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
study was it
(retro or
prospective?
randomized?
What was the
inclusion
criteria?
How many
subjects?
Where did it
take place? For
how long?
How was the
data collected?
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
appropriately
powered?
Did any subjects
drop out? why?
Was there long
term follow-up
for the subjects?
Was the study
industrysponsored?
Were the
researchers
sponsored as
well?
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
study well
designed?
Randomized?
Blinded?
Controlled?
Was there
bias?
Selection?
Lead time?
Confounding?
Hawthorne effect
What was
the author's
explanation
for the
results?
Were the
endpoints good
proxies?
Was there a causal
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
CLUB
KITSUNE
CLUB
KUMA
CLUB