how to read a paper - MetabolicEngineeringGroupCBMA/MetabolicEngineeringGroupCBMA.github.io GitHub Wiki
How to read a scientific paper quickly & efficiently
- Skim the abstract
Skimming the abstract first will allow you to get somewhat familiar with the topic at hand. However at this point it’s unnecessary to read through the methodology, data, or most of the other information included in the abstract. What you should read here is the reason for the study, find out why they felt the need to do this research in the first place and then you can determine if reading further will be worth your time. There are millions of scientific papers. You do not have the time, the inclination, the brainpower, or any ability to read them all, so don’t bother trying. What ever topic you are perusing will probably have a substantial amount of research around it, and if it doesn’t then it probably will soon. Such is science.
- Read the conclusion
The conclusion of the paper is generally the last paragraph of the discussion and it summarizes what just happened with more detail than the introduction. The conclusion is relevant to understand at a high level what the authors did and why they did it. If you read the conclusion and its not relevant to your scientific inquiry then consider moving on to a new paper at this point (see step 5).
- After the conclusion, read the results
The conclusion will give you insight into what the results mean so read it first otherwise the results will likely mean nothing to you anytime soon.
- Read the methods section
If you are sure the results and conclusion are relevant to your topic of inquiry, then you should read the methods section and dive into how the results were actually found. If you are not a scientist then much of this methodology will be irrelevant, but by reading it you will get a big-picture sense of the type of research being done (eg; a group of lab rats were fed gluten free yogurt while another group were fed yogurt containing gluten). If you are a scientist then you will be looking much deeper into the exact research methodology, and, being a scientist, you will probably be looking to either replicate their methods or to poke holes in it and do it differently. Such is science.
- Start this process over again with a different paper