If you struggle to understand scientific papers, don't worry! At this point in your academic career you're still learning much of the basics, so you're right on target.
- Skim the article. This is a minimal investment. Remember that looking at the subject headings from your database searches should help you determine whether to continue or not.
- Locate terms you don’t already know. If you need to define them, try references like Access Science or Credo Reference.
- Follow the structure of the article. IMRD is commonly used in the sciences.
- The abstract is a very short summary. It discusses the purpose of the study (why it was done); methodology (how it was done); results (what happened during the study); conclusion (what the results mean.)
- The introduction (I) offers a background to the rest of the paper.
- The methods (M) section outlines the processes the researchers used so the work can be replicated by others.
- The results (R) are where you will find the most data and figures and likely contains much of what you are interested in.
- The discussion (D) section is where the researchers reflect on their work, and what comes next. This may contain opinions, unexpected findings, and suggestions for others to consider.
