I’ll tell you what I’m doing right now to practice paper reading, for my grad program in the field of BME. Maybe you can adapt it for your field.
I created a spreadsheet. In this spreadsheet, I have columns for the following categories:
Item
Detail
Research gap
Translational relevance
Function
Mechanism
Finding
In the “Item” column, I list each major thing being used in the experiment. For example, if a lentiviral vector was delivered via a scaffold to transduce macrophages with an IL-10 gene in a mouse spinal cord injury model, “Item” would include “Lentiviral vector,” “scaffold,” “macrophage,” “IL-10,” and “mouse spinal cord injury model.”
“Detail” includes the specifics of each item (i.e. it might say that the mouse spinal cord injury was a C5 left-sided hemisection). “Research gap” is where I list whatever the author says they’re doing something new with the item relative to past research. “Translational relevant” states why the item is relevant to curing disease in humans (obviously you’d want a different spin on this for your field). “Function” describes the purpose of the item in the experiment. “Mechanism” is how the item works to accomplish that function. “Finding” is what the paper found—from the author’s own words if you must, but preferably your own view of what the data shows.
Filling out this spreadsheet helps me think in a critical, systematic way about each paper. I actually find that it makes them easier to read at the same time as it makes me read more deeply.
I’ll tell you what I’m doing right now to practice paper reading, for my grad program in the field of BME. Maybe you can adapt it for your field.
I created a spreadsheet. In this spreadsheet, I have columns for the following categories:
Item
Detail
Research gap
Translational relevance
Function
Mechanism
Finding
In the “Item” column, I list each major thing being used in the experiment. For example, if a lentiviral vector was delivered via a scaffold to transduce macrophages with an IL-10 gene in a mouse spinal cord injury model, “Item” would include “Lentiviral vector,” “scaffold,” “macrophage,” “IL-10,” and “mouse spinal cord injury model.”
“Detail” includes the specifics of each item (i.e. it might say that the mouse spinal cord injury was a C5 left-sided hemisection). “Research gap” is where I list whatever the author says they’re doing something new with the item relative to past research. “Translational relevant” states why the item is relevant to curing disease in humans (obviously you’d want a different spin on this for your field). “Function” describes the purpose of the item in the experiment. “Mechanism” is how the item works to accomplish that function. “Finding” is what the paper found—from the author’s own words if you must, but preferably your own view of what the data shows.
Filling out this spreadsheet helps me think in a critical, systematic way about each paper. I actually find that it makes them easier to read at the same time as it makes me read more deeply.