This easy to follow guide reveals a tried and tested strategy for decoding social science journal articles, using a specially developed reading code.

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

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 (2^nd 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.