Critical Reading: Making Sense of Research Papers in Life Sciences and Medicine

Abstract

1: The Paper Trail: The Deep End. Sources of Information. Textbooks. Reviews. Research Papers. Finding What You Need. Know Your Books. Know Your Journals. Hunting the Needle. Looking Into the Future 2: Medium and Message: Journals. Peer Review. Prestige or Puff? The Internet and Other Sources. A Tangled Web. Copying Errors 3: Scientists as Authors: Truth and Relative Truth. The World is Orderly - Isn't It? Artefact or Ugly Fact? Interpretation and Presentation. The Academic Funding Crisis. Science Meets Business. Stockholm Beckons. Sex Sells. Invisible Science. Publication Bias and Reference Bias. Calling the Tune 4: The Abstract and Introduction: First Impressions. Do I Need to Read the Paper? What is the Paper About? What Was the Point of the Research? What are Abstracts Not For? 5: Materials and Methods: The Scientific Method. Attention Please. Method or Madness? What Are Controls For? The Scientific Question. A Clear Problem 6: Quantitative Methods: Significant Figures. Statistical Significance. Confidence Intervals. Sample Size. The Significance of Figures 7: Thinking Science: Assumptions and Deductions. Outside the Box. Lines of Reasoning. Reading Research. Revisiting the Paper Trail