… A typical researcher will likely spend hundreds of hours every year reading papers. … For
many years I have used a simple approach to efficiently read papers. This paper describes the ‘…

Epidemiologist Nick Black has argued that a finding or a result is more likely to be accepted
as a fact if it is quantified (expressed in numbers) than if it is not. 1 There is little or no …

It usually comes as a surprise to students to learn that some (perhaps most) published
articles belong in the bin, and should certainly not be used to inform practice. 1 The first box …

… This article is the first in a series that introduces the non-expert to searching the medical …
The articles in this series are excerpts from How to read a paper: the basics of evidence based …

If you are new to the concept of validating diagnostic tests, the following example may help
you. Ten men are awaiting trial for murder. Only three of them actually committed a murder; …

Remember the essays you used to write as a student? You would browse through the indexes
of books and journals until you came across a paragraph that looked relevant, and copied …

… Reading skills can also be used when reading papers for continuing professional … putting
these skills into practice will generally make reading papers more efficient. They can also be …

… the idea of reading and appraising the research literature. How to Read a Paper demystifies
… engaging introduction to how medical research papers are constructed and how to evaluate …

… how he learned to read—and actually understand—journal articles Nothing makes you feel
stupid quite like reading a scientific journal article… had to read and discuss a new paper each …

Before changing your practice in the light of a published research paper, you should decide
whether the methods used were valid. This article considers five essential questions that …