How to read your first journal article

Nobody reads a scientific paper from the first word to the last. Here is the order working scientists use.

1. Title and abstract

The abstract is the whole paper in 250 words. Read it twice. If you cannot say what the authors asked and what they found, read it a third time before you go on.

2. Figures

Look at each figure and read its caption. The figures are the evidence, and the text exists to explain them. For each one, ask what was measured, what was compared, and which way the difference goes.

3. The last paragraph of the introduction

This is where the authors say what they set out to do. The earlier paragraphs are background. Come back to them when you need them.

4. The discussion

Read the first paragraph, which restates the main finding, and find the paragraph on limitations. Good papers tell you what they cannot show.

5. Methods, last

Read the methods when you need to know exactly how something was done, or when a result looks too good.

Keep a word list

Every field has a few hundred terms. Write down each one you look up. After five papers from the same field, you will stop needing the list.

Write three sentences

When you finish, write down what they asked, what they did, and what they found. If you can do that, you have read the paper. Those three sentences are also what you will use when you email the professor.

Find a free copy

Hit a paywall? Search the title in Google Scholar and look for a PDF link on the right. Check PubMed Central. Install Unpaywall. Our journal article library links to a free-copy search for every entry.