How do readers at different career stages approach reading a scientific research paper? A case study in the biological sciences
Open accessAbstract
Reading primary research literature is an essential skill for scientists. However, the high complexity of research papers may pose a barrier to the development of scientific literacy. In semi-structured interviews, we explore how 33 biologists including undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers approach reading an unfamiliar scientific paper. We find that some readers are data-centric, focusing on their own critical evaluation of the data presented, whereas others adopt a more narrative-centric approach, relying on the descriptions of authors to inform their understanding. There was a bias towards undergraduates adopting the narrative-centric approach and researchers adopting the data-centric approach. All postdoctoral researchers and academics prioritised critical interpretation of the data, indicating this is a characteristic of experienced scientific readers. The ability to demonstrate scientific reading skills was context-dependent, particularly with respect to time available and whether a paper aligns well with a reader’s specialist area of knowledge. Inexperienced readers often lacked sufficient prior knowledge on which to base their reading, which represented a barrier to their engagement. We make recommendations for how scientific literacy should be developed within undergraduate teaching and beyond, noting that ‘one-off’ teaching strategies are insufficient when the development of scientific reading skills is a career-long process.
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“many students may find such an endeavor challenging (Lie et al., 2016; Hubbard and Dunbar, 2017; Hubbard et al., 2022).”
From Reading Primary Scientific Literature: Approaches for Teaching Students in the Undergraduate STEM Classroom (2023) · cites this paper as Hubbard et al., 2022
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- Authors
- Hubbard, K. E., Dunbar, S. D., Peasland, E. L., Poon, J., & Solly, J. E.
- Affiliations
- University of Hull (GB)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Hubbard, Katharine E.
- Venue
- International Journal of Science Education, Part B
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2022-07-04
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 328-344
- ISSN
- 2154-8455 (ISSN-L)
- 2154-8463
- OpenAlex
- W4283819632
- Cited by
- 12
- References
- 36
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 2
- FWCI
- 5.39
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- International Journal of Science Education Part B (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Repository@Hull (Worktribe) (University of Hull) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Science Education and Pedagogy
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Educational Strategies and Epistemologies
- Social Sciences › Library and Information Sciences › Library Science and Information Literacy
- Keywords
- scientific reading, scientific literacy, career stage differences, critical evaluation of data, prior knowledge, undergraduate science education, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers
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