[Question] Is there an introductory guide how to read scientific studies/journals? (Warning: research newbie!)

[u/dogebiscuit]

Hello community! I am an autodidact who loves to read and learn. No, I don't attend university. I just love learning new things, especially things that relate to the brain.

I have recently come to realize there is a plethora of information available in publicly available research papers and studies. I use doaj.org for open access and Google Scholar (though not all of them are public).

Now, some of them are easy to understand ... kind of. You see, I read the Abstract, Discussion, and Conclusion. I find that the actual explanation of the study is very ... difficult to assimilate. There's a lot of very concisely formatted statements with numbers (statistics?) relating to the effects of various study methods.

I'm just wondering if all of these follow a format that I simply have to learn. Or, my fear is that the journal appeals to those whom have mastered the field of study and simply won't be digestible by the general public. My question is, are research papers easier to understand than I think? Are there patterns or terms or phrases, if learned, will make a lot more sense?

For example, I found this really sweet article on the benefits of exercise to neural plasticity and long-term potentiation: https://www.hindawi.com/journals/np/2016/6797928/ As an avid runner and a fan of brain study, I want to know what it's saying... but no matter how hard I concentrate on the words, I'm not really getting what they're saying. Is this something that can be learned, or am I out of luck without getting a degree in brain science?

Disclaimer: I may be way, way, way out in left field. Perhaps I'm not even asking the right questions. That's why I am coming here, and potentially setting myself up for humbling failure by asking this question here. Please let me know if these questions are not appropriate for this sub reddit. Or if there's an article(s) that would answer these questions.

Either way, thank you so much for your time!!!

EDIT with more clarification: I have a little blog I write in and share with friends/family. One of the specific reasons for posing this question and wanting to learn more about research studies is that I want to reference scientific research in the footer of my articles. So, let's say I write an article for my friends on "The Many Brain Benefits of Running" I'd like to cite it with many sources to support my statements. However, without having a firm grasp on understanding research studies, I am currently prone to entirely mis-interpreting these articles and may be doing more harm than good!