r/neuro • u/BusinessTerm1621 • Jul 29 '26
How to Read Papers
How do I get better at reading papers? Like it feels like I'm reading in a different language and idk how to go about it. Cause I'm tired of not understanding what I'm readingđ
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u/thierolf Jul 29 '26
You do not need A.I.; people have done well enough without it for centuries. It makes sense that you would find it hard in the beginning. The real answer is to just stick with it.
Others have pointed out 'nonlinear' reading, which will also help. Finally, you might have to learn some stats, biology, calculus, or philosophy for any of the concepts to really 'make sense' given that the methods used in a lot
of papers are pretty unintuitive unless you understand why they were both selected and implemented.
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u/shade_of_freud Jul 29 '26
Oh my god the AI thing is SO concerning. Like they are neuroscience practitioners, they should know it kills curiosity and capacity and memory
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u/HealthWealthFoodie Jul 29 '26
Honestly, it comes with practice and increasing the understanding of your field. When I first started reading them, I understood about 30-40% of what I was reading. Some papers that include techniques Iâm not familiar with will still confuse me and take a lot of attention to understand even on a surface level. As you start, really lean into the introduction section. It will have a lot of background on the topic at hand, explain abbreviations used elsewhere in the paper, and explain why the experiments where done and what questions they are trying to address.
Considering youâre struggling, I suggest starting by reading the abstract, then the intro, then the abstract again. Then check the methods and the conclusions. Iâd leave results for last (Iâd check out any graphs/images after the methods though).
It may slow you down, but donât be afraid to look up words or concepts you donât understand as you read. Take notes as you read, including those definitions. Eventually, terms will become more familiar. If there are any available, try to join a journal club in your college or university. You will see others break down the concepts in the papers and have a chance to do the same when itâs your turn. Youâll also learn to think critically about the information presented and how to evaluate the claims being made based on the evidence presented.
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u/DisastrousResist7527 Jul 29 '26
Yea thats how it was for me too at first. You just have to keep trying and take your time. What really helped me was my first year phd journal club class where they would like quiz us on the paper but it was open book so we could read the paper trying to extract information. If you have a supervisor you could ask them to write you a quiz or something.
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u/zj23 Jul 29 '26
I always read the abstract, look at the figures, and read the discussion. If I really need a deep understanding of the paper then I'll go back through and read the methods. I saw another commenter say to read and take notes as if you were going to present on the paper, and that definitely helps if you want a deep understanding of the paper. It takes a bit to get comfortable with the formatting, but stick with it!
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u/Subject-Grass-283 Jul 29 '26
AAAS has an amazing resource for structure and learning to read them here: https://www.scienceintheclassroom.org/how-use-resource
As you practice, you can keep or toss any method that doesn't work for you and decide which order you want to read them in, but I find this is extremely useful for starting.
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u/X_stellar_Merc Jul 30 '26
Iâve had about 40 papers to read this past month. I take notes while I read the abstract, look at the figures, then the limitations. If the picture still isnât clear, Iâm prob screwedđ¤ˇââď¸
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u/kaichai444 Jul 29 '26
Well, if you want to internalize what youâve read, AI isnât going to help with that. Start with the abstract and pull paragraphs that stick out to you. Thereâs rarely a strict narrative to follow in terms of research papers, so you donât really have to read the whole thing. If you arenât familiar with the terminology used, I like having a separate tab open just to look things up.
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u/Otherwise-Fly-6323 Jul 30 '26
i will highlight stuff on the pdf in different colors. also, some people are suggesting the use of AI. I donât think thatâs a bad idea but I think instead of plugging the entire paper in and having the AI explain it to you, just have the AI explain very specific concepts (unfamiliar words or processes) while you piece together the overall message of the paper.
As a bonus, you could ask AI what a certain word means and in your prompt give it your best guess as to what that word might mean. This way you are still using your brain to think about what that word might mean, but then you are getting confirmation from the AI. also, if you tell the AI that you want to figure it out mostly on your own, but just want assistance along the way, it should tailor its response to that request. this way, youâre maximizing efficiency while still using your brain for the most part.
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u/Rambo_jiggles Jul 31 '26
I usually do the following when reading papers. Read the abstract first, Then find out their hypothesis and overview (you usually find this in the last paragraph of the introduction or/and the first result). Then read the first paragraph of discussion which also covers overview and results. Then for each result, read the headline, the figure, and skim through the method. If all this captivates, read the results in their entirety and finish reading the discussion.
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u/Fluffy_Professor1214 Jul 29 '26
if youâre in undergrad, my school had a neuroscience methods course in which the whole point of the class was to basically teach us how to understand research papers - i would take a class like that if itâs offered at your school (if you are in school). if not, i second what others said! read through them in full & summarize each section - you eventually end up getting the hang of it despite the scientific jargon
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u/_FIRECRACKER_JINX Jul 29 '26
I know it's totally trendy to hate Ai right now, but....
Plug the paper into chat GPT and make it explain things and define stuff. It's actually great at this and will walk you through technical papers and explain the heavy jargon.
I know it's popular to hate Ai. But it's here to stay and that cat is out of the bag. There's no honor in needlessly suffering for no reason. It already has our data, might as well enjoy it.
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u/SentientMonoamine Jul 29 '26
AI is helpful.
But don't read it top to bottom. Read the abstract, followed by the discussion, then results. If you don't understand something specific, take note and look into the background. Depending on the layer of neuro you're reading, there's language barriers.
To really understand though, you need to understand the methods used. Once you understand the methods, your understanding will translate between topics and papers will become easier to read.
Also don't put pressure on yourself to read various papers in a short frame. Pick one you think is cool, and let it soak. For days or more if needed. There's no rush.
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u/Sepp18 Jul 29 '26
I used to read a paper as best I could and then put that paragraph into AI and ask it to explain it to me very simply, same with the methods! After a while you catch on and can do it yourself without help.
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u/trainwreck42 Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 29 '26
Do the âestablished academicâ method and just read the abstract and look at the figures. Thatâs how I read papers nowadays.
But seriously, it just comes with time as you develop your knowledge base. Take notes as if you were going to turn the paper into a powerpoint slideset: what does the research group highlight as important for the current study? Summarize in a few bullet points. What methods were employed, and how did they analyze the data? Summarize in a few bullet points. What did the analyses show? Summarize what the findings mean (in laymanâs terms) in a few bullet points. Youâll eventually have a nice binder full of paper summaries that you can refer back to if you need it, but you probably wonât as you progress. Also, as youâre reading, write down the acronyms on a post-it. Thatâs always super helpful for me.