How to Read a Paper

Starting on the first page of an article and working your way to the last, is the absolute last thing that you should do when reading an article. Once you have determined your GOAL for reading (e.g. WHY am I reading this article? Am I reading for information, to understand, or both?Investigate this idea) the TPA allows you to filter and manage information.

The first pass: Provides a bird's-eye-view to get the bigger picture

The second pass: Helps you grasp the content

The third pass: Dissecting the details in depth

Purpose: Get the bigger picture

Time frame: 5-10 minutes

What to do: 

·       Read the title, abstract, introduction & conclusion

·       Read headings & sub-headings

·       Glance at graphs, tables & images

·       Take note of relevant references

·       Ignore the rest of the content

·       Answer the 5 C's [See next idea]

·       Decide whether you need to invest more energy in the article based on the 5 C's

After answering the 5 C's, you should decide whether you need to invest more energy in the article

Category:  What type of paper is this?

Context: How does this relate to your prior knowledge and other papers you have read?

Correctness: Based on your gut, do you think the assumptions made are valid?

Contributions: What is this paper contributing to the existing body of research?

Clarity:  Is the paper void of typo's and errors? Is it well written?

Purpose: Read with the intention of understanding to grasp the content

Time frame: +/- 1 hour

What to do: 

• Read with the intent to understand, but ignore the detail. 
• Interact with the text by jotting down the main ideas
• Write comments in the margins that expresses your thoughts and includes your uncertainties and questions to the author. 
• Pay attention to figures, diagrams, graphs and graphics
• Identify relevant references you want to investigate further. 

After the second pass you can decide to:

• move on to the third pass if it is valuable to your research. 

Purpose: Virtually recreate the text for understanding

Time frame: +/- 5 hours

What to do:

Before you start the third pass, you must decide if the article is a ‘keeper’, because this pass is where the really hard work starts. It requires absolute attention to detail.

You re-create its content by re-living it in your mind. You then compare the recreation with the actual paper in order to:

• ascertain any innovations;
• pinpoint hidden flaws and;
• challenge assumptions.

Once completing the third pass, you should:

•  reconstruct the article; and
• know its strong and weak points.