TECHNICAL ENGLISH

HOW TO READ A SCIENTIFIC PAPER

TRAN DUC TRONG, MPhil
HCMC University of Technology

References
1. John W. Little and Roy Parker, How to read a
scientific paper, University of Arizona, USA,
2010
2. Jiri Srba, How to read and present a
scientific
paper,
Aalborg
University,
Denmark, 2007
3. Mary Purugganan, Jan Hewitt, How to read a
scientific paper, Rice University, USA, 2004
4. Tuan Nguyen, Workshop on writing and
publishing research paper in academic
journals, VNU Ho Chi Minh City, 2011
5. Mo Dang, Writing a scientific paper in
English, 1st Ed, VNU Ho Chi Minh City
Publisher, 2009 (in Vietnamese)

Part 1:
Reading a scientific passage

Reading a scientific passage

Strategies

Ask yourself 3 questions

What am I reading?
Why am I reading?
How am I going read it?

Three-step reading strategy

Skimming
Scanning
Reading intensively
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Reading a scientific passage

Strategies

Step 1 Skimming: To have a

quick general understanding of the
main points

Heading
Subheading
Pictures
Topic sentence
Main words in a topic sentence
(Subject, Verb and Object)
5

Reading a scientific passage

Strategies

Step 2 Scanning: To locate the

specific information
Step 3 Reading intensively: To
read
information
carefully
to
understand what is needed

Reading a scientific passage

Example

Ref: Fieser, Williamson Organic Experiments

7

Part 2:
Reading a scientific paper

Reading a scientific paper

Strategies

1. Taxonomy of a scientific paper

2. Structure of a scientific paper
3. First read through (skimming and
scanning)
4. In depth reading (reading
intensively)
5. Looking at references
6. Evaluating a scientific paper

Ref: Jiri Srba

9

Reading a scientific paper

Taxonomy of a scientific paper

Full papers or Journal papers

Short communications, research
letters,
Short
notes,
Correspondences
Review papers or perspective
papers
Editorials
Letters to the editors
Conference papers (proceeding

Ref: Tuan Nguyen; Mo Dang

10

Reading a scientific paper

Structure of a scientific paper

Title
Authors
Abstract
(Keywords)

Need to be accurate and

informative for effective
indexing and searching

Introduction
Methods (Experimental
Section)
Results
Discussion
(Conclusion)
Acknowledgements
References
(Supplemental
materials)

Each has a
distinct function

Ref: Tuan Nguyen; Mo Dang

11

Reading a scientific paper

Structure of a scientific paper Title, Authors

Title

The most important element of a

scientific paper

Authors
Name of authors and correspondence
author
Institutional affiliation
Present addresses
Ref: Tuan Nguyen; Mary Purugganan and Jan Hewitt
12

Reading a scientific paper

Structure of a scientific paper Abstract

Abstract
Most often, the only part people read
Overview of the main story

Limited length (100-300 words),

contain 4 kinds of information:

Purpose/rationale of study (Why they did it)

Methodology (How they did it)
Results (What they found)
Conclusion (What it means)
Ref: Tuan Nguyen; Mary Purugganan and Jan Hewitt
13

Reading a scientific paper

Structure of a scientific paper Introduction

Introduction
Purposes

Creating readers interest

Providing enough information to understand the
article

1-2 pages, contain

Whats known
Whats unknown (limitations and gaps in previous
study)

Your burning questions

Your experimental approach

Why your experimental approach is new, different

and important
Ref: Tuan Nguyen; Mary Purugganan and Jan Hewitt

14

Reading a scientific paper

Structure of a scientific paper Methods

Methods

Give a clear overview of what was

done
Be complete but minimize complexity
Break
into
smaller
sections
subheadings
Cite a reference for commonly
methods
Display in a flow chart where possible

with
used

Ref: Tuan Nguyen; Mary Purugganan and Jan Hewitt

15

Reading a scientific paper

Structure of a scientific paper Results

Results

Be brief and uncluttered

Answer What did you find?
Present the representative data from
THIS STUDY ONLY
Use tables, graphs, photographs and
drawing for data

Correlate the results with the

methods
Ref: Tuan Nguyen; Mary Purugganan and Jan Hewitt
16

Reading a scientific paper

Structure of a scientific paper Discussion

Discussion

Answer the question posed in the

Introduction
Support your conclusion with details
(compare yours with others)
Defend your conclusion
Highlight the broader implications of
the work
Ref: Tuan Nguyen; Mary Purugganan and Jan Hewitt
17

Reading a scientific paper

Structure of a scientific paper Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

Acknowledge any significant technical

help
Acknowledge the source of materials

Acknowledge any outside financial

assistance

Ref: Tuan Nguyen

18

Reading a scientific paper

Structure of a scientific paper References

References

Direct readers to sources of other

information
Give credit to the findings of others

Ref: Tuan Nguyen

19

Reading a scientific paper

Read

First read through

Title
Abstract
Introduction
Conclusion
References

Reply to the following questions

For which community is the paper written?
What contributions are in this paper?

What possible consequences can the

contributions have? (direct applications, new
techniques, new fields)
Ref: Jiri Srba

20

Reading a scientific paper

In depth reading

Read

Methods

Results
Discussions
References

Ref: Jiri Srba

21

Reading a scientific paper

Looking at references

Looking at references allows

Discover the community around it

Understand the context
Put the paper in perspective
Link it with other fields/topics

Ref: Jiri Srba

22

Reading a scientific paper

Evaluating a scientific paper
After understanding the paper

The strength and weakness of the paper

The contributions of the paper
The perspective of the paper

Answer questions

What questions does the paper address?

What are the main conclusions of the paper?
What evidence supports those conclusions?
Do the data actually support the conclusions?
What is the quality of the evidence?
Why are the conclusions important?
Ref: Jiri Srba, John W. Little and Roy
Parker

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