I think reading papers goes into the important-but-not-urgent category. Reading lots of papers gets you really immersed in the literature and that, I believe, a good scientist makes. Reading before it's urgent (like for a proposal deadline) means that you ruminate on the ideas and assimilate them into your own work over time.
But it's just so difficult to read papers regularly and well.
To combat this problem and help relieve some guilt, EGM and I decided we're going to read together every night. He's about to go on a whole bunch of travel, so we'll probably start when the fall semester begins. We don't have details worked out -- I think we'll read for an hour an night or something -- but we'll keep each other accountable. Science can't happen on an island. Unless it's funded by the Dharma Initiative.
I used to worry that I might make a poor PI because I get so bogged down with reading and writing. I love lab work. I really enjoy thinking about and discussing science, and I often find it delightful to listen to research summarized in a talk. But reading papers is a chore. I sometimes fret that I'm doomed to be a Ph.D. Technician. However, in another example of how much this blogging community rocks, reading other blogs written by people who seem to be awesome scientists has made me realize that many people have a hard time reading as much as they should. And many people procrastinate, feel inadequate about, or actually dislike writing. So maybe I'm not doomed to failure after all. Thanks, guys.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
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I assume you checked out Dr. Jekyll's recent post on reading papers. I, personally, sometimes think I would rather shoot myself in the foot then sit down for a quality reading session. I often think that I must be the most literature-ignorant scientist of all time. To make matters worse, whenever I read something, I can never remember who did the work or what university they came from. Then, if the literature does come up in conversation, I sound like a bumbling idiot trying to convey my findings.
"Uhhh... there was this paper... done by this guy... ummm... maybe a couple of years ago? Umm... it was a really great paper."
I suppose reading retention is another issue entirely.
Do you have a plan (or something you already do) of summarizing what you are reading to help you remember who/what/where/when? If so, please share! (Like Candid Engineer, I tend to forget where the ideas came from).
"Science can't happen on an island."
Unless the science is about islands!
I'm also terrible at keeping afloat with the litterature. But there is so much to read! I found that alerts using keywords (as opposed to TOC) help me. I get TOC from a strict selection of journals and have keyword alerts. Does anyone know of an alerting system that covers several publishers? (because I'd love to know about it). Anyway this helps me at least having an idea of what's going on.
Totally. And I echo candid engineer's point about never remembering the details of anything I DO motivate myself to read. Very frustrating!
The other problem is that reading papers is never a Priority. It always seems to be last on a list that starts with labwork, teaching, evil-but-necessary admin crap....etc. So I support reading papers with EGM--anything to make it a priority!
Ugh, my pile of unread papers is growing exponentially.
read paper vs watch greys anatomy, ghost whisperer, random trash tv. Guess which one wins? I frequently (this morning) also think that I am doomed to be a horrible PhD because I do not live and breath reading papers. I am so so happy to read that others, especially good scientists, have the same problem
oh yes, retention is also an issue, ideas anyone??
Yes, I was definitely thinking of Dr Jekyll's excellent post when I said how I feel comforted by other bloggers having the same experience. There have been other posts lately too. I was just too lazy to link to them. :( Interestingly, it was EGM who brought up this topic, without having read any blogs.
Very good point, Sciencewoman!
I feel okay with how I stay current with new literature (I download new stuff right away) but I never find time to read more than the abstracts.
And you guys are worried about retention? I'm still concerned with my initial comprehension!
I completely concur with all of the above posters. I have a hard time with remembering what I read.
I used to worry that I might make a poor PI because I get so bogged down with reading and writing. I love lab work. I really enjoy thinking about and discussing science, and I often find it delightful to listen to research summarized in a talk. But reading papers is a chore.
I felt exactly the same way when I was a grad student and postdoc...and I can't say I'm that much better now. I'm really motivated to read more by necessity (e.g. figuring out a new protocol, writing a paper, grant deadline, etc.) than by interest. I don't suppose we can get James Earl Jones to record audio-papers that I can listen to during my commute to work?
aside from not wanting to read, or ever doing it unless i'm preparing a paper or something, i do download stuff. one thing i found that has really helped me not so much retain but easily find and remnind myself with was FreeMind, a mindmapping application. It is awesome! I read and highlight, but write notes in the program, it's in an outline/bubbles/ etc format. you can change colors, fonts, etc and sort of like a bulletted list, indent things. i found it really helps me and i organize it by large themes -- so a big bubble with the theme in it, and the next level is the author, and then i use sep forks for quotes i type out (helpful for things i know i'll use but mighgt not have the article text with me when i want it) and my reflections in a different color, etc. wow, i realize this makes me sound a little anal, but i'm not i promise! well not until i started using this program. it's free, and easy to use too. ok, i'll stop rambling now...
For those interested in keyword-based searches, take a look at PubCrawler if you're in the biomedical field. I find it very helpful.
So I know what to read, and I try to write a few key sentences down (or rather, copy them out of the PDF) if I've read something interesting. But the stack is growing much more quickly than I can process it...
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