The Art of Reading a Journal Article

The following presentation is based on this paper, which provides recommendations for optimizing one's approach to reading scientific journal publications:​

Subramanyam R. (2013). Art of reading a journal article: Methodically and effectively. Journal of oral and maxillofacial pathology : JOMFP, 17(1), 65–70. https://doi.org/10.4103/0973-029X.110733

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23798833/

The Art of Reading a Journal Article © 2022 by E. Nomi is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Transcript

1. The Art of Reading a Journal Article Methodically and Effectively February 2022 From: centralsciencelibrary.blogspot.com
2. What are Research Papers For? (RV Subramanyam, 2013)
3. What are Research Papers For? » Build body of knowledge » Help formulate research questions and experiment designs From: reddit.com/r/ProgrammerHumor
4. Peer-Review » Allows experts in a field to self- regulate publication standards and assure validity, quality and originality of journal articles » Publications in peer-reviewed journals have more value From: opg.optica.org/reviewer
5. Large Volume of Publications » Publications are growing exponentially “To be updated with current knowledge, a physician practicing general medicine has to read 17 articles a day, 365 days a year.” (RV Subramanyam, 2013) Date Range # Publications in Medline 1978-1985 272,344 1986-1993 344,303 1994-2001 398,778
6. Journal article publications have increased since the publication of this paper » Publication output in science and engineering hit 2.9 million articles in 2020 Source(s): National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics; Science-Metrix; Elsevier, Scopus abstract and citation database, accessed May 2021; World Bank Country and Lending Groups, accessed March 2021.
7. “We are drowning in information but starved for knowledge.” — John Naisbitt - Publications are growing exponentially. - “To be updated with current knowledge, a physician practicing general medicine has to read 17 articles a day, 365 days a year.” - Logical methodology for a parsimonious approach. Date Range # Publications in Medline 1978-1985 272,344 1986-1993 344,303 1994-2001 398,778 (RV Subramanyam, 2013)
8. Methodological Approach An efficient method of navigating the literature is needed. From: miro.medium.com
9. Decide what you’re looking for. (RV Subramanyam, 2013) Methodology: Step 1
10. Types of Research Papers » Primary Literature – Presents original research and findings » Secondary Literature – Reviews, editorials, practice guidelines From: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
11. Types of Research Papers » Primary Literature – Presents original research and findings » Secondary Literature – Reviews, editorials, practice guidelines From: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
12. The next steps require a basic understanding of the anatomy of a research paper The next steps require a basic understanding of the anatomy of a research paper From Leonardo da Vinci’s anatomical drawings (Royal Collection)
13. Anatomy of a Research Paper » Title » Abstract » Intro » Methods » Results » Discussion » Conclusion » References - Research topic - Information about the authors
14. Anatomy of a Research Paper » Title » Abstract » Intro » Methods » Results » Discussion » Conclusion » References - Brief synopsis of the paper - Usually short due to word limit for publication - Free, even for papers that must be purchased
15. Anatomy of a Research Paper » Title » Abstract » Intro » Methods » Results » Discussion » Conclusion » References - Background information - Statement of the research hypothesis
16. Anatomy of a Research Paper » Title » Abstract » Intro » Methods » Results » Discussion » Conclusion » References - Procedures followed - Instruments used - Variables measured - Implementation of statistics
17. Anatomy of a Research Paper » Title » Abstract » Intro » Methods » Results » Discussion » Conclusion » References - Contains all data of study - Figures, tables, graphs - Statistical analyses – Hypothesis testing – Significance of data
18. Anatomy of a Research Paper » Title » Abstract » Intro » Methods » Results » Discussion » Conclusion » References - Interpretation of results - Answers research question - Limitations of the study - Sometimes included in results section
19. Anatomy of a Research Paper » Title » Abstract » Intro » Methods » Results » Discussion » Conclusion » References - Authors’ conclusions based on outcome of study - Future direction for further research - Sometimes included in discussion section
20. Anatomy of a Research Paper » Title » Abstract » Intro » Methods » Results » Discussion » Conclusion » References - Citations of sources where information was obtained - Important element of fact- checking
21. Methodology: Step 2 Read the title. » Is the paper a review article or original research?
22. Methodology: Step 3 Read the abstract. » What are the background or hypothesis, general methods, results and conclusions? (International Helminth Genomes Consortium, 2019)
23. Methodology: Step 4 Read the conclusion. » What claim does the research assert? » Were the conclusions logically based on reported data? » Will the results assist in clinical practice or further research? (Rosa et. Al 2018)
24. Methodology: Step 5 Decide whether or not to read further. (RV Subramanyam, 2013)
25. Methodology: Step 6 Read the intro. » Why was this study performed? » What was the research hypothesis? » What were the aims and objectives of the study? (Woldayay et al., 2021)
26. Methodology: Step 7 Read the methods. » What procedures were followed? » Is there any supporting information? » Inclusion/exclusion criteria? (Abbasi et al., 2018)
27. Methodology: Step 7 Read the methods. » How was statistical significance determined? – P-value cutoffs – Tests implemented – Software used (Immediato et al., 2016)
28. Statistics are Crucial! From: medium.com/analytics-vidhya » Descriptive Statistics – Quantitative description of a dataset – Facilitates data visualization
29. Statistics are Crucial! From: miro.medium.com » Descriptive Statistics – Mean, median, range, standard deviation – Frequency – Sensitivity and specificity
30. Statistics are Crucial! From: biochemia-medica.com » Inferential Statistics (Hypothesis testing) – Drawing conclusions or making predictions about a population based on data observed in a sample – Significance testing
31. Statistics are Crucial! From: scyther5/iStock/GettyImages » Parametric tests: – Normal curve test (Z test) – Student’s t-test – Analysis of variance – Pearson correlation coefficient – Linear regression
32. Statistics are Crucial! » Non-parametric tests for quantitative data: – Wilcoxon signed rank test – Mann Whitney rank sum ‐ test – Kruskal Wallis test ‐ From: scyther5/iStock/GettyImages
33. Statistics are Crucial! » Non-parametric tests for qualitative data: – Chi square test ‐ – McNemar test – Fisher’s exact test From: scyther5/iStock/GettyImages
34. Methodology: Step 8 » What were the key findings regarding the hypothesis? » Is data reported in graphs or tables? » Which aspects were significant/non-significant? Read the results. (Woldayay et al., 2021)
35. Methodology: Step 9 » How were research questions answered? » What was the interpretation of data analysis? » Were there limitations to the study? Read the discussion. (Torgerson et al., 2015)
36. Methodology: Step 10 » Was your initial assessment of the journal article correct? – Research claim – Supported by data – Practical application or future research Re-read the conclusion. (Simonato et al., 2020)
37. Methodology: Step 11 » Were references formatted correctly? » Were all the references cited in the text? » How old are references? Read through references. (Kreiman and Maunsell, 2011)
38. Conclusion It is important now more than ever to have a methodical strategy for approaching the literature, and a critical eye. From: bu.edu, freepngimg.com
39. References Azamfirei, L. (2016). Knowledge is power. The Journal of Critical Care Medicine, 2(2), 65–66. https://doi.org/10.1515/jccm-2016-0014 Garba, S., Ahmed, A., Mai, A., Makama, G., & Vincent, O. I. (2010). Proliferations of scientific medical journals: a burden or a blessing. DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals). https://doi.org/10.5001/omj.2010.89 Kelly, J., Sadeghieh, T., & Adeli, K. (2014). Peer Review in Scientific Publications: Benefits, Critiques, & A Survival Guide. EJIFCC, 25(3), 227–243. Subramanyam, RV. (2013). Art of reading a journal article: Methodically and effectively. Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, 17(1), 65. https://doi.org/10.4103/0973-029x.110733 Example Articles: Abbasi, I., Queiroz, A. T. L., Kirstein, O. D., Nasereddin, A., Horwitz, B. Z., Hailu, A., Salah, I., Mota, T. F., Fraga, D. B. M., Veras, P. S. T., Poché, D. M., Poché, R. M., Yeszhanov, A., Brodskyn, C., Torres-Poché, Z., & Warburg, A. (2018). Plant-feeding phlebotomine sand flies, vectors of leishmaniasis, prefer Cannabis sativa. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 115(46), 11790–11795. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1810435115 Immediato, D., Figueredo, L. A., Iatta, R., Camarda, A., De Luna, R. L. N., Giangaspero, A., Brandão-Filho, S. P., Otranto, D., & Cafarchia, C. (2016). Essential oils and Beauveria bassiana against Dermanyssus gallinae (Acari: Dermanyssidae): Towards new natural acaricides. Veterinary Parasitology, 229, 159–165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetpar.2016.10.018 International Helminth Genomes Consortium (2019). Comparative genomics of the major parasitic worms. Nature genetics, 51(1), 163–174. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41588-018-0262-1 Kreiman, G., & Maunsell, J. H. R. (2011). Nine criteria for a measure of scientific output. Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience, 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fncom.2011.00048 Rosa, B. A., Supali, T., Gankpala, L., Djuardi, Y., Sartono, E., Zhou, Y., Fischer, K., Martin, J., Tyagi, R., Bolay, F. K., Fischer, P. U., Yazdanbakhsh, M., & Mitreva, M. (2018). Differential human gut microbiome assemblages during soil-transmitted helminth infections in Indonesia and Liberia. Microbiome, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40168-018-0416-5 Simonato, G., Marchiori, E., Marcer, F., Ravagnan, S., Danesi, P., Montarsi, F., Bononi, C., Capelli, G., Pietrobelli, M., & Cassini, R. (2020). Canine Leishmaniosis Control through the Promotion of Preventive Measures Appropriately Adopted by Citizens. Journal of Parasitology Research, 2020, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/8837367 Torgerson, P. R., Devleesschauwer, B., Praet, N., Speybroeck, N., Willingham, A. L., Kasuga, F., Rokni, M. B., Zhou, X., Fèvre, E. M., Sripa, B., Gargouri, N., Fürst, T., Budke, C. M., Carabin, H., Kirk, M., Angulo, F. J., Havelaar, A. H., & De Silva, N. (2015). World Health Organization Estimates of the Global and Regional Disease Burden of 11 Foodborne Parasitic Diseases, 2010: A data Synthesis. PLOS Medicine, 12(12), e1001920. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001920 Wolday, D., Gebrecherkos, T., Arefaine, Z. G., Kiros, Y. K., Gebreegzabher, A., Tasew, G., Abdulkader, M., Abraha, H. E., Desta, A. A., Hailu, A., Tollera, G., Abdella, S., Tesema, M., Abate, E., Endarge, K. L., Hundie, T. G., Miteku, F. K., Urban, B. C., Schallig, H. H., . . . De Wit, T. F. R. (2021). Effect of co-infection with intestinal parasites on COVID-19 severity: A prospective observational cohort study. EClinicalMedicine, 39, 101054. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.101054