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How to Understand a Scientific Paper — Transcript

by Teaching College Writing · 2,902 words · 551 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00[Music]
0:09if you're new to scientific research
0:11reading scientific articles can be a
0:13challenging new experience
0:15but it's a critical one scientists have
0:17their own particular way of
0:19communicating their work to the broader
0:20scientific community
0:22and it's necessarily very formal and
0:25often challenging for non-scientists to
0:27understand
0:28we've covered how to use scientific
0:29articles as research tools in a previous
0:31video linked here
0:33but what we'll cover in this video is
0:35the bigger challenge
0:36how to begin to understand scientific
0:39articles
0:39we're going to offer a bit of help a
0:41code if you will for unlocking what any
0:43scientific article is saying
0:46and we'll offer some techniques and
0:47tactics for how you might go about
0:49understanding
0:50difficult to understand topics learning
0:52to read and understand important
0:54information in your field on your own
0:56is the best gateway to becoming a
0:58student and scholar who can chart their
1:00own course in both
1:01university and in their career so let's
1:04get started
1:05if you've watched our video on how to
1:07use scientific papers as a research tool
1:10you already know that scientific papers
1:12have a structure that allows researchers
1:14to survey the paper quickly
1:16so they can determine if that paper is
1:17going to be useful for their project
1:19but once you've determined that the
1:21paper you're looking at is going to be
1:23important for your project
1:24you need to understand what's in it
1:26maybe not every detail but
1:28certainly the main ideas we'll start
1:30with a couple useful strategies that
1:32will help before you even start reading
1:35first read general information about the
1:37paper's topic
1:38before you dive into the specialized
1:40material in a scientific paper on that
1:42topic
1:43wikipedia educational videos and more
1:46general articles will help you to gain a
1:48foothold
1:49before you begin reading which will help
1:51you to develop a basic understanding of
1:53the material
1:54scientific papers are specialized
1:56documents with a lot of field-specific
1:58language
1:59because the authors are writing to other
2:01scientists like them
2:02they will often assume the reader has a
2:04much better understanding of the basics
2:06of the topic
2:07then a newer researcher will so do
2:09yourself a favor by making sure you
2:11understand a little bit about the topic
2:13in everyday language before diving into
2:15the specific technical language
2:17of a scientific paper by introducing
2:19yourself to the basics first
2:21you stand a better chance of absorbing
2:23the more complex elements
2:25the paper discusses in the more
2:26technical sections
2:28second start with the easy stuff first
2:31read the abstract
2:32introduction and conclusion first just
2:34to get an idea of the paper's main ideas
2:37these sections are usually the easiest
2:39to understand and contain
2:40simpler sentences that explain the
2:42author's methods and
2:44summarize the study's results finding
2:46places where the main ideas are already
2:48summarized will prepare
2:50you for the more complex elements of the
2:51paper
2:53third let the scientific method and the
2:55paper's structure be your guide
2:57the structure of almost every scientific
2:59paper is going to roughly mimic a set
3:02formula that follows the scientific
3:04method
3:05an introduction the methods the results
3:07the discussion
3:08and a conclusion some papers will even
3:10name their sections in that way
3:12introduction methods results discussion
3:15and conclusion
3:16and when that's the case it makes it a
3:18little easier on newer scholars and
3:20researchers
3:21however some papers will use headings
3:23that are more specific to the exact
3:25topic being covered
3:26and some papers will have additional
3:28sections or paragraphs that won't be
3:30labeled directly as introduction
3:32methods results discussion and
3:33conclusion
3:35but all scientific papers will have
3:37these five parts in some form
3:39what's going to be helpful to understand
3:41with each of these parts of the paper
3:43is that every paper will closely follow
3:45the scientific method
3:47scientists are writing these articles to
3:49communicate with other researchers in
3:50their field
3:51but one of the things that makes
3:53understanding papers like these
3:54difficult
3:55is that their intended audience other
3:57scientific researchers
3:59already understand at least the basics
4:01of the topic
4:02if you're still learning these basics it
4:04might be tough to get the nuance of each
4:06paper but you can use the general
4:08outline of the article to grasp the
4:10major points
4:11each section has its specific purpose
4:14that you can use to help understand the
4:16overall meaning of the paper
4:17we'll take these sections one by one the
4:20introduction
4:21introductions are always going to
4:23contain the scientists research question
4:26this is the key piece to every article
4:28usually the research question is going
4:30to be very close to the title of the
4:32paper
4:33so that's your first clue as to what the
4:35research question is
4:37the introduction is also going to
4:38contain most of the background
4:40information a reader should need
4:41to understand why the scientists are
4:43trying to figure out the answer to this
4:45research
4:45question things like background
4:48information
4:49what basic information does the reader
4:51need to know in order to follow the
4:53discussion
4:55prior research what prior research has
4:58been done on the topic
4:59and what knowledge has that prior
5:01research provided about the topic of
5:03this study
5:04the focus what is the focus of the
5:06research
5:07essentially the main topic the purpose
5:11why is the answer to this research
5:12question important either within the
5:14field specifically
5:16or more broadly to society the answers
5:19to most if not
5:20all of these questions should be
5:21provided in the introduction
5:23if you finish the introduction and are
5:25at all confused
5:27stop and before continuing try to answer
5:30the following questions
5:32what are the scientists trying to figure
5:34out
5:35and why do they want to know this
5:37everything else that follows in the
5:39article
5:39will be presented with the purpose of
5:41communicating those two major ideas
5:44the methods next the scientists will
5:47present their methods
5:49essentially the methods section is a way
5:51for the researchers to explain how they
5:53attempted to answer their research
5:55question
5:56this section is usually technical
5:58complex and not always easy to read
6:00it's very often the case that testing a
6:02research question will involve multiple
6:04steps
6:05and specialized techniques that are both
6:07complex to perform
6:08and complex to communicate to readers
6:11at first understanding these techniques
6:14can be very challenging
6:16but you probably don't need to
6:17understand every detail to understand
6:19the main ideas
6:20remember that the authors are trying to
6:22communicate their methods to other
6:24scientists
6:24in great detail this allows other
6:27scientists who have performed similar
6:29experiments
6:30to consider and compare the author's
6:32methods to their own experiments
6:34or other similar experiments and it
6:36should even allow them to replicate the
6:38author's experiments
6:40so the level of detail in the methods
6:42section is often
6:43far more specific than most readers will
6:45need for a basic understanding of the
6:47article
6:48when you're reading a methods section
6:50the key questions you should be looking
6:51to answer
6:52are 1. what are the researchers testing
6:56what the experiments test should be
6:58similar to the main research question
7:01sometimes there may be multiple steps
7:03that need to be tested to get answers to
7:05the main question
7:06but the experiments described in the
7:08methods section will always relate back
7:10to the main question
7:11two how are they testing it what
7:14techniques to the researchers
7:15employ to make observations about the
7:18topic being tested
7:19sometimes this step will involve
7:21specialized equipment mathematical
7:23models or
7:24other scientific tools that might be
7:26unfamiliar to non-specialists
7:28these details will often be the most
7:30challenging elements of the article to
7:32contextualize and understand
7:34and you may not always need to fully
7:36understand every detail to understand
7:38the paper as a whole
7:403. what could that test tell them about
7:42their initial question
7:44lastly the methods section might cover
7:46what certain results of these tests
7:48indicate nothing scientists do while
7:50testing their research question
7:52is arbitrary they may sometimes be
7:54surprised by the results of their tests
7:57but those results will always mean
7:59something depending on the article
8:01you're reading
8:02the authors may offer their predictions
8:04or expectations
8:05and what those predictions would mean if
8:07the results of their tests
8:09turn out a certain way even if the
8:11authors don't offer any conjectures in
8:13their paper
8:14readers may be able to make some
8:15predictions about the way the experiment
8:17will turn out
8:18and what that would mean one way or the
8:19other the methods section of scientific
8:22papers may be the most important piece
8:24of a scientific article to understand
8:26at least at a basic level if you don't
8:29understand the researchers methods
8:30you're going to struggle to understand
8:32what the results of their experiments
8:34mean
8:34so spending a little extra time here
8:37understanding the tests the researchers
8:39are performing
8:40and why may save you a lot of head
8:42scratching later
8:44when trying to understand the results of
8:45the experiment and the discussion that
8:47follows
8:48so in addition to considering the three
8:50questions we've talked about in this
8:52section already
8:53there are a few important strategies to
8:54employ when reading
8:56first slow down and take your time here
8:59reading a scientific paper is not like
9:01reading a novel or
9:02news article you're supposed to take
9:05time and think and consider what the
9:06researchers are doing
9:08it's not only okay to pause and figure
9:10things out it's strongly recommended
9:13nobody just breezes through a scientific
9:15paper like a beach book
9:17even the smartest and most experienced
9:19scientists need to take their time to
9:21understand the most
9:22difficult parts of these papers so if
9:24you feel like it's a struggle
9:26remember that's normal second look up
9:29specialized language or terminology you
9:31don't know
9:32of all the parts of any scientific
9:34experiment the methods section
9:36is most likely to introduce you to
9:37specialized terminology or techniques
9:40more experienced scientists who work
9:42with these techniques regularly
9:44will already be familiar with them and
9:46so often things that sound very complex
9:48may go unexplained in scientific papers
9:51take the time to look up the terms that
9:53seem to come up repeatedly
9:55if it seems important it's probably
9:57important sometimes a single missing
9:59piece can unlock your understanding of
10:01the whole paper
10:03and you'll find that often even complex
10:05sounding new terms like a likert scale
10:07for example
10:08actually have fairly simple ideas behind
10:10them that you can understand easily once
10:12you look them up
10:14which will help you to better understand
10:15the current article
10:17and scientific experiments more broadly
10:19as you progress as a scientist
10:21third look for key sentences that will
10:24help guide you through difficult
10:25paragraphs
10:26in most body paragraphs of a scientific
10:29paper
10:30there will be a topic sentence a
10:32sentence that lets the reader know what
10:33each paragraph is about
10:35this will usually be the first or second
10:37sentence of the paragraph
10:39good topic sentences are straightforward
10:41and usually perform the function of
10:42preparing the reader for the details to
10:44come
10:45by highlighting the main idea of the
10:47paragraph
10:48if you're dealing with a paragraph with
10:50a lot of technical terms or
10:52complex new ideas and get stuck seek out
10:55the topic sentence of the paragraph
10:57as a guide to what follows the results
11:00after scientists relate their methods
11:02they'll share their results with their
11:04readers in the results section
11:06and it's important to remember that the
11:08audience for every scientific paper will
11:10be specialists in the field
11:12people who do similar scientific work or
11:14professional work that relies on this
11:16very specialized knowledge
11:18so it's likely that until you've spent a
11:20considerable amount of time in the lab
11:22or in the field doing similar work
11:24the results of these scientific
11:26experiments may be tough for you to
11:27interpret on your own
11:29just like the methods section this takes
11:31time results sections will likely be
11:34filled with graphs
11:35charts and mathematical formulas that
11:37you may not understand
11:38especially if you're new to a field or
11:40reading a paper that is outside your
11:42field of expertise
11:44however if you've taken the time to
11:46understand the research question
11:47and the scientists methods you'll
11:50probably have some idea of what the
11:51results will mean
11:53it's also important to remember that the
11:55scientific process requires that the
11:57authors share their data
11:59and because that amount of data may be
12:00too much for many of their readers to
12:02sift through
12:03most authors will summarize their
12:05findings and highlight
12:06the most important ones somewhere in the
12:08results section look for key phrases
12:11like
12:12overall we found that the results showed
12:15the data we collected indicate that and
12:19look to answer the following key
12:21questions
12:221. what does the data indicate generally
12:25two are there any key pieces of data
12:28that the authors highlight as
12:30significant or meaningful three is there
12:33any surprising or unexpected data
12:36the answers to these key questions
12:38should be found in the written part of
12:40the results section
12:41even if you aren't ready to directly
12:43interpret this information from the
12:45tables
12:46graphs and charts that are usually
12:47included in the results section
12:50once you can answer these key questions
12:52you should be ready to interpret that
12:54data
12:54or at least follow the discussion where
12:56the authors do
12:58the discussion the discussion section is
13:01the part of the paper where the authors
13:02wrestle with the implications
13:04of their results they're discussing what
13:06the data they recorded means
13:08based on the methods they employed or
13:11more broadly
13:12what did this experiment demonstrate
13:15what do we know now that we didn't know
13:17when we began what does that mean with
13:20respect to the research question
13:22how does this new knowledge fit into the
13:24broader understanding of the field
13:26the discussion is the author's attempt
13:28to make sense of their data in two ways
13:31they relate their findings to the
13:33paper's main research question
13:35but they should also discuss how this
13:37new understanding of their research
13:38question
13:39fits into the larger discussion of this
13:41topic
13:42within the field or in society at large
13:46the conclusion lastly scientific papers
13:50will almost always end with a conclusion
13:53often conclusions are a recap of the
13:55main points covered in the paper
13:57this is a good opportunity for the
13:59reader to confirm that what they
14:00understood about the paper is correct
14:03additionally researchers will often use
14:05conclusions as an opportunity to suggest
14:08further research on
14:09questions that may have been raised by
14:11their results or as a next logical step
14:14in understanding a complex topic when
14:17reading conclusions
14:18as a newer researcher take the
14:20opportunity to use the conclusion as a
14:22confirmation of your understanding
14:24if you find anything new surprising or
14:27contradictory to your understanding of
14:29the paper double check that new piece of
14:32information to be sure you're reading it
14:33correctly
14:34and if it still doesn't seem correct go
14:36back and explore the appropriate part of
14:38the paper
14:39to be sure you understand the point most
14:42likely though
14:43the conclusion will just serve as a
14:44recap or a reminder of the important
14:47points of the paper
14:48and a place to propose future research
14:51now you might already be familiar with
14:53much of this basic information about the
14:55structure of a scientific paper
14:57and if that's the case great you're
14:59already one step ahead
15:01what's important when trying to
15:02understand a new scientific paper
15:04is to remember that every article is
15:06going to express the same basic
15:08information
15:09about the work the scientists are doing
15:11it can be easy to lose sight of that
15:13basic
15:14truth in the formulas graphs technical
15:17language
15:18hundreds of long words and math
15:20remembering that returning to the basics
15:22of the scientific method
15:23as followed by the structure of
15:25scientific articles
15:26will help you to understand the essence
15:28of what the scientists are trying to
15:30communicate in their paper
15:31so to recap the main points covered in
15:33this video
15:34we recommend employing the following
15:36strategies when trying to understand
15:38scientific research papers first
15:42read general information about the
15:43paper's topic in everyday language
15:46before diving deep into the paper second
15:49start with the easy sections first read
15:51the abstract
15:52introduction and conclusion before
15:55reading the methods results and
15:56discussion sections
15:58third let the scientific method and the
16:00paper structure be your guide
16:02interpret each section the introduction
16:05methods
16:06results discussion and conclusion with
16:08the understanding of what each section
16:10should contain
16:11and how that information relates to the
16:13paper's main research question
16:16fourth look up acronyms abbreviations
16:19and frequently occurring terms that you
16:21don't understand
16:22sometimes learning what a handful or
16:24even one of these new items means will
16:26be the key
16:27that unlocks the meaning of the whole
16:28paper for you
16:30fifth look for key sentences in
16:32difficult parts of the paper
16:34let topic sentences help you out if you
16:36have a paragraph you're struggling to
16:38grasp
16:39sixth continue to reread the paper until
16:42you're sure you understand it
16:44learning challenging new material is
16:46often as much about your persistence as
16:48any other factor
16:50becoming a scientist or even a student
16:52who is scientifically literate takes
16:54time
16:54and effort keep at it and eventually you
16:57will break through
16:58remember that the more you do this the
17:00more terms techniques and methodologies
17:02you come to understand
17:04the faster you'll get at grasping what's
17:06going on in future papers
17:08pretty soon with hard work patience and
17:11the right techniques
17:13you'll be reading and understanding
17:14scientific articles that you once would
17:16have considered incomprehensible
17:18and you'll be well on your way to
17:20charting your own course into research
17:22that takes you where you want to go
17:35[Music]
18:01you

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