Academic papers are a summary of research/experiment results as well as the process, and reading them is no easy fit to say the least.

I had never read academic papers before 2020 probably because I was not required to and that made me not realize how beneficial they can be. The trick is just to know which ones to read because there are very many out there.

Reading research papers may sound easy, I mean it’s just reading right? Well, it isn’t. If anything I think it should be a taught skill especially if someone wants to get the most out of it. Unfortunately, the only way to know how to properly read research papers is through trial and error, plus a lot of frustration.

I’ve started reading research papers this year because being a graduate student means reading as many as required. That is where most of the content in the lessons is and or comes from.

 

What are academic papers for?

As a graduate or undergraduate student, you might think lectures and textbooks could be enough to properly get you through the class and understand the concepts. It could be, but research papers act as the bow that ties all that up.

From my experience, you’ll rarely finish a textbook or barely read it and lectures aren’t always as detailed as we’d want them to be. They only set the foundation of the class and the rest is up to the student.

Understanding the real-world implementation of a concept you are learning about makes said concept easier, especially if it’s a difficult one. Research papers give the real-world implementation of these concepts. Experiment results, which other scenarios they have been applied in, challenges faced, advantages, and a conclusion of what the concept is like. None of this shared in a lecture or a class.

The trick is to figure out how to read them.

 

How I efficiently read research papers

As I said, it’s not easy at all. It’s not enjoyable like reading a good book, not captivating and if there are any pictures, they’re not the fun kind. One word, BLAND! But very beneficial.

Research papers have difficult jargon, which is why they are not usually required for undergraduate students. The writers assume that the target audience has some experience in the computer science world and can understand some if not all of the terms and concepts used in the paper. While writing, the aim was to give the analysis, results, and conclusions of something in particular, not teach about the basics of computer science.

The biggest mistake I made was trying to read a paper from beginning to end. I can confidently say that does not work at all.

Read the stuff in bold

This is the title, headings, abstract, and introduction. Ignore the rest of the content and just read the parts of the paper that will tell you exactly what information it gives. This way you will find out if it answers your question(s), or if you should move onto something else.

Read-only what you need

I read papers when I am revising or trying to get more information on a lecture because this gives me the structure of reading something specific. Only what I need. I have only read a single paragraph on some papers and feel completely satisfied.

I would love to meet someone who can confidently say they have read a paper from beginning to end.

 

Breaks

The content in papers is difficult to stay focused on for long. I’ve found that I tend to zone out before I even finish a single paragraph or I keep looping on one sentence for close to 5 minutes without understanding what it says.

I read in intervals of 10 minutes. Deep focus of reading for 10 minutes and then 2 or 3-minute breaks in between for an hour or an hour and a half max.

 

Hard-copy

Reading a paper in soft-copy has proven to be one of the hardest things I have had to do this year. Research papers are written in the smallest size font and in two or three-column pages. That puts a strain on my eyes, neck, back and I just choose not to read it in the end.

Before printing a paper, I go through the ‘stuff in bold” to figure out if it’s worth printing. They use a lot of papers so it’s good to determine if it’s worth it or not. Save the Planet. Reading it in print is easier and much more comfortable. I am able to take notes, highlight stuff, make comments and they’re easier to find.

 

Why read research papers

You won’t always get everything you need from class or Google. In fact, most lessons are built upon research papers and that is why professors require their students to read them, especially at the graduate level.

It’s good to know how what you are learning about is used in the real world and the impact it has on people, machines, etc. Research papers have been written since the birth of computer science, and many of the old ones are still the ones being used now. Case in point, one of the papers I am reading currently was written in 1989. A paper on programming with threads by Andrew Birrel. Computer science concepts have not changed, languages and frameworks have changed, but the foundations will remain the same.

 

How to find research papers

There are so many academic research papers on computer science because there are many concepts being proven in the field. However, not all are worth reading. I currently only read what has been required by the professor and maybe go further and read some of the ones in the references section.

Sites like academia have papers on almost all fields in computer science.

 

If I were to write an academic paper, I would try to make it as simple as possible while still relaying the appropriate information, if at all that is possible….who knows.