How to read research papers
A summary from this video:
Reading papers are very important for researchers, they keep us to stay updated with the state-of-the-arts methods, problems, and applications. With more reading, we can learn to distinguish the fads and the lasting ideas. Along the reading process, we need to know what are the questions to ask and answer?
The papers to read come with a “reading list” you keep on.
1st pass: Browse
We need to go through 100s’ or 1000s’ papers per year . The browse stages need to be efficient, 1–2 mins.
The purpose is to see what is interesting or relevant. The approach is to read the abstract, then scan the figures/captions to do gut check based on the abstract.
Maybe followed by venue check? author check? or citation check.
2nd pass: scan to get general idea
If the browse is positive, then it is time to skin positively. Believe the author and assume everything is true. Decide if the paper is interesting and needs more exploration, many papers might fail at this stage. But as a new researcher, it might takes more practice to decide which paper to give up at this stage.
The result of this stage is to use 2–3 sentences to state the problem, the novelty of the paper, and how significant of the result is.
This stage takes 5–10 mins.
Also, try to answer the 6Cs questions.
3rd pass: Critical read
Read carefully, but believe everything, and ignores the details.
The stage takes 20–60 mins
Also check the credentials and reputation of the author.
Make notes about what troubles you.
Look for assumptions that might be of faulty.
Make sure the evidence is adequate and accurate
4th pass: Creative read
The novelty of this paper. Does it open up to new directions?
