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