How to read a scientific paper

adventuresinchemistry:

Step 1: begin at the beginning

• read the title
• get excited for cool science
• note the authors 
• get mad at them for having more papers than you
• spend ten minutes wondering if you’d have been better off going to whatever institution they’re at
• die a little inside

Step 2: the abstract and introduction

• read the abstract
• skip right to the introduction because you’re not completely sure what they’re talking about and maybe that will clear it up
• alright now we’re talking
• understand the entire first paragraph of the introduction
• mostly get the second and third paragraphs
• skip over the technical bit at the end because boring

Step 3: the results (aka the good stuff)

• read the first paragraph
• really not get what’s being said
• skip right to figure 1
• read the figure caption
• call it good, you got the jist
• repeat for the remaining figures

Step 4: give up

• this paper really isn’t answering the question you had in the first place
• you’ll just cite it later it’s fine

Step 5: keep doing science!

• fail because of some unexpected and puzzling problem
• spend 2-6 weeks troubleshooting and getting nowhere
• decide to do another literature search to see if anyone else has had this issue
• find the same paper you read before cited a bunch

Step 6: reread

• actually like read it this time
• get to the end 
• find the answer to your question
• die a little inside
• wonder why you didn’t just read it fully to begin with and save yourself weeks of work

Step 7: follow citations to another paper that looks relevant

• repeat entire cycle
• wonder why science is so hard