Reading through scientific articles can be difficult, but it is a rewarding practice. Reading scientific research effectively requires going through the same article multiple times. The infographic below from Elsevier is a really good summary of how to do this, and I have a few additions to this advice:
- Write down questions you have on the print out as you go (including definitions to look up).
- Write down answers you find to these questions (including the actual definitions).
- Use a different color pen and highlighter each time you read through (so 3 colors total).
- Plan to spend 2-4 hours total across at least two different days doing
this.
- Use day 1 for steps 1 & 2
- Look up answers you can’t get from the article
- Use day 2 for steps 3 & 4