Slide 1
TECHNICAL ENGLISHHOW TO READ A SCIENTIFIC PAPERTRAN DUC TRONG,
MPhilHCMC University of Technology1ReferencesJohn W. Little and Roy
Parker, How to read a scientific paper, University of Arizona, USA,
2010Jiri Srba, How to read and present a scientific paper, Aalborg
University, Denmark, 2007Mary Purugganan, Jan Hewitt, How to read a
scientific paper, Rice University, USA, 2004Tuan Nguyen, Workshop
on writing and publishing research paper in academic journals, VNU
Ho Chi Minh City, 2011Mo Dang, Writing a scientific paper in
English, 1st Ed, VNU Ho Chi Minh City Publisher, 2009 (in
Vietnamese)2Part 1:Reading a scientific passage33Reading a
scientific passageStrategiesAsk yourself 3 questions What am I
reading? Why am I reading? How am I going read it?
Three-step reading strategy Skimming Scanning Reading
intensively4Reading a scientific passageStrategiesStep 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)5Reading a scientific
passageStrategiesStep 2 Scanning: To locate the specific
information
Step 3 Reading intensively: To read information carefully to
understand what is needed
6Reading a scientific passageExample7
Ref: Fieser, Williamson Organic Experiments 8Part 2:Reading a
scientific paperReading a scientific paperStrategiesTaxonomy of a
scientific paperStructure of a scientific paperFirst read through
(skimming and scanning)In depth reading (reading
intensively)Looking at referencesEvaluating a scientific paper9Ref:
Jiri SrbaReading a scientific paperTaxonomy of a scientific
paperFull papers or Journal papersShort communications, research
letters, Short notes, CorrespondencesReview papers or perspective
papersEditorialsLetters to the editorsConference papers (proceeding
papers, abstracts)10Ref: Tuan Nguyen; Mo DangReading a scientific
paperStructure of a scientific paperIntroductionMethods
(Experimental Section)ResultsDiscussion(Conclusion)11 Title Authors
Abstract (Keywords) Acknowledgements References (Supplemental
materials)Need to be accurate and informative for effective
indexing and searchingEach has a distinct functionRef: Tuan Nguyen;
Mo DangReading a scientific paperStructure of a scientific paper
Title, AuthorsTitle The most important element of a scientific
paper
Authors Name of authors and correspondence author Institutional
affiliation Present addresses
12Ref: Tuan Nguyen; Mary Purugganan and Jan HewittReading a
scientific paperStructure of a scientific paper AbstractAbstract
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)
13Ref: Tuan Nguyen; Mary Purugganan and Jan HewittReading a
scientific paperStructure of a scientific paper
IntroductionIntroduction 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 important14Ref: Tuan
Nguyen; Mary Purugganan and Jan HewittReading a scientific
paperStructure of a scientific paper MethodsMethods Give a clear
overview of what was done Be complete but minimize complexityBreak
into smaller sections with subheadingsCite a reference for commonly
used methodsDisplay in a flow chart where possible15Ref: Tuan
Nguyen; Mary Purugganan and Jan HewittReading a scientific
paperStructure of a scientific paper ResultsResults 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
16Ref: Tuan Nguyen; Mary Purugganan and Jan HewittReading a
scientific paperStructure of a scientific paper
DiscussionDiscussion 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
work17Ref: Tuan Nguyen; Mary Purugganan and Jan HewittReading a
scientific paperStructure of a scientific paper
AcknowledgementsAcknowledgements Acknowledge any significant
technical help Acknowledge the source of materials Acknowledge any
outside financial assistance18Ref: Tuan NguyenReading a scientific
paperStructure of a scientific paper ReferencesReferences Direct
readers to sources of other information Give credit to the findings
of others19Ref: Tuan NguyenReading a scientific paperFirst read
throughRead 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)20Ref: Jiri SrbaReading a scientific paperIn
depth readingRead Methods Results Discussions References21Ref: Jiri
SrbaReading a scientific paperLooking at referencesLooking at
references allows Discover the community around it Understand the
context Put the paper in perspective Link it with other
fields/topics22Ref: Jiri SrbaReading a scientific paperEvaluating a
scientific paperAfter 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?
23Ref: Jiri Srba, John W. Little and Roy Parker
