As a university student, you spend hours searching for supporting research to understand your field of study as you journey from being a novice to an expert. So how do you make this transition as smooth as possible? Well, you need to learn how to "mine for gold". How do you dissect an academic article, make sense of what you are reading, critically appraise the content, and add it to your "researcher voice"? Try implementing Keshav's  Three Pass Approach, and you may just strike gold.


1] The Three Pass Approach:  Reading, understanding and internalising scholarly articles 

Reading for research purposes is a skill that is not explicitly taught and very often supervisors assume that students can manage any reading material thrown their way. The truth is that the majority of students develop their own approach to reading using trial and error. Unfortunately much time and effort is wasted during this messy process and it often leads to students feeling frustrated, disheartened, anxious and worthless. However, by implementing Keshav's Three Pass Approach you can systematically and strategically mine your articles for the gold nuggets you need for your research.

2] Research through reading

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?<a href="https://deepstash.com/idea/179665/reading-for-understanding-and-reading-for-information">Investigate this idea</a>) the TPA allows you to filter and manage information.The first pass: Provides a bird's-eye-view to get the bigger pictureThe second pass: Helps you grasp the contentThe third pass: Dissecting the details in depth

3] The Three Pass Approach (TPA)

Purpose: Get the bigger pictureTime frame: 5-10 minutesWhat 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

4] The first pass

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

5] The 5 C's

Purpose: Read with the intention of understanding to grasp the contentTime frame: +/- 1 hourWhat to do: <ul><li>Read with the intent to understand, but ignore the detail. </li><li>Interact with the text by jotting down the main ideas</li><li>Write comments in the margins that expresses your thoughts and includes your uncertainties and questions to the author. </li><li>Pay attention to figures, diagrams, graphs and graphics</li><li>Identify relevant references you want to investigate further. </li></ul>After the second pass you can decide to:<ul><li>move on to the third pass if it is valuable to your research. </li></ul>

6] The second pass

Purpose: Virtually recreate the text for understandingTime frame: +/- 5 hoursWhat 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:<ul><li>ascertain any innovations;</li><li>pinpoint hidden flaws and;</li><li>challenge assumptions.</li></ul>Once completing the third pass, you should:<ul><li> reconstruct the article; and</li><li>know its strong and weak points.</li></ul>

7] The third pass

Navigating and understanding text is an essential life skill, both for students and professionals.  Using the Three Pass Approach can help one to interact with text more effectively.

How to Read a Paper

Marisca Coetzee