has helped students to develop their critical thinking, reading and writing skills and when it comes to writing a dissertation they have used the code sheet in their own writing.

• Chapter 1: The Challenges of ReadingChapter 2: Trying to Fix Mechanical and Structural Writing Problems with Abstract ToolsChapter 3: Should I even Read This? How to Read the Abstract, General Introduction and Methods SectionChapter 4: So What? How to Read the General Literature Review, Psychology Introductions, and Results SectionsChapter 5: Becoming a Part of the Scholarly Community: How to Read the Discussion and ConclusionChapter 6: Highlighting and Organizing the ROF, SPL, CPL, GAP, RFW and POCChapter 7: Will the Reading Code Organization Sheet Work on Non-social Science Texts?Chapter 8: Concluding Remarks