L4

• Scientific papers


  The heart of the science community
• How to read a scientific paper

  • Read the title
  • Read the abstract (if provided)
  • Read the introduction
  • Read section headings and sub-headings, skip everything else
  • Read the conclusion
  • Skim the middle, looking at section titles, tables, figures, etc. to get a feel for the style and flow
  • Go back and read the whole paper quickly, skipping equations, most figures and tables
  • Go back and read the whole paper carefully, focusing on the sections or areas that seem most important
  • Critique the argument - does it make sense, is it internally consistent, is it well supported?
• No one will understand academic articles the first time they are read
• Importance of reading journal articles

  • Current
  • Most accessible means of obtaining information
  • To obtain a good explanation for your data and enough details to replicate
  • Latest developments in a field
  • To find out how a certain piece of research was done
  • Because one day soon you could be writing papers too
• Review articles


  An overview of the scientific field or topic by summarizing the data and conclusions from many studies
• Primary research articles


  Original data and conclusions of the researchers who were involved in the experiments and how the experiments were done
• Typical "anatomy" of a research paper

  • Title and authors
  • Abstract/summary
  • Introduction
  • Materials and Methods
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
  • Figures/Tables
• Title


  Short, succinct, eye-catching, descriptive of main findings
• Abstract


  Explains why and why the research was done
• Introduction


  Explains when, whom, why, what and how the research was done
• Results


  Explains what the research found
• Discussion


  Explains why and how the research findings are significant
• Some journals allow the Results and Discussion sections to be combined
• How to approach the introduction

  1. Take notes

  2. Draw mini figures

  3. Define vocabulary

  4. Answer questions about the accepted state of knowledge, data leading to the work, hypothesis being tested, basic conclusions
• Materials and Methods


  • Should be detailed enough for another scientist to replicate the work, often compressed so may need to look up referenced papers for more detail
• How to read the results

  1. Examine the figure

  2. Take notes

  3. Explain the basic procedure, question it sought to answer, results, conclusion(s), criticism
• How to read the discussion

  Take notes and answer questions about the authors' conclusions, interpretation, significance of the data, whether you agree with the rationale, experiments, conclusions, and what further questions or suggestions you have
• Just because a paper is published, it does not mean it is right
• Nit-picking and being constructively critical is important when reading scientific papers
• Try to understand, don't be afraid to ask, be constructive and polite when critiquing
• Having a template for taking notes on research articles makes them easier to access and use later
• Tips for success include reading when awake and interested, summarizing before continuing if reading over multiple days, and starting a database of relevant papers