Imagine you’re on your computer with a web browser open and are trying to look something up.
That is probably not much of a stretch considering you are likely reading this on some kind of computer or device within a web browser.
Now, let’s say what you are looking up leads you to a complex scientific study. You know, the ones with all the crazy technical jargon.
This will likely result in you opening up approximately 15-20 tabs to search the definitions of all of the different terms.
Talk about overwhelming and time consuming. I can see why someone would become discouraged before even getting to the point where they can understand the study.
That said, learning how to read complex scientific studies is a powerful tool and will go a long way towards helping you become your own health advocate.
Read on to find out how we can help you to push through.
How can reading scientific papers drive my health decisions?
Just look at how much scientific information that has been thrown at us the last three years.
To say that it is overwhelming is putting it lightly.
While intimidating and time consuming to read, scientific papers and other literature are a terrific source of information.
We are most empowered to be our own health advocates when we have the knowledge to back up our decisions.
However, understanding these resources is not about having an advanced degree or years of experience.
It’s about how you approach and break them down into something more digestible.
What’s the best way to eat a big bowl of pasta with marinara sauce and meatballs?
Take small bites!
If I try to eat it all at once or too fast then I might get sick.
Same goes for reading scientific articles.
If I don’t know where to start and can’t break it down into something more manageable then I might become frustrated and walk away.
And I want you to be able to determine for yourself whether the findings in a given paper are valid and relevant to what you are researching.
My goal is to help you succeed.
So, I have put together 5 tips to get you started with reading scientific papers.
Let’s dig in!
Tip #1: Get organized
Start by printing out the article. Next, grab a pen or pencil, a highlighter and even a notebook.
I really like to mark up papers to note things that are important or perhaps terminology/concepts that I want to research further.
Accordingly, I would strongly recommend building this into your routine.
Taking the time to get yourself organized will absolutely help to prevent overwhelm later on.
You will be well equipped handle anything that is confusing and technical.
Tip #2: Orient yourself
There are multiple different types of scientific articles. Some examples are research papers, review articles, commentaries, and reports just to name a few.
I start by determining which type of article I am reading.
Next, most research papers will be broken down into the following sections: abstract, introduction, methods, results, and discussion.
I will dig deeper into the different types of articles as well as more about the individual sections in another article.
For now, I just want you to be familiar with this before proceeding.
Pay attention to whether all of those sections are present in the main article and the order in which they appear.
Sometimes elements of the methods and results are included in a supplementary section.
It is important to know where to find information that will be needed to ascertain the validity of any findings.
Tip #3: Always start with the abstract
Start with the abstract to see if the paper is worth your time invested into reading and understanding it.
What I mean by this is that scientific papers require an investment of time, sometimes significant.
If I can decide upfront whether a given paper is really what I am looking for then that will save a lot of time. The abstract is the key to getting this information.
An abstract is essentially a miniature version of the paper. It should contain a brief summary of each of the sections.
The authors will or should be making the case in this section as to the relevance of the paper.
Why did they embark on this line of enquiry and the resulting experiments? Additionally, why is this important for the reader and what are the potential downstream applications?
You will know what the paper is about by reading the abstract.
Additionally, I would suggest highlighting the main findings before moving on.
You are going to want to make sure that they do in fact present sufficient evidence to back them up.
Next, in order to start making sense of the evidence let’s move on to the understanding experiments they conducted and the methods used.
Tip #4: Look at what they did
Now I want look at how the experiments were designed and executed.
That information is found in the Methods section, sometimes called Materials and Methods and should contain a detailed description of each experiment.
So, I always want to be sure that the methods are appropriate and use best practices.
To fully understand what I mean by that would take at least another article, if not a whole course but for now I just want to provide enough to get you started.
Therefore, it is important to read through this section carefully to familiarize yourself with the different experiments that were performed.
I like to know how the data that is presented in the results section was generated.
Additionally, try to note which experiment(s) you think are important and back up the main findings.
Tip #5: Determine whether the data backs up the findings
Undoubtedly, the goal is for you to take something away from this paper and try to apply it to your life.
In order to do that you need to determine whether the data reported in the results section backs up the findings.
So, this is why it is important to note what the main findings are and to understand what experiments were performed to generate the data.
I pay close attention to the results and discussions sections for any conclusions that the authors are drawing from the data. Then I look to see how that relates back to the main findings or claims being made.
You may not get it right the first time. The key when starting is to familiarize yourself with the parts of a paper and where to find certain information, as well as getting used to all the technical jargon.
It may seem overwhelming at first but, if you start with these tips and stick with it you will be able to read any scientific paper in no time.
Just don’t try to eat the whole bowl of spaghetti in one bite and you should be good!
Keep an eye out for future articles where I will continue to break down and dig deeper into the concepts presented here.
Taking Action
One of the most important aspects of Science Defined is building a community so that we can learn from and help each other. Fostering open discussion is an integral aspect of that.
Each blog post will end with an inspiring prompt to get you started. Submit a comment below to join the conversation.
Today’s prompt(s):
- Have you ever tried reading a scientific article?
- If so, how did it go?
- If not, what’s holding you up?
- What do you see as the biggest barrier to gaining information from a scientific article?
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