· Reading scientific papers using the Q-P/C method (a form of active reading). One begins by reading the Abstract and Introduction with four specific questions in mind looking for blogger.com: Tung-Tien Sun Reading Scientific Papers Step 1: Preview the Scientific Paper Before you begin to read a scientific paper, consider how it relates to the course, Step 2: Read for Understanding and Analysis Each section of a scientific paper is carefully organized to present Step 3: Reflect and Take Notes How to Read a Scientific Paper Have a clear idea of what your goal is Move from general to specific Start broad to get an overview of the paper Then read carefully to critically evaluate work Consider following a non-linear approach Papers should not be read like a textbook Remember that reading a scientific paper is an activeFile Size: KB
How to (seriously) read a scientific paper | Science | AAAS
Citation: Carey MA, Steiner KL, reading scientific papers, Petri WA Jr Ten simple rules for reading a scientific paper. PLoS Comput Biol 16 7 : e Copyright: © Carey et al.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licensewhich permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Funding: MAC was supported by the PhRMA Foundation's Postdoctoral Fellowship in Translational Medicine and Therapeutics and the University of Virginia's Engineering-in-Medicine seed grant, and KLS was supported by the NIH T32 Global Biothreats Training Program at the University of Virginia AI The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript, reading scientific papers.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. This advice is sound, probably for both life and science, but even the best tool like the library is most effective when accompanied by instructions and a basic understanding of how and when to use it. For many budding scientists, the first day in a new lab setting often involves a stack of papers, an email full of links to pertinent articles, or some promise of a richer understanding so long as one reads enough of the scientific literature.
However, reading scientific papers, the purpose and approach to reading a scientific article is unlike that of reading a news story, novel, or even a textbook and can initially seem unapproachable. Advice typically centers around two main tips: read actively and read often. However, active reading, or reading with an intent to understand, is both a learned skill and a level of effort.
Although there is no one best way to do this, we present 10 simple rules, relevant to novices and seasoned scientists alike, to teach our strategy for active reading based on our experience as readers and as mentors of undergraduate and graduate researchers, medical students, reading scientific papers, fellows, and early career faculty.
Rules 1—5 are big picture recommendations. Rules 6—8 relate to philosophy of reading. What you want to get out of an article should influence your approach to reading it. Table 1 includes a handful of example intentions and how you might prioritize different parts of the same article differently based on your goals as a reader, reading scientific papers. In written communication, the reader and the writer are equally important. Both influence the final outcome: in this case, your scientific understanding!
However, this requires some understanding of who the author s are e. This information may be hard to glean without experience and a history of reading.
Reading scientific papers good step toward understanding the goal of the author s is to ask yourself: What kind of article is this? Journals publish different types of articles, including methods, review, commentary, resources, and research articles as well as other types that are specific to a particular journal or groups of journals.
These article types have different formatting requirements and expectations for content. Knowing the article type will help guide your evaluation of the information presented. Is the article a methods paper, reading scientific papers, presenting a new technique? Is the article a review article, reading scientific papers, intended to summarize a field or problem? Is it a reading scientific papers, intended to take a stand on a controversy or give a big picture perspective on a problem?
Reading scientific papers it a resource article, presenting a new tool or data set for others to use? When reading, ask yourself: 1 What do the author s want to know motivation?
Regarding this last question, reading scientific papers, the author s may provide some suggestions in the discussion, but the key is to ask yourself what you think should come next, reading scientific papers. Each of these questions can and should be asked about the complete work as well as reading scientific papers table, figure, or experiment within the paper.
Early on, it can take a long time to read one article front to back, and this can be intimidating. Break down your understanding of each section of the work with these questions to make the effort more manageable, reading scientific papers.
Scientists write original research papers primarily to present new data that may change or reinforce the collective knowledge of a field. Therefore, reading scientific papers, the most important parts of this type of scientific paper are the data. Others prefer to read through the results section while sequentially examining the figures and tables as they are addressed in the text. There is no correct or incorrect approach: Try both to see what works best for you.
The key is making sure that one understands the presented data and how it was reading scientific papers. For each figure, work to understand each x- and y-axes, color scheme, statistical approach if one was usedreading scientific papers, and why the particular plotting approach was used. For each table, identify what experimental groups and variables are presented. Identify what is shown and how the data were collected.
This is typically summarized in the legend or caption but often reading scientific papers digging deeper into the methods: Do not reading scientific papers afraid to refer back to the methods section frequently to ensure a full understanding of how the presented data were obtained. Just like the overall intent of the article discussed in Rule 2the intent of each section within a research article can guide your interpretation. Some sections are intended to be written as objective descriptions of the data reading scientific papers. Check out Table 2 to understand the intent of each section of a research article.
This will help to familiarize you with the goal of each article section. Published papers are not truths etched in stone. Published papers in high impact journals are not truths etched in stone. Published papers by bigwigs in the field are not truths etched in stone. Published papers that seem to agree with your own hypothesis or data are not etched in stone. Published papers that seem to refute your hypothesis or data are not etched in stone, reading scientific papers.
Everyone has their own perspective and may interpret the same data in different ways. Mistakes are sometimes published, but more often these apparent errors are due to other factors such as limitations of a methodology and other limits to generalizability selection bias, unaddressed, or unappreciated confounders. When reading a paper, it is important to consider if these factors are pertinent.
Critical thinking is a tough skill to learn but ultimately boils down to evaluating data while minimizing biases. Ask yourself: Are there other, equally likely, explanations for what is observed? Take time to ask oneself: Do I find this paper compelling because it affirms something I already think or wish is true?
Or am I discounting their findings because it differs from what I expect or from reading scientific papers own work? It refers to the idea that a person may assume something to be true and their resultant behavior aligns to make it true. In other words, as humans and scientists, we often find exactly what we are looking for.
A scientist may only test their hypotheses and fail to evaluate alternative hypotheses; perhaps, a scientist may not be aware of alternative, less biased ways to test her or his hypothesis that are typically used in different fields. Individuals with different life, academic, reading scientific papers, and work experiences may think of several reading scientific papers hypotheses, all equally supported by the data.
The author s are human too. So, whenever possible, give them the benefit of the doubt. An author may write a phrase differently than you would, forcing you to reread the sentence to understand it. Someone in your field may neglect to cite your paper because of a reference count limit. A figure panel may be misreferenced as Supplemental Fig 3E when it is obviously Supplemental Fig 4E, reading scientific papers.
While these things may be frustrating, none are an indication that the reading scientific papers of work is poor. Try to avoid letting these minor things influence your evaluation and interpretation of the work. Similarly, if you intend to share your critique with others, be extra kind. An author especially the lead author may invest years of their time into a single paper.
Hearing a kindly phrased critique can be difficult but constructive. Hearing a rude, brusque, or mean-spirited critique can be heartbreaking, especially for young scientists or those seeking to establish their place within a field and who may worry reading scientific papers they do not belong.
To truly understand a scientific work, you often will need to look up a term, dig into the supplemental materials, or read one or more of the cited references. This process takes time. Some advisors recommend reading an article three times: The first time, simply read without the pressure of understanding or critiquing the work.
For the second time, aim to understand the paper. For the reading scientific papers read through, take notes. Some people engage with a paper by printing it out and writing all over it.
The reader might write question marks in the margins to mark parts s he wants to return to, circle unfamiliar terms and then actually look them up! Talking about an article in a journal club or more informal environment forces active reading and participation with the material. Beyond formal settings such as journal clubs, lab meetings, and academic classes, discuss papers with your peers, mentors, reading scientific papers, and colleagues in person or electronically, reading scientific papers.
Describing a paper can be done at multiple levels and your description can contain all of the scientific details, only the big picture summary, or perhaps the implications for the average person in your community. All of these descriptions will solidify your understanding, while highlighting gaps in your knowledge and informing those around you. One approach we like to use for communicating how we build on the scientific literature is by starting research presentations with an reading scientific papers depicting a wall of Lego bricks.
Each brick is labeled with the reference for a paper, and the wall highlights the body of literature on which the work is built. We describe the work and conclusions of each paper represented by a labeled brick and discuss each brick and the wall as a whole. The top brick on the wall is left blank: We aspire to build on this work and label this brick with our own work. We then delve into our own research, discoveries, and the conclusions it inspires. We finish our presentations with the image of the Legos and summarize our presentation on that empty brick.
Leveraging published work will enable you to build a stronger and taller structure. The first row of bricks is more stable once a second row is assembled on top of it and reading scientific papers on and so forth. Moreover, the Lego construction will become taller and larger if you build upon the work of others, rather than using only your own bricks.
Build on the article you read by thinking about how it connects to ideas described in other papers and within own work, implementing a technique in your own research, reading scientific papers, or attempting to challenge or support the hypothesis of the author s with a reading scientific papers extensive literature review.
Integrate the techniques and scientific conclusions learned from an article into your own research or perspective in the classroom or research lab. You may find that this process strengthens your understanding, leads you toward new and unexpected interests or reading scientific papers questions, or returns you back to reading scientific papers original article with new questions and critiques of the work.
In summary, practice reading scientific papers rules to learn how to read a scientific article, keeping in mind that this process will get easier and faster with experience. We are firm believers that an hour in the library will save a week at the bench; this diligent practice will ultimately make you both a more knowledgeable and productive scientist.
How To Read A Paper Quickly \u0026 Effectively - Easy Research Reading Technique
, time: 9:50Your Guide to Reading Scientific Papers | Mayo Clinic Connect
How to Read a Scientific Paper Have a clear idea of what your goal is Move from general to specific Start broad to get an overview of the paper Then read carefully to critically evaluate work Consider following a non-linear approach Papers should not be read like a textbook Remember that reading a scientific paper is an activeFile Size: KB · The general steps are: Choose a concept you want to learn and write its name at the top of a piece of paper. Pretend you are teaching the concept to someone who has no prior knowledge about it. Try to use simple language and do Review your explanation. Was Estimated Reading Time: 11 mins Reading Scientific Papers Step 1: Preview the Scientific Paper Before you begin to read a scientific paper, consider how it relates to the course, Step 2: Read for Understanding and Analysis Each section of a scientific paper is carefully organized to present Step 3: Reflect and Take Notes
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