How to Reada Primary Research Paper
Elizabeth WallaceLiaison Librarian for
Earth & Atmospheric Sciences
the scholarly record
this is the published record of scientific research
most of what is commonly accepted to be scientific fact is based on published, peer-reviewed scholarly research
and more specifically, primary research
primary research is original, empirical research, based on first-handobservation or experiment
the peer review process involves having well-qualified individuals in aparticular field of research review a paper prior to its publicationto ensure that the research meets the standards of quality, accuracyand academic integrity established within that field
primary research papers
1) why we did it
2) how we did it
3) what we found out
4) what we think it means
this makes it easy for any reader to follow and understand, and to to quickly locate a particular element of the research
in the natural, physical, and the social sciences, primary researchis presented in the same basic format, covering the key steps in“the scientific method”:
primary research articles are published in academic researchjournals (from commercial publishers, professional societies, academic institutions, etc.)
Hydrobiologia (2009) 621:191-205
this is a typical primaryresearch article froma peer-reviewed journalpublished by Springer,one of the largestcommercial publishersof scholarly journals
you’re rarely going to be lucky enough to comeacross an article thatstates right up front thatit’s a primary researchpaper
title
but it is not so technicalthat only specialists willunderstand it
the title of the articledescribes, in as few wordsas possible, exactly whatthe paper is about
if you find a reference toa paper that has a funnytitle, or one with aninteresting play on words,it’s likely not a researcharticle
author
the first author is generally the lead researcher andthe person who actually wrote the paper
research articles will often have multiple authors
additional authors willhave made a significantcontribution to somepart of the research
author affiliation
all institutionalaffiliations will be listed
research collaborationoften takes place between scientistsat different institutions
abstract
reading the abstractcan save you a lot of timewhen you’re searchingthe literature
a good abstractsummarizes the wholepaper, including theresults
keywords
keywords in the paperare usually assigned bythe author
these will be used toindex the article inliterature databases
introduction
the introduction is wherethe authors put their research into context
it’s where they makea case for why they’redoing it and why it’simportant
it provides a briefoverview of priorrelated research
introduction
it’s where the authorsidentify gaps in knowledgethat they hope to fill in with their own research
most of the referencesat the end of the paper come from this section
introduction
the introduction is alsothe section where theauthors state veryexplicitly what it is thatthey are attempting toprove or examine in thisstudy
in studies that involve field work, the authorsmay provide an additionalsection that describes thesite where the researchtook place
site description
site description
this section will usuallyinclude maps, and adescription of the physical features of thelocation
methods
the methods section is where the authors explain exactly how they carried out their research
this section provides adetailed, step-by-stepexplanation of all of themethods employed
methods
there should be enoughinformation provided thatanother scientist couldtheoretically replicatethe research and achievethe same results
the methods may bepresented in multiplesections
results
the results sectionsummarizes the mainfindings of the study
results
the results may bepresented in multiplesections
this section is used onlyto present the results,not to discuss them
results
graphs, tables, etc. areoften used to present andsummarize datait’s not necessary to
include all of the raw datathat has been collected
discussion
the discussion sectionis where the authors talk about the implications oftheir results
do the results supportthe authors’ original hypotheses?
are there different waysto interpret the results?
what do the results suggest in terms offuture research?
discussion
as with the methods andresults, the discussion may be divided into sectionsto cover different aspectsof the study
discussion
summary
a summary is notalways included, butsome authors like toprovide this if the studyhas many components
acknowledgements
this is an optional sectionwhere authors can thankthose who’ve providedfinancial support or helpwith the research or themanuscript
references
the references can sometimes end up being the most valuable thing you find in the paper
references
no matter how goodyour own research is, there are almost alwaysthings listed in thereferences that you didn’tfind yourself (or didn’teven think to look for)
other types of scholarly journals
letters journal- another type of primary research journal- rapid publication of important research- short articles (2-3 pages)- often based interim work or negative results
methods/applications journal- articles describing new research techniques
or methodologies
other types of scholarly journals
review journals - not primary research
- articles that analyze and distill current trends in
a specific area of research- very important in providing “the big
picture” - can be very long (50 to 60 pages)
Science and Nature - very important research journals, but they include more than just research - both publish different types of research articles (primary research, reviews, letters, etc.) - also include news, opinion papers, book reviews etc.
scholarly literature is not found only in journals, but it isalways based upon some level of peer review:
- theses and dissertations (always) - conference papers (sometimes) - books (sometimes)
other types of scholarly literature
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