LibGuides: Biology: Reading & Writing Scientific Papers

Reading Scientific Papers

Tips for Reading Primary Literature by Laura Wenk and Loel Tronsky

Even though the vocabulary and format may feel intimidating at first, you’ll soon get used to both as you learn more about the subject and read more papers on related topics. Also, you’ll have more questions—some about content or technique and others about how the work was done.

Most primary articles begin with an abstract, which summarizes the major points of the study (what was asked, what was done, what was learned). If the subject is new to you, the abstract may be hard to understand because it doesn’t explain much. It sometimes helps to scan an abstract to see if the research is even close to what you want to know.

The introduction is usually helpful because it sets out the rationale for this study by telling you four things:

the general topic the paper addresses
previous work that led to the question asked in this study (citations to studies included in the bibliography are given, but few details of that work are mentioned)
the question(s) the study you are reading is designed to address
the author's hypotehsis(es)

The first time you read the paper, you might want to skip from the introduction to the discussion to get a quick idea about what they conclude.

The methods section often has lots of technical details, so at first, focus on two things:

An overall picture of the experimental design. Sometimes this information is set out more clearly in the introduction or the abstract, but it’s important for you to step back from the details and figure out why they designed the study as they did (more about this in the handout on experimental design).
Details about each step of the experiment. Some of these - like how they chose their subjects and how many subjects they studied and over what period of time - will be important to understand right away; others have more detail than you need to worry about). The results section shows the results of tests described in the methods section. It shouldn’t have much in the way of conclusions. What it will have are tables, graphs, or diagrams.

The results section shows the results of tests described in the methods section. It shouldn’t have much in the way of conclusions. What it will have are tables, graphs, or diagrams. The text of the results discusses some of what is in those figures, but you’ll need to look closely at the tables and graphs to really understand the results.

The next section is generally called discussion or conclusions. That’s where the authors remind you of the original question(s) they were asking and address how well they think their data answered those questions. They may refer to other studies that help explain some of what they found or expected to find and didn’t. They may speculate in this section about what their results might mean (including any alternative explanations) and what further studies they believe need to be done and why.

The final section is the bibliography. This is very useful as you’re getting into a new topic. It tells you who else is working in the field and what work was done earlier that led to this study.

Wenk, L., & Tronsky, L. (2011). First-year students benefit from reading primary research articles. Journal of College Science Teaching, 40(4), 60-67.

First-Year Students Benefit From Reading Primary Research Articles

Additional Tips

How to read and understand a scientific article
A short guide on reading and understanding scientific papers created by Dr. Jennifer Raff.
How to Read a Scientific Article
Handout that discusses different strategies for reading a scientific paper.

Writing Scientific Papers

Scientific Writing Made Easy: A Step-by-Step Guide to Undergraduate Writing in the Biological Sciences
The guide breaks down the scientific writing process into easily digestible pieces, providing concrete examples that students can refer to when preparing a scientific manuscript or laboratory report.

How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper by Barbara Gastel; Robert A. Day
Call Number: 808.0665 G218 2016
Many scientists find the process of communicating about their work intimidating and confusing. Now in its eighth edition, How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper teaches how to apply clear focus, good organization, and simple, straightforward language to write papers as well as communicate effectively in many other scientifically related applications. By providing practical, readable, and sometimes humorous guidance, this book enables researchers to gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence to succeed in communicating about their work. The authors not only guide readers in the craft of scientific writing--broken down into the separate tasks of writing the respective sections of a scientific paper and then publishing the paper--but also address important related psychological, ethical, logistical, and cultural considerations in communicating about science. Provides practical, easy-to-read, and immediately applicable guidance on preparing each part of a scientific paper: from the title and abstract, through each section of the main text, to the acknowledgments and references.
Writing Undergraduate Lab Reports by Christopher S. Lobban; María Schefter
Call Number: 808.0665 L796
ISBN: 9781107117402
Publication Date: 2017-07-27
Writing clear, impactful reports is a crucial skill for science students, but few books focus on this area for the undergraduate. Particularly useful for biology students, this text adopts a hands-on approach, using example reports and published papers as models to put guidance into practice. An introductory chapter familiarizes undergraduates with the principles of writing science. Two model reports are then developed, walking students through experimental and observational teaching-lab reports. The structure and content of the Introduction, Methods and Materials, Results, and Discussion are explained, together with tips for the title, abstract, and references. Students are then guided on how to polish their first draft. The last section of the book analyzes two published papers, helping the reader transition to reporting original research. Clearly and concisely written, this text offers a much-needed lifeline for science students facing science report-writing for the first time, and for those looking to hone their writing skills.