How to read a scientific paper
- Scientific papers are designed so that other scientists can check and reproduce the results; they go into too much detail to read entirely unless you are going to reproduce the results in your own research.
- Start by reading Abstract; this summarizes the main findings of the paper.
- Read the Introduction; this introduces the subject, explains its significance, and cites earlier work that is often relevant to the topic.
- The Summary/Conclusion/Discussion usually contains the main results of the paper and discusses their implication for future research.
- Examine some Figures, Tables in the main body of the text, and read a section of the paper that describes what it is they depict; choose a section that looks interesting and that you think is easy to understand.
Finding more information
- Check the references of the journal; this leads to articles cited by the article you are reading
- Check the more recent articles that cited this paper at the bottom of the article; the more citations you find here, the more likely that the paper
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