RES101: Decoding Scientific Literature

In medicine, change is the only constant. New research continuously challenges current beliefs and introduces better, safer, or more effective ways to care for our patients. Being able to understand and interpret scientific literature means we don’t have to wait for protocols to catch up—we can be informed, adaptable clinicians who are ready to advocate for care that is backed by evidence, not just habit.

Sounds simple enough - but if you’ve ever sat down to read an article from a medical journal, stared blankly at the first sentence, and suddenly remembered you have a ton of laundry to do, you're not alone. Scientific writing has a language all its own, and learning to decode it takes practice. At first, it might feel like a marathon of dense text, confusing stats, and overwhelming graphs. Like any new skill, the more you do it, the faster and easier it gets—and eventually, you’ll be skimming abstracts and spotting sketchy conclusions like a pro.

In this post, we’ll break down how to read scientific papers into manageable, mega-beginner-friendly steps. No Ph.D. required.

Step 1 – Choosing a paper

The very first step is, of course, choosing a topic to research. I would recommend choosing something that actually interests you, as your first few papers will probably be tedious reads and if the content doesn’t excite you, it will be even harder to pay attention.

If you’re fortunate enough to have access to an online library or journal database (i.e. university students, hospital-based systems), you’ll have endless options at your fingertips. However, these resources are absolutely not necessary and without them, you can still access many great articles. You just need to know how to identify scholarly sources from other sources.

definition: peer-reviewed

Scholarly sources are non-biased, science backed information hubs like professional, peer-reviewed journals. The pages will be notably devoid of advertisements, and the authors/their affiliations will be easy to identify. Most articles will include conflict-of-interest statements which convey the lack of biases in the research (aka – they don’t have any ulterior motives backing their research and no one paid them to reach specific conclusions). Google can actually help you narrow down sources – just head to https://scholar.google.com into your search bar and then key in your topic. I also like to use the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database when browsing online.

Once you hit the search button, you’ll be inundated with hundreds to thousands of articles. Many will be totally irrelevant to your research. Narrow your options to anything published within the last 3-5 years (unless, of course, you’re researching historical information) to ensure that you’re accessing updated material. Start with the titles that sound promising and further narrow those down by skimming the abstracts, which summarize the study’s methods and results, to find which articles offer the information you’re looking for.

 A few questions to ask yourself when deciding whether an article is relevant:

• Does patient population of this study match the information I’m looking for? 

  • If you’re looking for information on strategies for pediatric pain management, a study done on adults isn’t likely to provide you with any relevant findings.

• Does the setting of this study match the setting I practice in (or want to know about)? 

  • If you want to know more about first-pass success rates for rural paramedics, data collected in the operating room probably isn’t valuable to you.

There is no greater heartbreak than finding an abstract that is perfectly suited to your research, only to realize that the full-text article is hidden behind a paywall. If you have library access, you might be able to request a full-text copy through interlibrary loan. Otherwise, it’s worth a shot to email the corresponding author and politely request a copy of the article. Just remember – kindness goes a long way, and while many authors will happily share their work, they aren’t obligated to provide the article or even respond to your request.

Step 2 – Gather your materials

Once you’ve locked down an article, there are only a few other things you’ll need to get started.

1. A full text copy of your chosen article.

It might be a little old school, but I have always preferred a printed copy of the article. If you don’t have easy access to a printer, or just don’t want to waste the paper, you can always import the article into an app that allows you to notate it – I personally like the Good Notes app for this. The point I’m making here is that you’ll want the ability to highlight text and take notes in the margins as you read.

2. One highlighter and two pens in different colors.

You’ll use one color to jot down your thoughts, opinions, or summarizations of complex ideas in the margins. You’ll use the other color to write your questions as you think of them or circle words you don’t know. Use the highlighter to highlight key findings or important statements.

3. The internet (even if it’s just your smart phone).

So that you can readily look up words, phrases, or values that you don’t understand.

Step 3 – Read the abstract (again)

This time around, you’ll want to jot down any questions you have that aren’t answered in the abstract. You’ll also want to highlight the stated conclusions. Keep these items in the front of your mind as you read the rest of the paper, and don’t be afraid to jump back to them if you need a reminder.

Step 4 – Read the introduction

The introduction will provide background information about the study and explain the researchers’ purpose in completing it. Highlight contextual information that seems important.

Step 5 – Read the Discussion/Conclusion

This is where the authors will review the results and attempt to interpret those findings within the context of their study. They’ll provide insight into why they think certain conclusions were reached and how their findings might be explained. They should also highlight the limitations of their study, which might arise from the data itself, methods, variables not accounted for, or other factors outside of human control. Highlight these pieces for easy identification and then jot down your own counterpoints or additional explanations in the margins.

When reading the discussion or conclusion section of a scientific paper, it’s important to approach it with a healthy dose of skepticism. This is not because we doubt the authors’ integrity or intelligence, but because even the most esteemed researchers can have unrecognized blind spots. Subconscious biases can shape how results are interpreted or framed. Alternative explanations or study limitations that exist beyond the authors’ knowledge or belief structure may be overlooked, or the authors may reach broader conclusions than can truly be backed by the data. Good science depends on asking difficult questions, exploring counterarguments, and being open to the idea that new evidence will shift our understanding. Critical thinking isn’t cynical - it’s what keeps science honest and evolving.

Step 6 – Read the methods and results

Since you’ve already read the discussion, interpreting the presented data should be a little bit easier. Nonetheless, these sections have the potential to become really confusing. If you skim over the list of statistical analyses and mathematical acrobatics that were performed with the data set, and you don’t immediately know exactly what they are and how they were performed, don’t sweat it. I’ll let you in on a secret - there’s a good chance the authors don’t either (it’s me, hi – I’m the authors, it’s me).

Definition: sample size

The data collected for medical research is usually what we call non-normal data – which means that a portion of the data will fall outside of expected patterns or values and can’t be distributed in a “normal” bell-curve pattern. Because of how unpredictable the data is, interpreting the numbers isn’t as simple as calculating the mean, median, and mode of the numbers. These data sets have to be translated using much more sophisticated witchcraf--I mean, mathematics which requires the expertise of a professional statistician, who typically has a master’s degree or higher in their field.

The good news is that you don’t need a degree in statistics to make sense of the final paper. As long as you have a loose understanding of a few basic concepts, you’ll be just fine. Here are a few of the most common statistical analyses you’ll find in medical research:

Commonly used statistical analyses

The results section will report what was observed, not why it occurred. Here, the authors will present key findings of the study in an objective and concise manner without any interpretation. Typically, data will be displayed in tables and/or graphs and accompanied by reporting of relevant statistical analyses (p-values, confidence intervals, etc.). You can get by with a baseline understanding of terminology used in this section, as the important findings will be laid out in the discussion section. These are some of the most common terms you'll see in the results section:

As you read through the results section, try to connect the numbers to the main points of the discussion. Try to identify how the data supports the authors' conclusions. This will help you better understand the study's impact and whether there truly is enough evidence to support the claims.

Step 7 – Read the abstract again

Skim over the abstract once more and answer the questions you wrote down earlier with information you learned in the other sections. The simplicity of the abstract can help you make sense of everything you read in body of the paper. If parts of the abstract remain unclear, or if you think you missed key points within the paper, revisit those other sections.

Step 8 – Mine the references

If you’re looking for multiple papers on the same topic, the reference section of your first selected paper is a great place to start. Reading the cited papers to gain better clarity on a statement made in the first paper and offer you greater background or contextual knowledge. Following a chain of referenced papers can even help you understand how interconnected medical research is and how it evolves.

Conclusion

These are the steps that worked for me when I was just getting started, but every reader finds their own groove. What feels helpful to one person might feel clunky to another, and that’s okay—what matters is finding what works well for your brain and building your confidence. While reading a scientific paper might not ever be as relaxing as skimming through the latest FOAMfrat blog, with enough practice, you’ll find yourself picking out the major takeaways from an article without needing to block off your entire afternoon.

References

Fosmire, M. (n.d.). How to Read a Scientific Paper. In Library at Purdue. Purdue University. Retrieved December 1, 2024, from https://lib.purdue.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Newest-Scientific-Paper.pdf

Australian Bureau of Statistics. “Data | Australian Bureau of Statistics.” Www.abs.gov.au, 2 Feb. 2023, www.abs.gov.au/statistics/understanding-statistics/statistical-terms-and-concepts/data.

Wadhwa RR, Marappa-Ganeshan R. T Test. [Updated 2023 Jan 16]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK553048/

Shreffler J, Huecker MR. Types of Variables and Commonly Used Statistical Designs. [Updated 2023 Mar 6]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557882/

Tenny S, Hoffman MR. Odds Ratio. [Updated 2023 May 22]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK431098/

National Library of Medicine. “Finding and Using Health Statistics.” National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, 2024, www.nlm.nih.gov/oet/ed/stats/02-950.html. Accessed 15 May 2025.