Lecture 6: How to Read an Academic Paper

Why You Should Read an Academic Paper Very simply you are required to do so, And you are going to be assessed on how much & how well you have done so. Probably to acquire some skills of application & concentration that will benefit you in life. It is xciting to have access to different minds & clever thoughts & to learn something you do not know.

Traditional sequence of Reading a paper Title Abstract Introduction Background of the research Literature Review Research Design or methodology Findings and discussion of results Conclusions & Suggestions for Further Studies References

How can we identify that a paper is worth reading? Initially you choose your according to its topic, by matching its relevency to your research topic Then comes the abstract, which tells you what the paper is about. There are Keywords which highlight the main areas being investigated.

Short Way of Reading A Paper Start by reading the Abstract first, if you need to learn more about it Read the Introduction as well and to get a bettwer idea oabout the paper Read the Conclusion part

Critical WRITING starts with critical READING Read broadly, read abstract, literature review sections and conclusions. Relevant? If yes, read the whole paper. Make annotated bibliography, though not very detailed. When making comments/annotations on each paper, give each comment a number and put the same number in the text to quickly find it later. Make brief notes of the relevant definitions. Note down the methods that were used in those papers (this is to evaluate objectivity or look for the methods that might be if use to me).

Mapping the Sources You Read Make a literature map (for each of the literature review chapters). Group articles into themes. It is better to have too many themes than too few. Take one chapter at a time.

Example of the literature map: manual

Critical writing starts with critical reading Identify key authors. Identify the most relevant and significant theories in the field. Identify arising themes broadly. Group themes into sets. Re-read the materials more carefully on each theme, regardless of the context they were used in. What is written on this theme? Return back to the context, and look at both instances and sequences. Look for opinions: both similar and contrasting. Compare and contrast when different ideas emerged (look at the year of publication)? Compare and contrast ideas from different schools of thought, different countries? Look for patterns. Note down the identified patters and structure them into a clear story.

Critical writing starts with critical reading Plan carefully, structure the arguments – a clear story, good flow Write in simple words Decorate the text afterwards The first sentence of each paragraph should tell the reader the story Sentences no longer than 3 lines Use commas Read aloud Re-read next day and highlight the text every time it doesn’t read well. Use synonyms’ tools

1. FORMULATING THE TOPIC: 2. FINDING AND STORING THE RELEVANT SOURCES: TO SUM UP… 1. FORMULATING THE TOPIC: What is your research question? What is your review question? What methodological aspects might you be of help in your dissertation? 2. FINDING AND STORING THE RELEVANT SOURCES: Read broadly, be aware of the sources you use, read critically, identify where the field of enquiry currently stands, examples of methodology, results and analysis, look for instances and sequences, develop a literature map. 3. REVIEWING THE LITERATURE: Bear in mind the substantive focus, theoretical issues and methodological approaches. Ensure that your lit. review is Focused; Structured; Discerning; Constructively critical; Accurately referenced; Clearly expressed and reader- friendly; Informative; Convincingly argued; Balanced!

Why Do You Need One? Forces you to be explicit about what you think you are doing. Helps you to: Decide which are the important features Decide which relationships are likely to be of importance or meaning What data you are going to collect and analyse

When Do You Do This? Have an initial attempt to do this before starting the study. You should not regard this initial framework as definitive. Remain open to alternative formulations, or possible features or relationships not captured in your initial framework. Keep reviewing as you do more reading and weight your efforts heavily towards the features or relationships included in the conceptual framework.