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How To Read A Research Paper

The document provides guidance on how to effectively read a research paper by first understanding the reason for reading it, then reviewing the abstract and conclusion to understand the main points before deciding whether to read it fully. It recommends taking notes on the introduction, methods, results and discussion sections with a focus on limitations and biases to critically evaluate the study design and validity of results. The overall goal is to gain an understanding of the research in an efficient manner in order to apply the findings or use it in one's own work.

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Hena Afridi
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140 views

How To Read A Research Paper

The document provides guidance on how to effectively read a research paper by first understanding the reason for reading it, then reviewing the abstract and conclusion to understand the main points before deciding whether to read it fully. It recommends taking notes on the introduction, methods, results and discussion sections with a focus on limitations and biases to critically evaluate the study design and validity of results. The overall goal is to gain an understanding of the research in an efficient manner in order to apply the findings or use it in one's own work.

Uploaded by

Hena Afridi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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HOW TO READ A

RESEARCH PAPER

CΔJUN KOI ACADEMY


Hello. I'm Misty, your
friendly A.I. at Cajun Koi
Academy.

In today's module, we will cover how


to read a research paper...
Scientific writing is DRY, and can be
difficult to get through.

So before committing to a
paper, first ask yourself
why are you even reading it?
3 Reasons why you might
be reading:

1. You're trying to
stay updated on
the latest
research.

2. You're doing
research for your
own publication.

3. You are reading


an assignment, or
for school.
The universal approach is similar,
but each scenario has it's key
points to look out for:

Scenario #1 -
Staying updated
Consider if the findings
in the paper are
applicable to your life.
Will it change the way
you do things?
(i.e. If a doctor is reading
about a new drug,
should this drug replace
the old one that has
been prescribed for
years?)
Scenario #2 - Your own research

Be on the look out for whether the


authors of the paper asked the
questions that you wanted answered.
(i.e. is this article relevant enough to
be referenced in my own publication?

Scenario #3 - An assignment
Consider how the study was designed
and if the results were measured in a
valid way.
(i.e. are there limitations or are there
other factors that may have affected
the results?)
Typical organization of a
research paper:

Title
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
Conclusions
References
Don't read
in order!

Start with the Title and


Abstract. Try to
identify these 3 major
points and write them
down:
1. the hypothesis
2. the conclusion
3. the statistical
significance of the
results (check the p-value &
confidence intervals)

After that, go straight to the


Conclusion. (The Abstract
summarizes the entire paper,
and the Conclusion summarizes
all the important findings.)
Once you have a good idea of
what the paper is about, you
must now decide:

Is this paper worth reading or


should I drop it?

Now it's time to begin


reading from top to bottom.
As you read, take notes in the
margins using basic
language. Don't force
yourself to relearn the info
later.

If you come across new key


terms you aren't familiar with,
make sure to look them up
before moving on. (sometimes
they provide a glossary as well).
How to Take Notes

Let's talk about each section


individually. Your notes should
answer these questions from
every section:

Introduction Why was the


research done?
What is the
hypothesis
important?
How did they
test the
hypothesis?
Methods

What type of How many


study was it subjects?
(retro or Where did it
prospective? take place? For
randomized? how long?
What was the How was the
inclusion data collected?
criteria?

What were the


endpoints?
What kind of
statistical
analyses were
done?
Limitations

Before going through the


Results section, find the
limitations of the study, which
are usually in the Discussion.
Limitations help us determine
how significant or how useful
the results can be.

Was the study Was the study


appropriately industry-
powered? sponsored?
Did any subjects Were the
drop out? why? researchers
Was there long sponsored as
term follow-up well?
for the subjects?
Results Did the study
meet statistical
significance?
Can we
generalize the
results to real
life?

Discussion
This is the author's
interpretation of the results.

Spend the most time in this


section. We want to analyze how
useful or valid the results are...
How valid
is the data?

Was the Randomized?


study well Blinded?
designed? Controlled?

Selection?
Was there Lead time?
bias? Confounding?
Hawthorne effect

What was Were the


the author's endpoints good
explanation proxies?
for the Was there a causal
results? effect?

correlation causation
How to stay
Organized

If you have to read through many


articles and compile them for
writing your own research paper,
then be sure to use a citation
manager to stash your sources.
Here are some examples below:
Practice!

The more familiar you are with


the subject you're reading, the
more efficiently you will be able
to get through more papers. Over
time, you will gain more reading
fluency as your knowledge in
your specific field grows. The
more you read, the easier it gets!
We have more tools and
resources for all your
student needs.

Why not visit the academy campus


and take the Brain Type Test?
Discover your ideal study style and
match into one of the 3 clubs:

www.cajunkoiacademy.com/orientation

TORA KITSUNE KUMA


CLUB CLUB CLUB

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