This document provides guidance on how to effectively read and understand a scientific research paper. It recommends first reading the abstract to understand the main points, then reviewing any background knowledge needed. When reading the full paper, the document advises skimming first for an overview, then carefully reading while underlining unfamiliar vocabulary. It suggests comprehending each section by considering the research problem, methods, results, and conclusions. The goal is to understand, critically evaluate, and summarize the paper's essential information and findings.

1. How
to
Read
a
Scien.fic
Research
Paper
“is
partly
a
ma+er
of
experience
and
skill,
and
learning
the
specific
vocabulary
of
a
field”,
Ann
McNeal

2. Some
Ques@ons
to
Think
When
Reading
a
Scien@fic
Paper
• What
is
the
research
problem
that
the
author
is
trying
to
solve?
• What
is
the
author's
trying
to
convince
you
of?
• Does
the
author
indicate
how
the
work
should
be
followed
up
on?
• Does
the
paper
generate
new
ideas

3. Parts
of
Scien@fic
Paper
• Abstract
• Introduc@on
• Materials
and
Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• References

4. Preliminary
Work
• First
read
the
Abstract
in
order
to
understand
the
major
points
of
the
work.
• Review
in
your
mind
what
you
know
about
the
topic
– clarify
if
you
know
enough
background
to
appreciate
the
paper
– if
not,
read
some
background
in
a
review
paper
or
textbook

5. Steps
to
Read
the
Paper
1. Skimming
– Skim
the
paper
quickly
– Note
basics
like:
headings
and
figures
• This
takes
just
a
few
minutes.
– You're
not
trying
to
understand
it
yet,
but
just
get
an
overview.

6. Steps
to
Read
the
Paper
2.
Vocabulary.
– Go
through
the
paper
word
by
word
and
line
by
line.
• Underline
or
highlight
every
word
and
phrase
you
don't
understand
• Don't
worry
if
there
are
a
lot
of
underlining's;
you're
s@ll
trying
to
make
sense
of
the
ar@cle.
– Look
up
simple
words
and
phrases.
• A
medical
or
biological
dic@onary
could
be
useful
– Get
an
understanding
from
the
context
in
which
it
is
used
– Mark
phrases
that
belong
to
one
of
the
major
concepts
of
the
paper

7. Steps
to
Read
the
Paper
3.
Comprehension
-­‐sec.on
by
sec.on
• Introduc.on
– What
is
the
overall
purpose
of
the
research?
– How
does
the
research
fit
into
the
context
of
its
field?
Is
it,
for
example,
a+emp@ng
to
se+le
a
controversy?
show
the
validity
of
a
new
technique?
open
up
a
new
field
of
inquiry?
– Do
you
agree
with
the
author's
ra@onale
for
studying
the
ques@on
in
this
way?

8. Steps
to
Read
the
Paper
3.
Comprehension
-­‐sec.on
by
sec.on
Methods
– Were
the
measurements
appropriate
for
the
ques@ons
the
researcher
was
approaching?
– Were
the
measures
in
this
research
clearly
related
to
the
variables
in
which
the
researchers
(or
you)
were
interested?
– If
human
subjects
were
studied,
do
they
fairly
represent
the
popula@ons
under
study?

9. Steps
to
Read
the
Paper
3.
Comprehension
-­‐sec.on
by
sec.on
Results
– What
is
the
most
important
finding?
– Were
enough
data
presented
so
that
you
feel
you
can
judge
for
yourself
the
result?
– Did
you
see
pa+erns
or
trends
in
the
data
that
the
author
did
not
men@on?
– Were
there
problems
that
were
not
addressed?

10. Steps
to
Read
the
Paper
3.
Comprehension
-­‐
sec.on
by
sec.on
Discussion
– Do
you
agree
with
the
conclusions
drawn
from
the
data?
– Are
these
conclusions
over-­‐generalized
or
appropriately
careful?
– Are
there
other
factors
that
could
have
influenced,
or
accounted
for,
the
results?
– What
further
experiments
would
you
think
of,
to
con@nue
the
research
or
to
answer
remaining
ques@ons?

11. Steps
to
Read
the
Paper
4.
Reflec.on
and
cri.cism
– Now
you
can
understand
the
ar@cle
and
summarize
it
– Draw
your
own
conclusions

12. References
• http://www.lib.purdue.edu/phys/inst/
scipaper.html
• http://classweb.gmu.edu/biologyresources/
writingguide/ScientificPaper.htm
• http://www.biochem.arizona.edu/classes/
bioc568/papers.htm
• http://hampshire.edu/~apmNS/design/
RESOURCES/HOW_READ.html