Critical Reading : Making Sense of Research Papers in Life Sciences and Medicine

ISBN-13: 9780415344135 / Angielski / Twarda / 2006 / 129 str.

Ben Yudkin

Opis

Experienced scientists and medical researchers know how important it is to engage with research literature in an active, critical and analytical way. However in most universities little time is devoted to teaching the relevant skills. Readers who accept scientific papers uncritically may misunderstand results, misinterpret the experimental significance of techniques, over or underestimate the importance of findings and waste time and resources on flawed or unnecessary experiments.
Critical Reading is aimed at everyone who needs to read original research papers in life sciences and medicine: final-year undergraduates, graduate students, research scientists, clinicians and medical researchers. Through a series of clearly focused chapters, the reader is introduced to critical reading skills such as:
· Detection and analysis of spin
· Development of active reading habits
· Evaluation of methods, including qualitative methods
· Scientific analysis and interpretation
This book promotes a balanced, rigorous approach to the literature. It is unique in providing examples and end-of-chapter exercises from a wide range of scientific and clinical disciplines including biochemistry, ecology, immunology and physiology. Principles are extensively illustrated by reference to real papers, which are discussed constructively in the context of the pressures and technical difficulties that face researchers.
The skills Critical Reading imparts will deepen readers' understanding of the research process, increase enjoyment and enhance professional confidence andeffectiveness in academic, clinical and commercial settings.

Spis treści

1: The Paper Trail: The Deep End.  Sources of Information.  Textbooks.  Reviews.  Research Papers.  Finding What You Need.  Know Your Books.  Know Your Journals.  Hunting the Needle.  Looking Into the Future  2: Medium and Message: Journals.  Peer Review.  Prestige or Puff?  The Internet and Other Sources.  A Tangled Web.  Copying Errors  3: Scientists as Authors: Truth and Relative Truth.  The World is Orderly – Isn't It?  Artefact or Ugly Fact?  Interpretation and Presentation.  The Academic Funding Crisis.  Science Meets Business.  Stockholm Beckons.  Sex Sells.  Invisible Science.  Publication Bias and Reference Bias.  Calling the Tune  4: The Abstract and Introduction: First Impressions.  Do I Need to Read the Paper?  What is the Paper About?  What Was the Point of the Research?  What are Abstracts Not For?  5: Materials and Methods: The Scientific Method.  Attention Please.  Method or Madness?  What Are Controls For?  The Scientific Question.  A Clear Problem  6: Quantitative Methods: Significant Figures.  Statistical Significance.  Confidence Intervals.  Sample Size.  The Significance of Figures  7: Thinking Science: Assumptions and Deductions.  Outside the Box.  Lines of Reasoning.  Reading Research.  Revisiting the Paper Trail

O autorze

Ben Yudkin teaches at the Department for Continuing Education, University of Oxford, UK, where he runs graduate courses on critical literature interpretation and experimental techniques in molecular biology.