How to Read Scientific Articles (When You're Not a Scientist)
One of the important things scientists do is to communicate what they learn. The common way to do this is to publish a scientific paper. These papers are usually packed with information and written for other scientists. The problem is these articles can be difficult to read.
Scientific articles are sometimes so difficult, they seem to be written in a different language. However, lots of important information are hidden in them (see anatomy of research and review articles).
When reading a scientific paper, you don’t always want to read it from front to back. Usually, it’s helpful to skip around a bit to get the information in a certain order. This order can change based on why you are reading a scientific article.
One of the most important things to remember as you read is to try to avoid getting discouraged. Reading scientific information can be difficult. Sometimes, you may have to re-read paragraphs two or three times before you fully understand. But if you stick with it, you will get to see a whole new world that is filled with cutting-edge information.
Source: Moeller, K. (2014, June 27). Anatomy of an article: Dissecting a scientific article. https://askabiologist.asu.edu/article-dissection
How to Read Scientific Articles video by the Kansas University Libraries [view transcript]
Source: Victoria University Libraries. (n.d.). Reading a scholarly article. https://libraryguides.vu.edu.au/c.php?g=403478&p=6827333
