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University Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

How to Read a Scientific Paper: Home

Strategies and approaches to reading a scientific journal article.

Purpose of the Guide

This libguide intends to demystify scientific papers, and offers strategies on how to efficiently read and understand them. Reading a scientific article is not like reading a book, and learning how to efficiently read one is an important skill for scientific researchers and students.

Under the Structure of an Article section, you will learn about each part of a scientific paper, as well as questions to ask as you read through one. 

Under the Online Tutorials section, you will find easily followed tutorials that take you through the anatomy of a paper!

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Biology Librarian
Contact:
Biosciences Librarian: Kelli Trei, Liaison to the Schools of Life Sciences in LAS: Molecular & Cellular Biology, Integrative Biology, and the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology

218 Funk ACES Library
1101 S. Goodwin Ave., M/C 633
Urbana, IL 61801
(217) 244-2503
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Subjects: Biology