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How to Read an Academic Paper

Learning Techniques for Coursework & Research

Quinn Kinzer | Phd Candidate CBFE

Erin Hamilton | Assistant Professor DS

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Why Reading Academic Papers is a Critical Skill

Reading academic papers can be part of the hidden curriculum.

Graduate school requires lots of reading.

Interdisciplinary work requires semi-frequent excursions into unfamiliar work.

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Structure of a Paper

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Abstract

Briefly summarizes in ~1 sentence what each section of the paper does.

Introduction

Constructs the logic of the problem & what they are contributing.
"In this paper..."

Data & Methods

Should tell you the source of the data and choices made when collecting.
The type of analysis should make sense for the question asked.

Findings

Authors will present primary findings & other evidence that helps triangulate their results.

Discussion & Conclusion

Reiterates the findings and the 'so what' for an audience.
Discussions contextualize the relevance of the findings & are easier for an unfamiliar reader to engage with.

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Organizational Tools: Citation Managers

Improve Workflow with Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote; there is no ‘right’ citation manager so long as you use one☺

Zotero

An open-source citation manager, ideal for managing PDFs, citations, and annotations across multiple devices.

Mendeley

Allows you to organize your research, collaborate with others, and access papers on multiple devices.

EndNote

A powerful tool that offers advanced features for organizing references and integrating with writing tools like MS Word.

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Organizational Tools: Citation Managers

Improve Workflow with Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote; there is no ‘right’ citation manager so long as you use one☺

Here are several links for individuals to look at on their own time that go in depth on how to download, create citations, and use these tools to make your writing efficient:

Mendely: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJXnfBSq4Lg

Zotero: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkEDG9EPmyM

Obsidian: an advanced notetaking tool integrated with Zotero

https://medium.com/@alexandraphelan/an-updated-academic-workflow-zotero-obsidian-cffef080addd

For those looking to upload ‘hard copy’ PDFS that you’ve previously annotated, utilize adobe scan to create PDFs you can upload and move into your citation manager☺ It will keep your previous highlights and you can add new annotations.

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Effective Annotation Strategies

How to Highlight and Summarize Academic Papers

In text strategies:

Color-coding annotations: Use green for main arguments, yellow for context, and pink for citations to revisit.

Building Literature Reviews:

Summarizing systematically: Summarize key sections such as the problem, methods, findings, and connections.
Build an excel matrix for your literature review.

When reading academic papers, effective annotation can make the review process significantly easier and more insightful.

I recommend using a color-coded system for highlights: green for the main arguments (e.g., 'in this paper we argue...'), yellow for grounding context (so you can quickly orient yourself within the paper), and pink for citations you need to revisit later. This method allows you to create visual cues for important information. Additionally, not every citation you flag will turn into a paper you read. Begin by evaluating their value by looking at the title, then look at the abstract if it still seems useful, finally decide the relevance via abstract.

Additionally, summarizing systematically helps you extract the most relevant points from the paper. For each paper, make sure you summarize the key sections: the problem, methods, relevant findings, and, finally, any connections you see to your own research. Consistency here will save you a lot of time during your future reviews.

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Reading for Different Purposes

Adapting Your Focus: Class vs. Research

Reading for Class

Look at the syllabus & identify the ‘learning goal’ for the week.
Ask yourself questions you expect in class. How are the papers complimentary? How do they challenge each other?
Challenge yourself with timed reading sessions that you reduce over time.

Reading for Research

You don’t know what you don’t know, ask for references.
Read these papers deeply, focusing on key aspects relevant to your research.
Pay attention to who your favorite papers cite and track related work.
Utilize AI tools when engaging with an entirely new field.
Two tools mentioned were Elicit and Research Rabbit.

When reading for different purposes, adapting your focus can save a lot of time and effort.

**Reading for Class**: Start by focusing on what’s being covered that week. For method-heavy papers, prioritize understanding the methodology and how it fits with the week’s topic. If it’s theory-based, focus on the argument structure and how the authors develop their claims. This allows you to filter information and engage more meaningfully in class discussions. Jot down potential discussion points or questions for class. Start with your maximum time and decrease the time until you find a sweet spot. I began with ~90 minutes per paper. For class reading I take no more than 25 minutes.

**Reading for Research**: This requires a more thorough and long-term perspective. You'll want to dig deeply into the methodology and results sections to identify techniques or findings relevant to your own work. Use citation tracking tools like *Research Rabbit* to follow the citation trail and discover new papers related to your research area. Annotate not just for the immediate reading, but with your long-term research goals in mind, noting how the paper informs or contrasts with your work. These are not papers you read quickly, these are often papers you come back and re-read in an iterative process. These are papers when you add comments you spend more time discussing how they ‘are in conversation with each other.

During the ses

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Reading for Different Purposes

When do you reach saturation?

Saturation is a qualitative concept that indicates you’re no longer exploring new major themes.
Don’t get trapped in the rabbit hole of reading a small section and jumping to a new exciting citation. Mark the citations and come back to them later.
Think of your research like a target where you need to know the papers that are closest to your paper, the next ring answers similar concepts, the next ring is related but general context.
An example is if your topic is dad’s cognitive labor in the household your first ring is cognitive labor in the household, the next ring is cognitive labor in other settings, the third ring is gendered household dynamics & caregiving labor.
If you feel like you’ve spent a lot of time in the lit and still haven’t reached saturation. Step back & reflect. Start by summarizing what you have learned, then identify where you still don’t have a satisfactory answer. Evaluate if these are crucial to understanding your research. Then use a targeted research goal to seek new lit.

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Making Other Papers your Roadmap for Writing

Writing papers does not require reinventing the wheel

Identify the papers you most enjoyed reading, they will be your roadmap.

Identify how they build the logic of their argument.

How long do they spend in each section?

Key papers help you identify target journals.

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Learning Techniques for Coursework & Research

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Thank You & Questions?

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Qkinzer@wisc.edu

Ehamilton@wisc.edu