Motivations
Research papers are an integral part of academic research. They are the primary means of disseminating research findings, which makes reading and navigating them effectively an essential skill for researchers.
However, research papers can be difficult to navigate and understand, especially for early-stage researchers. Additionally, the ability to reproduce research findings is a key component of research, and this is where the ability to navigate research papers becomes crucial.
By developing the skills needed to read and navigate research papers, researchers can more effectively understand the existing state of research in their field, identify areas of research that require further investigation, and reproduce research findings.
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Understand the structure and components of a research paper
- Develop a framework for approaching reading papers
- Skim through papers to identify the most relevant parts
- Analyze the key results and methods in a paper
- Determine the reproducibility of the results presented in a paper
- Critically evaluate the methodology, assumptions, and limitations of a paper
- Evaluate feasibility of reproducing results from papers with and without access to code
- Identify gaps in current research and propose future directions for research.
- Through these learning outcomes, participants will gain the skills and knowledge necessary to become more efficient and effective readers of research papers, and to evaluate the reliability and relevance of the research presented.
See the workshop structure page for more information about general workshop format.