Student Resources ยท Research

Learn to read
a research paper.

Scientific papers can look intimidating. Break them into smaller sections and learn what each part is actually telling you.

01 โ€” The Paper

Know what you're
looking at.

Most scientific papers follow a structure that makes them easier to navigate once you know what to look for.

๐Ÿ“Œ
01

Abstract

A short overview of the research question, methods, results, and conclusions.

โ“
02

Introduction

Explains the background and why the research question matters.

๐Ÿงช
03

Methods

Explains how researchers collected and analyzed their data.

๐Ÿ“Š
04

Results

Shows what the researchers found through their analysis.

๐Ÿ’ญ
05

Discussion

Explains what the results might mean and how they connect to previous research.

๐Ÿ“š
06

References

Lists the sources and previous studies used by the researchers.

02 โ€” Helpful Research Tools

Go beyond
the abstract.

Use research education resources to become more comfortable with scientific literature.

RockEDU Student Research Toolkit Learn scientific reasoning and research basics โ†’ Research Girl Resources Explore research education resources and workshops โ†’ PubMed Search biomedical and health research literature โ†’ Google Scholar Search scholarly literature across many fields โ†’
Pre-Derm Society

Read. Question. Explore.

Research gets easier when you know where to start.

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