A classic paper
Researchers and students spend a great deal of time reading scientific papers.
In 1988, a group of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology wrote a classic paper to give advice to researchers and students. David Chapman also edited the paper. The paper is: David Chapman (Ed.). How to Do Research at the MIT AI Lab. MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Working Papers, WP-316, October 1988.
The abstract states:
“This document presumptuously purports to explain how to do research. We give heuristics that may be useful in pickup up specific skills needed for research (reading, writing, programming) and for understanding and enjoying the process itself (methodology, topic and advisor selection, and emotional factors”
Some advice are:
Time is scarce; therefore it is essential to learn the skill to read a paper. (See how in pages 3 and 4.)
Write better. (See pages 12 to 14.)
Parameters for choosing supervisors. (See pages 23 to 24.)
How to choose a topic for thesis work. (See pages 27 to 29.)
Other suggestions
Another paper is: S. Keshav. How to Read a Paper. ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review, 2007:37(3), pp. 83 – 84.
Keshav is explained by P. Sunthar, Indian Institute of Technology, via a set of slides, available here.
Keshav is also explained by Kai Arras, Social Robotics Lab, University of Freiburg, Germany via a set of slides, available here.
Paul and Edler gave a template to analyse the logic of an article, essay, or a chapter:
“1) The main purpose of this article is ______________________. (Here you are trying to state as accurately as possible the author’s purpose for writing the article. What was the author trying to accomplish?)”
“2) The key question that the author is addressing is __________________________. (Your goal is to figure out the key question that was in the mind of the author when s/he wrote the article. In other words, What was the key question that the article addressed?)”
“3) The most important information in this article is ___________________________. (You want to identify the key information the author used, or presupposed, in the article to support his/her main arguments. Here you are looking for facts, experiences, data the author is using to support her/his conclusions).”
“4) The main inferences/conclusions in this article are ________________. (You want to identify the most important conclusions that the author comes to and presents in the article).””
“5) The key idea(s) we need to understand in this article is (are)_______________ . By these ideas the author means ________________________________. (To identify these ideas, ask yourself: What are the most important ideas that you would have to understand in order to understand the author’s line of reasoning? Then elaborate briefly what the author means by these ideas).”
“6) The main assumption(s) underlying the author’s thinking is (are)________ (Ask yourself: What is the author taking for granted (that might be questioned). The assumptions are generalizations that the author does not think s/he has to defend in the context of writing the article, and they are usually unstated. This is where the author’s thinking logically begins).”
“7) If a) we take this line of reasoning seriously, the implications are ___________. (What consequences are likely to follow if people take the author’s line of reasoning seriously? Here you are to follow out the logical implications of the author’s position. You should include implications that the author states, if you believe them to be logical, but you should do your best thinking to determine what you think the implications are.) If b) we fail to take this line of reasoning seriously, the implications are _____________. (What consequences are likely to follow if people ignore the author’s reasoning?)”
“8) The main point(s) of view presented in this article is are)_____________________. (The main question you are trying to answer here is: What is the author looking at, and how is s/he seeing it? For example, in this mini-guide we are looking at “education” and seeing it “as involving the development of intellectual skills.” We are also looking at “learning” as “the responsibility of students.”)”
The template is Appendix B in Richard Paul and Linda Elder, The Thinker’s Guide to How to Read a Paragraph: the Art of Close Reading, Foundation for Critical Thinking, 2008.
References
David Chapman (Ed.). How to do Research at the MIT AI Lab. MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Working Papers, WP-316, October 1988.
S. Keshav. How to Read a Paper. ACM SIGCOMM Computer Communication Review, 2007:37(3), pp. 83 – 84.
Richard Paul and Linda Elder, The Thinker’s Guide to How to Read a Paragraph: the Art of Close Reading, Foundation for Critical Thinking, 2008.
Marco Pautasso. Ten Simple Rules for Writing a Literature Review. PLOS Computational Biology 2013:9(7):1 – 4
D. R. Rowland. Generic Mind Map of Focus Questions for a Literature Review. The Learning Hub, Student Services, The University of Queensland.
D. R. Rowland. Reviewing the Literature: A Short Guide for Research Students. The Learning Hub, Student Services, The University of Queensland.