Top ten tips to read a scientific paper

Got 50 papers to read for tomorrow’s presentation? Don’t stress, Professor Allan Gaw, from the National Institute of Health Research, shares his quick fire guide to reading a scientific paper.

1. Develop a habit – Keeping up to date by reading the latest scientific and medical literature is vital for all doctors. Getting in to a habit early will make this easier.
2. Be selective – You haven’t time to read everything so you need to be picky. Read the best and the most relevant articles in the top peer-reviewed journals in your field and concentrate on what’s current.
3. Don’t read from start to finish – Papers are not novels and are written in sections so that the busy reader can be selective in how much he or she reads, and in what order.
4. Learn to skim – Start with the title and if it’s interesting and relevant, look at the last sentence of the abstract. If it’s still relevant, read the whole abstract. If that’s still relevant, read all or part of the remainder of the paper.
5. Study the figures and tables – Much of medical literature is about quantitative research and the results, which is usually presented in figures and tables. Results are the most important part of any paper and if it is well-written you should be able to understand exactly what is going on simply by concentrating on the figures and tables.
6. Spend little time on the written results and the methods – These will usually just be a re-hash of the results presented in the figures and tables that you have already looked at, and often a superficial description of the study design.
7. Approach different papers differently – Skim some, study others in depth. Some papers you read just to keep vaguely up to date; others you read because of their relevance to your work; and others might form the basis of your own research. Some papers will be skimmed and dismissed in a minute or two; others will be read and re-read in great detail.
8. Be critical – Don’t believe everything you read. In fact, don’t believe anything you read at all, unless the results convince you.
9. Ask questions – Have a conversation with the paper. Ask why they did what they did, how they did it, what they found and what they think it all means. And ask yourself if you agree with them.
10. Always read with a pen in your hand – If you take notes, or even underline words and make comments in the margins, you will engage with the paper more than if you simply read it passively. 

Professor Allan Gaw works for the University of Leeds and the National Institute of Health Research. Previously he was a full-time academic working as Professor of Clinical Research at Queen's University Belfast.

Access his work here www.allangaw.com and www.researchet.wordpress.com; follow him on Twitter @ResearchET.