How to Read a Scientific Paper Efficiently and Critically

If you are a researcher or plan to be, an important part of becoming a successful author of academic papers is being familiar with the literature in your field. This means you must read a lot of papers. In this video, I’m going to describe a strategy that will help you read a scientific paper efficiently and critically and to extract the essential information you need. I also briefly describe how to conduct a literature search and quickly identify papers you need to read in preparation for writing a class paper or an article for publication. Use the time stamps to jump to a specific section.
00:00 Intro
01:06 Basic format of a scientific paper
01:28 Get an overview
01:44 Scan figures and tables
02:05 Questions to ponder when reading the introduction
02:40 Questions to ponder when reading the methods
03:40 Questions to ponder when reading the results
04:12 Questions to ponder when reading the discussion
04:51 Questions to ponder when reading the conclusions
06:16 How to conduct a literature search in Web of Science
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If you use video in your research or would like to make a video about your research, check out my other KZbin channel, The Scientist Videographer: / sciencevideography
Follow me on Twitter: @SciWri_KLMcKee

[@AndyCorkum]

Thank you kindly. I really appreciate the very helpful and systematic approach.

[@muhammadzahir5733]

Thanks for sharing such a valuable experiences

[@ullintalulna7066]

Thank you Karen! The topic of building a paper and analyze it is a topic underrated. Such informative and clear pieces as yours are are very helpful! Best regards from Italy

[@ScientificWritingwithKarenLMcK]

Glad it was helpful!

[@umdospoucos]

I am an undergrad student in the midst of this adventure, and your video was very helpful to me. Thank you very much for the insights, Dr. McKee!

[@ScientificWritingwithKarenLMcK]

Best of luck!

[@giandomenicopanettieri5748]

Thank you!

[@vanesho333]

Thanks for your videos Karen. Love this idea about shearing information that is very usefull and not easy to find for free. Your work is very inspiring for me and it gives to me lots of ideas to share science through social media, one of my personal projects as a scientist who lives as a bikepacker.

[@ScientificWritingwithKarenLMcK]

Thanks for watching!

[@114antony]

this is awesome!!!

[@paradoxical9914]

As a non-native speaker this help me so much thank you Dr. McKee.

[@ScientificWritingwithKarenLMcK]

I'm glad this helped you. Thanks for letting me know.

[@mostefaidjamel3217]

Thank you Dr.

[@alessandrodonascimentovarg24]

Dear Karen, thanks for the tips. Experience helps when selecting the most appropriate papers to read. Thanks for sharing your experience.

[@ScientificWritingwithKarenLMcK]

Alessandro, thanks for the comment. Glad my tips are helping.

[@ashita1130]

Thank you Dr. McKee :)

[@ScientificWritingwithKarenLMcK]

You're most welcome!

[@valem.m.8372]

I'm a student and this is so useful for me. Thank you!

[@ScientificWritingwithKarenLMcK]

Glad it was helpful!

[@atefchorfi]

thanks.

[@chauccy]

Great video as usual Karen! I'm writing my thesis so this video is super helpful. I've also greatly benefited from your how to write a discussion video. Thank you very much! A question if I may. I found that after reading my writing for a couple of times, I cannot read it critically any more. How do you overcome that? I know one way is to put the writing aside for a while, but this isn't always an option when there are tight deadlines. Much appreciated! Thanks again!

[@ScientificWritingwithKarenLMcK]

If you cannot set aside your writing for a few days, one option is to read it out loud. Sometimes this helps identify awkward or ambiguous phrasing. You might also read each sentence starting at the end of the writing and working backwards to the beginning--good for spotting punctuation and grammatical errors. If you did not start with an outline, outlining your thesis (or chapter) at this point may identify problems with logic or balance. Good luck!

[@chauccy]

@@ScientificWritingwithKarenLMcK Thank you so much! Just tried reading backwards and it works great!

[@stanleykim3583]

Thank you for this great video. Would you share your method of reading a systematic review/ meta-analysis paper?

[@ScientificWritingwithKarenLMcK]

I'll put it on my to-do list. In the meantime, there are several articles written about this: jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/1886196

[@kalam9250]

Thanks for sharing your experience with us. I am a novice in research field, your strategy and way to approach it, helped me lot.

[@ScientificWritingwithKarenLMcK]

Glad it was helpful!

[@junayED.]

Thanks mam. This video is very helpful for me ❤️

[@ScientificWritingwithKarenLMcK]

Glad to hear that

[@emmanuelbenson7485]

Very helpful. Thank yóu. Besides, the web of science database could you suggest other useful databases.

[@ScientificWritingwithKarenLMcK]

Glad you found it helpful. The Smithsonian Libraries has a good list of databases where you can find one that's in your field or that is most appropriate for your purposes. library.si.edu/research/databases-science-research

[@sonnal2460]

Dear Karen, once again thank you for the precise and helpful video. At present I have my paper finished. But after this video, I would like to rewrite my paper.

[@ScientificWritingwithKarenLMcK]

Shiva, thanks for commenting. I wish you luck with your paper.

[@sonnal2460]

@@ScientificWritingwithKarenLMcK Thank you for your well wishes. I have some queries. I would like not to ask on this platform. Can I contact you through whatsapp?

[@ScientificWritingwithKarenLMcK]

Unfortunately, I cannot provide private tutoring. If you have a question that other viewers might benefit from, I'll be happy to address it on this forum.

[@sonnal2460]

@@ScientificWritingwithKarenLMcK Thank you. How can I understand, in which impactor factor journal, my paper will be published?

[@ScientificWritingwithKarenLMcK]

I think you are asking how to select a journal, taking into consideration the journal's impact factor. The short answer is that there are several factors you should consider. Here are some steps to take: 1) compile a list of journals that are appropriate for the topic of your paper (look at your literature cited and where those papers were published for candidates), 2) double-check the aims and scope of each journal to make sure your paper fits, 3) avoid predatory journals by checking that each one is indexed by a reputable platform such as Web of Science, 4) ensure that you can meet the journal's requirements (page charges, for example), and 5) consider the impact factor of each journal and decide what your chances are. Point #5 is the difficult step. Picking the journal with the highest impact factor is not always a good idea or even necessary to get your paper noticed (One of my most highly cited papers was published in a journal with a modest impact factor). You must honestly assess the quality of your paper and the importance of your findings in relation to the papers published in each journal. You can also ask a professor or a colleague to read your paper and give their opinion. Sometimes it's better to pick a lower-impact, specialty journal with a readership that is likely to be interested in your paper. Choosing the right journal is not an easy process; sometimes you'll make a mistake, and your paper gets rejected. If so, reassess your choices and resubmit. If you haven't already watched, these videos provide some pointers for selecting an appropriate journal: Can I Publish My Scientific Paper in a High-Impact Journal? kzbin.info/www/bejne/pKjaoKFviL5kbJI What Do Journal Editors Want? kzbin.info/www/bejne/lanMlHqBYsqkiq8 How to Write a Cover Letter: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZCTiYGCrZyZeMU