Understanding Research Articles
Microbiology Laboratory
Primary Research Article
• Official documents scientists use to
communicate research
• Read to become involved in the scientific
process
• Challenge the way you think
Finding Research Articles
• Most journals are published online
• Search strategies depend on purpose of
research
• Library
• www.highwire.org : Highwire press
• Science, Nature, Journal of Bacteriology
• www.biomedcentral.com
Abstract
• Summary of research paper
• Include study’s purpose, experimental
approach, results and conclusions
• Limited to less than 250 words
• Most widely distributed portion of papers
Questions
1. In one or two sentences restate the title of
the paper in a way that would be
understandable to a member of the general
public.
2. Who are the authors of your paper?
3. When was the paper published?
4. Summarize the main point of the abstract in
2 or 3 sentences
Introduction
• Contains background information and a
description of the study’s purpose
• Authors describe a problem, explain prior
work and indicate where a controversy exists
• They describe why their work is important and
how it seeks to extend knowledge
Internet
• You might use the internet to help you
understand the introduction. Elements to
consider:
– Author-who is the source? What are their
qualifications?
– Scope-what is the intended audience of the site?
– Timeliness: when was the information posted? How
often is the site updated?
– Presentation-are there errors?
– Mission-does the site have an agenda?
– Review-Has the information been peer reviewed?
Observations, Experiments
• Scientific studies are rooted in previous work
• Some studies are observational
• Some studies ask questions from observations
– Theory
• Well established explanations
– Hypotheses
• Tentative explanations not fully tested
Questions
1. Read the intro section, what is its main
research area?
2. Are there areas of controversy in the
research?
3. Does the paper test a hypothesis?
4. Does the paper develop a new theory?
5. Overall, does the intro section make a
convincing case for the importance and value
of the study?
Materials and Methods
• Tells how a study was performed
• When well documented another scientists can
repeat the experiment
• Variables are often used in this section
– Dependent
– Independent
– Controlled
Dependent
• Change in response to other variables
• Example
– Volume regulation in fish cells, cell volume is the
dependent variable
– Experiments may test how it changes in response
to other variables
Independent
• Potentially influence the dependent
• Example
– Osmolarity of the fluid outside cells in the
previous example
Controlled
• Numerous factors other than those under
investigation may affect the outcome of the
experiment
• Example
– In studying osmolarity on cell volume, other
factors such as temperature and pH are held
constant
Control Groups
• Receive a treatment where the independent
variable is unchanged from the normal value
Questions
1. Was preliminary work done before the
reported experiment?
2. List the variable studied
3. How did the authors measure the variables?
4. Do the materials and methods provide
enough detail to repeat the experiment?
Results
• The core of the study
• Data is collected in many forms
• Generally a notebook is kept where data is
recorded
– Tables and graphs
Questions
1. How are the data presented in the paper?
2. Are the finding relevant?
Discussion
• Opportunity for authors to explain what their
findings mean
• Connects the study to previous work
• Interpretation: describe meaning of data
Questions
1. How do authors interpret their findings?
2. How does your interpretation of the study
compare to the authors?
3. What is your overall opinion of the study?
Putting it all Together
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Focus on methods and results
Be a skeptic
Be fair
Consider the big picture
Consult other sources
Take your time
Accept uncertainty
Expect to be challenged!
Individual Lab Experiment
• May work with one partner (group of 2
students)
• Develop an experiment that can be done in
our lab
• Will present findings to class
Important Dates
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•
•
•
March 4th: Title of experiment due
March 18th: Materials and methods due
April 1st: Conduct experiment in lab
April 15th: Present experiment findings using
powerpoint presentation
• More information to come!
How to get started
1. Go to the library and check out online
databases. Identify journals in your area of
study that publish research articles
2. Locate the journals either online or at the library
3. Develop a list of 3 research topics that interest
you, using your textbook, articles, or internet
sites
4. Develop a list of 3 current research topics by
browsing through the table of contents of recent
journal issues
Con’t
5. Choose one of the research topics from
question 3 or 4 and develop a list of 5 search
terms that could be used to search for
research articles on the topic
6. Using an appropriate database, identify 5
primary research articles on your topic
7. Use these articles in your research!