A reading that I read this week and found very valuable was on how to read a scientific paper for non-scientists. I am a science-person but chose this to read this article our of curiosity. I was surprised at how much value I found in it. I guess I had never been explicitly told how to read one! This pieces gives a few isolated pieces of advice. Some of these include: reading the intro first and NOT the abstract, being sure that you understand the background information presented, knowing what the “big question” is, and reading the results section carefully. The article argues that each of these tips will allow for a deeper and more accurate understanding of the article at hand. I still wonder – how does one immediately know if a scientific paper will be useful to them or is even credible? Beyond that question, I really appreciate how straightforward this reading was. These are tips that may come in handy as we begin to research our research projects. Great reading!
