Steps in Reading a Scientific Article Review Article

Steps in Reading a Scientific Article Review Article Primary Research Article 1. Read Title 2. Read Introduction 3. Read sections related to various aspects of the topic of interest 4. Examine schematic/summary diagrams that integrate research results from various sources. Pay attention to assumptions and conditions in integrating such data 5. Look at References and read through primary research papers where necessary 1. Read Title 2. Read Abstract • For new topics start with Introduction; read Abstract later 3. Read Introduction 4. Read Discussions 5. Review Data (Figures, Tables etc. ) 6. Read Results 7. Review References 8. Critical Thinking a. Do the data support the conclusions made? b. Are arguments in the discussions reliable/relevant?

Why do scientists read Review and Primary research articles? • To be Current: • Learn current understanding about topic • To be Efficient: • Learn what has already been explored, tested and reported • To find Reproducible experimental design: • Use published methods to reproduce results to form a foundation for designing new experiments • To gather Data: • Use data reported by others in designing new experiments and/or validating data collected • To find Arguments to help interpret data: • Critically think about arguments used in discussing and interpreting data collected