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BILD 4: Introductory Biology Lab: Reading Journal Articles

This guide is your starting point for navigating library resources and completing assignments for BILD 4.

Reading Journal Articles

Reading scientific articles is a skill that you develop. Unlike a book chapter or magazine article you might read from start to finish, scientific journal articles (particularly research articles) are organized in a way that facilitates a more selective reading process, i.e. skimming and/or reading sections in a different order. 

There is no single way to correctly read a scientific article. Even the researchers you're working with (PI, postdocs, grad students) may their own way of breaking down and reading articles, both within and outside of their field. Along with asking about their practices, here are some other resources:

Anatomy of a primary paper

Abstract: summary of the article

Introduction:

background information and a description of the author’s purpose  

Materials & Methods:

how the study was performed with enough detail so that other scientists could repeat the study  

Results: includes new observations, data and findings 

Discussion: a description of what the findings mean and their implications; address potential criticisms

Questions to ask yourself

First, skim the article. Read the abstract and skim the Introduction and Discussion.

Second, read and take notes. If you think the article will support your topic, then read the entire article. Be sure to take good notes.

If you can answer the following questions about the article, then you have a pretty good understanding of it.

  1. How does the research fit in with what was previously known?
  2. What is the author's hypothesis?
  3. How was the study designed?
  4. What were the author's conclusions?
  5. How is the study relevant?
  6. Who does the author represent?
  7. How was the study funded?