Summarizing Empirical Scientific Articles

How to Read a Scientific Article Supported by the Cain Project for Engineering and Professional Communication Rice University, 2004

Mary Purugganan, Ph.D. ([email protected]) Jan Hewitt, Ph.D. ([email protected])

Reading a scientific article is a complex task. The worst way to approach this task is to treat it like the reading

of a textbook—reading from title to literature cited, digesting every word along the way without any reflection

or criticism. This handout discusses strategies on how to read scientific articles effectively.

1. Skim the article and identify its structure.

Most journals use a conventional structure with an abstract, introduction, methods, results, and discussion.

1. Abstract. Abstracts usually contain four kinds of information: (1) purpose of study, (2) methodology, (3) results, and (4) conclusion. You should probably begin reading a paper by reading the abstract carefully and

noting the four kinds of information outlined above.

2. Introduction. Introductions serve two purposes: (1) creating readers’ interest in the subject and (2) providing them with enough information to understand the article. Here, authors describe previous work

that led to current understanding of the topic (the broad) and then situate their work (the specific) within the

field.

3. Method. The Methods section tells the reader what experiments were done to answer the question stated in the Introduction. Methods are often difficult to read, especially for graduate students, because of technical

language and a level of detail sufficient for another trained scientist to repeat the experiments. However,

you can more fully understand the design of the experiments and evaluate their validity by reading the

Methods section carefully.

4. Results and Discussion. The Results section contains results—statements of what was found, and reference to the data shown in visuals (figures and tables). Normally, authors do not include information that would

need to be referenced, such as comparison to others’ results. Instead, that material is placed in the

Discussion—placing the work in context of the broader field. The Discussion also functions to provide a

clear answer to the question posed in the Introduction and to explain how the results support that conclusion.

Take note of atypical article structures. Some articles you read will deviate from this convention. Therefore,

when you begin to read an article for the first time, skim the article to analyze the document as a whole. Are

the sections labeled with headings that identify the structure? If not, note what the structure is. Decide

which sections contain the material most essential to your understanding of the article. Then decide the

order in which you will read the sections.

2. Distinguish main points.

Because articles contain so much information, it may be difficult to distinguish the main points of an article

from the subordinate points. Fortunately, there are many indicators of the author’s main points:

• At the document level: o Title, abstract, keywords, visuals (e.g., tables and figures)

• Within paragraphs (words or phrases that should stand out) o Words such as surprising, unexpected, in contrast with previous literature, has seldom been

addressed, we hypothesize, the data suggest.

3. Generate questions and be aware of your understanding

Reading is an active task. Before, during, and after your reading, ask yourself these questions:

• Have I taken the time to understand all the terminology? • Am I spending too much time reading the less important parts of this article? • Might I question the credibility of the work? • What specific problem does this research address? Why is it important? • Is the method used a good one? The best one? • Am I able to summarize the findings in one or two sentences? • Is there an alternative interpretation of the data that the author did not address? • How do these results relate to other work I’ve read about?

4. Draw Inferences

Not everything that you learn from an article is stated explicitly. As you read, rely on your prior knowledge and

world experience, as well as the background provided in the article, to draw inferences from the material.

Research has shown that readers who actively draw inferences are better able to understand and recall

information.

As an example, in the box below is an excerpt from the Introduction of an article in the journal Biochemistry

(Ballestar et al., 2000). The comments in italics are questions and inferences that might be drawn by a student

reader.

Rett Syndrome is a childhood neurodevelopmental disorder and one of the most common causes of mental

retardation in females Comment: Hmmm…must be related to a gene on the X-chromosome, with an

incidence of 1 in 10000-15000. Comment: How common is that? Not too likely to happen to me, but there

must be several such children born in Houston every year. Rett syndrome patients are characterized by a

period of normal growth and development (6-18 months) followed by regression with loss of speech and

purposeful hand use. Comment: What happens? Something must be triggered or activated at late infancy.

Patients also develop seizures, autism, and ataxia. After initial regression, the condition stabilizes and

patients survive into adulthood. Studies of familial cases provided evidence that Rett is caused by X-linked

dominant mutations in a gene subject to X-chromosome inactivation. Recently, a number of mutations in the

gene encoding the methyl-CpG binding transcriptional repressor MeCP2 have been associated with Rett

Syndrome. Comment: MeCP2 mutations probably cause Rett Syndrome. This must be an important master-

regulator to affect so many processes in the brain. I wonder what they know about it…

5. Take notes as you read

Effective readers take notes—it improves recall and comprehension. You may think you’ll remember

everything you read in researching class assignments, professional papers, proposals, or your thesis, but details

will slip away. Develop a template for recording notes on articles you read, or adapt the template below for use.

As you accumulate a large collection of articles, this template will help you distinguish articles and quickly

locate the correct reference for your own writing. The time spent filling out the form will save you hours of

rereading when you write a Background, Related Work, or a Literature Review sect

Template for Taking Notes on Research Articles: Easy access for later use

Whenever you read an article, pertinent book chapter, or research on the web, use the following format (or

something similar) to make an electronic record of your notes for later easy access. Put quotation marks around

any exact wording you write down so that you can avoid accidental plagiarism when you later cite the article.

Complete citation (Author(s), Date of publication, Title (book or article), Journal, Volume #, Issue #,

pages):

Key words:

General subject:

Specific subject:

Hypotheses:

Methodology:

Result(s):

Summary of key points:

Context (how this article relates to other work in the field; how it ties in with key issues and findings by

others, including yourself):

Significance (to the field; in relation to your own work):

Important Figures and/or Tables (brief description; page number):

Other Comments: