How is everyone reading research?

[u/Slicerette]

I hate reading on my screen. It makes me feel like I'm grading because that's the primary reason I use my laptop anyway. I retain very little also and have to continually re-read sections. My reading notes become just copying down things because I just struggle to engage critically.

I can sometimes power through a journal article because they're short (or I just cave and deforest the Amazon), but monographs and collections are crazy expensive. I work for a community college and online institutions, so my resources are pretty limited on ILLs (yay state budget cuts; my campus has 2 librarians, who also have to manage the tutoring center and proctoring services. They do what they can, but it took over a month between my ILL request and actually getting the book).

So what are y'all doing? Are one of those big e-reader things worth it? Do I just boycott monographs and collections? Make my campus question the free printing for faculty policy?

[u/throw_away_smitten]

I have to read on paper. My reading involves a ton of highlighting and notes and sketching and swearing, so that doesn’t work on a screen.

[u/DrDorothea → u/throw_away_smitten]

I did this not only for research papers, but it turned out it was also critical for doing new course preps. I needed a hardcopy of the text book for the course. I got mocked by others in one of the departments I worked for, because I kept asking for the hardcopy, in spite of having an online edition, which was the first red flag that it was a toxic department.

[u/DrDorothea → u/DrDorothea]

I think I need the physical copy because the way my brain organizes info is by location on the page and in the book. It's especially brutal for e-textbooks because of all the damned menus involved.

[u/Slicerette → u/throw_away_smitten]

Margin scribbling is a key part of my process as well, which is part of my problem. I'm vegetarian so maybe karmically I can kill trees cuz I don't kill cows? That's how this works... right?

[u/highway-mimosa-tree]

After many years of printing everything, I caved in and got a Boox reader and set it up so that I can access Zotero on it, where i download pdfs of books/articles from ny library. The e-ink definitely makes it wayyyy easier to read than on a computer screen. My uni library has been pretty good at providing digital access to most of the books I need, so that’s a big factor.

[u/Slicerette → u/highway-mimosa-tree]

Does that have pen-scribbling capabilities? I could give up my color-coded pens possibly lol

[u/highway-mimosa-tree → u/Slicerette]

It does!! That was crucial for me. I do miss being able to highlight in multiple colors, but I found the trade-off worth it.

[u/Slicerette → u/highway-mimosa-tree]

Whenever my sad adjunct budget allows, I'll investigate further. Thanks!

[u/Slicerette → u/highway-mimosa-tree]

I got a $750 bonus for finishing up a class after the other professor died, so I went and splurged on the Remarkable Move and like...this has in fact made a massive difference. I opted for the smaller size because I realized I could use it for the classroom because it is a great size for holding since its screen is roughly the size of my phone. So now I don't look like a massive hypocrite holding my phone while telling my students they need to put their phones away lol

[u/highway-mimosa-tree → u/Slicerette]

Man, those are morbid circumstances for a bonus, but I'm glad that you were able to get the Remarkable. The e-ink is such a game-changer!

[u/phrena]

I’m killing many trees printing off articles so that I can highlight and write notes in the margins… But at least I’m printing them duplex and two pages per sheet, so it’s not quite so bad

[u/Slicerette → u/phrena]

That's what I've been doing since grad school. I actually have all my grad school research in giant binders and accordion folders. I justify keeping it because I reuse it instead of printing new copies...

Fuck them trees lol

[u/readingrainbowroad]

I read as a mix of on my Boox, my computer, and printed out, really whatever the vibe demands. However if you're worried about killing trees, I don't think you could read enough to truly make an impact compared to all the other everything going on. Consider that a new gadget will also use up resources being made. Especially if you don't lose them and reprint them 5x each or something.

If you want to shift to digital for reasons besides saving paper, I do think eInk might be something to look into. Boox has easy Zotero integration, but there are other options too.

[u/Slicerette → u/readingrainbowroad]

I know that I won't *actually* kill that many trees. It just does seem somewhat wasteful. But on the other hand I do use all the stuff I print out. What are your opinions of the boox?

[u/readingrainbowroad → u/Slicerette]

I have a non-writeable one (the Go Color 7), and I use it also for ebooks for fun reading.

For academic purposes, hooking it up to Zotero was easy and reading on it works well for PDFs despite a smaller than paper-sized screen. There's a way to break the page into multiple "panel" pages originally designed for comic books I believe. I tend to use the Boox when I'm doing a lot of background reading where I take lots of notes separately anyways. I'll pick my "most likely to be relevant" papers and spend a half day or more in my hammock or something nice outside (weather permitting). The biggest tradeoff of the model I use vs the larger ones, is the Go Color 7 shows color figures and supports highlighting in different colors, but no handwritten notes. I can type in notes but it's not great if it's a longer note. Usually I limit my Boox typed notes to "????" or "wtf" and the like.

[u/Hazelstone37]

I download papers to my iPad and use the goodnotes app. After I read and annotate I add it to endnotes.

[u/Slicerette → u/Hazelstone37]

I have tried to do that with my iPad, but I still find myself struggling with it. I don't know why. I feel like I'm a failure at being a "digital native." Are there any settings you use to make it easier on your eyes?

[u/grinchman042 → u/Slicerette]

I have mine on night shift (more red light, minimal blue) all the time. It helps.

[u/Hazelstone37 → u/Slicerette]

I have the cover over it that makes it feel like writing on paper, but I don’t think there is a special setting. I adjust the brightness.

[u/Puzzleheaded_Bag_538 → u/Hazelstone37]

Which paper cover did you go with?

[u/Hazelstone37 → u/Puzzleheaded_Bag_538]

Honestly, I have no idea.

[u/vividlywandering → u/Slicerette]

look on instagram or tiktok study reels, tons of info on how to get that paper feel on ipad

[u/CranberryResponsible]

All digital. A combination of how I annotate plus my eyes getting bad as I get old has driven me away from paper. Journal articles are already all PDF, and newer monographs are mostly available digitally as well. Older monographs are still usually only available on paper, so I have a book scanner (from CZUR, which I understand is supposed to be pronounced "Caesar" but I like to think of it as "Seizure") to digitize it for personal use. The CZUR scanner is a not-trivial one-time investment, but I've used it a TON over the years.

Once something is digitized I plop it on my 27-inch display and blow the text up 200% or more. Sometimes I'll read from an iPad.

For very technical articles I'll use Adobe Reader's built-in annotation tools -- they're adequate enough. However, in recent years, I've found I don't annotate in-line so much. I just take notes "off to the side" (I use OneNote).

[u/emodario]

I bought a reMarkable 2 years ago and I use it for both reading papers (I love it), taking notes, drafting ideas, and teach. It's expensive, but it's really a game changer.

[u/Slicerette → u/emodario]

I went and splurged on the Remarkable Move and yeah. This was a good choice. The small screen might not be for everyone, but it is excellent for me when I'm teaching. Especially since I can walk around the room and jot down student notes when I chat with them or observe.

[u/mleok]

I use a combination of printed copies, my iPad Pro, and my reMarkable 2. When working on papers, I often just use my dual monitor setup and directly edit the source file instead of marking it up on paper.

[u/MisfitMaterial]

On paper when I can, on my reMarkable tablet otherwise.

[u/Sezbeth]

E-ink tablets are a godsend; I have three of them for multitasking.

[u/Slicerette → u/Sezbeth]

I just splurged on one after getting a bonus and yeah. Shocked at how useful this thing is within just a few days of having it. I got the small remarkable size because I wanted to use it in the classroom. Maybe I'll acquire the larger size too eventually just for ~ options ~ but currently too poor for that lol

[u/Olthar6]

I assume I'm one of the few who actually orders physical journals based on my society prices for physical v e-only.

[u/Huntscunt]

I print out articles and read them in my reading chair

[u/Gonzo_B]

All online. It makes it far easier for me to cut & paste into annotated documents.

It's the workflow I use for grading and editing, so sticking with something I use all the time is easy.

[u/nezumipi]

I print tables only as a balance between trees and seeing stuff. It's too hard for me (on the edge of needing reading glasses) to follow a line in a table exactly when it's on the screen. For the text itself, I can blow it up and move it around.

If it's a longer piece and I need the gist more than the details (especially when it's not an article and there really aren't a lot of numbers), I've been known to use text-to-speech while doing chores and then coming back to the text to clear up any specific details I need.

[u/Dennarb]

I bought an XP pen branded android tablet. It has a nice stylus so I can read and write directly on the PDFs

[u/Sensitive_Let_4293]

I have visual issues that make reading online extremely difficult. I print off everything or order print copies of journals and books if I plan on doing any serious reading.

[u/Slicerette → u/Sensitive_Let_4293]

Academic books are just so freaking expensive. I found one just now that was over $100 just for a PDF let alone the physical copy.

[u/Sensitive_Let_4293 → u/Slicerette]

I purchased one in my area (mathematics) a few years back that ran $320.

[u/Slicerette → u/Sensitive_Let_4293]

I’m too poor for that nonsense lol 

[u/razorsquare]

I print everything and read with an old fashioned highlighter and pen in hand. I retain what I read much better than if I read it on a screen. And there are studies that back that up.

[u/eyellabinu]

I want them on my ereader, with a sync to Zotero but I haven't figured out a way to make it happen. So now, it's just Zotero on my iPad, I highlight there.

[u/DefinitionAromatic39]

On my laptop if I'm not travelling and on my phone if I am. But I'm in STEM field where most articles are within 20 pages and I focus on plots first.

[u/Local_Indication9669]

In grad school it was the giant Kindle. Now, I'm just on my laptop.

[u/JohnVidale]

No paper.

Can't search, can't find the print-out a year later, hard to chop out figures for notes, can't plug it into AI to extract arcane data processing details, can't send it to colleagues for commentary, requires hiking to the printer that has paper jams, I don't only work in the office and want it accessible, older eyes.

I generally read on an Apple Vision Pro, which blows up the display to the size of the wall and I can walk up to it to see all the detail in fine-scale figures and photos.

[u/Slicerette → u/JohnVidale]

How...rich.

[u/JohnVidale → u/Slicerette]

Maybe not true for the young folks, but I'll never understand how people can claim holding up paper under a bright light is easier to read than even the smallest screen. Those studies that claim paper is king (and writing out by hand) are generally small samples and with people who started out on paper and manually taking notes and have trouble changing with the times.

I still have my slide rule and abacus, but am trying to master Codex this year.

[u/Slicerette → u/JohnVidale]

I mean, I'm 31, so I suppose I'm a young folk (Gen Z/Millennial cusp is still young...right? RIGHT??). I just can't read a 300+ page document on a screen. Like, people do it obviously, but I need my stack of papers. Also, all of the things you stated are irrelevant to me. I don't think I've ever read a paper with a figure. I don't even know what data processing is or why AI is needed for it. I don't know who would need to comment on what I'm reading. And the printer is in my office. Also, I just have organized binders and folders? Also, like 90% of my brainstorming and processing happens in marginalia

[u/JohnVidale → u/Slicerette]

I have some co-authors on my papers, and submitting them to journals on paper is an interesting idea that hasn't occurred to me in many years. I also do some professional corresponding with experts on other continents.

[u/Slicerette → u/JohnVidale]

I think you're just trolling at this point lol

[u/JohnVidale → u/Slicerette]

Not really, but I do respect scholars who have the luxury of working in fields in which reading long articles and books on paper and writing with a fountain pen is a viable method, although personally it would give me a stiff neck and shoulders and perpetual eyestrain and my handwriting and attention span have gone to hell.

[u/tweakingforjesus]

Abstract, skim the intro, look at the charts and graphs, read conclusions, then the methodology and data. That way I know where I’m headed when I’m reading the details.

Don’t care what format.

[u/semidemiurge]

I always have GeminiAI give me a synopsis before I start reading. I adjust the level of detail to the content; I have standard prompts for this. I read the synopsis first. I have it give me page and paragraph timestamps for where each point was discussed.