CRITICALEFFECTIVE READING

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CRITICAL/EFFECTIVE READING

• BAHARUDIN BIN YATIM
• Institut Sains Angkasa
• Pusat Pengajian Fizik Gunaan
• UNIVERSITI KEBANGSAAN MALAYSIA

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Outline of Presentation

• MOTIVATION
• DEFINITIONS
• PURPOSE
• SCOPE
• ANATOMY OF THE PAPER
• EFFECTIVE READING PROCESS
• PRACTICE
• CLOSING

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MOTIVATION

• Reading is a very important activity in the
  search for knowledge
• Survey of Background Literature
• Formulation of the Research Problem
• Writing the Research Proposal
• Writing the thesis
• Writing paper for journal/conference

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WHAT IS READING

• PRINCIPAL PROCESS USED TO UNDERSTAND WRITTEN
  MATERIAL
• TO OBTAIN INFORMATION (as in scientific papers,
  manuals, etc.)
• OR
• TO OBTAIN ENJOYMENT (as in literary works,
  comics, etc.)

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READING METHODS

• UNDERSTANDING IS INFLUENCED BY EXPERIENCE
• EFFICIENCY OF READING DEPENDS ON METHOD
• PASSIVE Vs ACTIVE READING

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READINGACTIVE PASSIVE
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CRITICAL READING

• READING WITH ANALYSIS AND JUDGEMENT
• TO UNDERSTAND AS MUCH OF THE MATERIAL AS REQUIRED
  IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THE PURPOSE
• TO READ ACCURATELY AND EFFICIENTLY
• TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS WRITTEN
• TO ASCERTAIN THE FACTS
• TO EXAMINE THE IMPLICATIONS, INFERENCES AND
  INTENTION OF THE AUTHOR
• TO JUDGE THE MERITS OR DEMERITS OF THE WRITTEN
  MATERIAL

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PURPOSE

• To obtain new information
• To widen insight on the subject
• To learn new methods
• To comment on the material
• To perform literature Review
• To know your position

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Background Literature

• The conception of your problem grows out of
  previous work.
• Much of the basic literature which makes up the
  background is probably obtainable from your
  lecturer/supervisor.
• However, it is possible that some very important
  papers have escaped his notice or have not been
  given their proper significance. You may be able
  to add to the background literature if you are
  alert to references.

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Formulation of the Problem

• This usually seems very simple, but involves a
  good deal more than merely stating the topic of
  ones research. Formulation of a problem involves
  an understanding of previous research. This
  provides the justification of the problem.
• Read the introductory paragraphs of many
  scientific papers to see how it is done.
• Your problem is well formulated when its
  justification and background have been set down
  clearly in writing.

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SCOPE

• Our discussion is focused on and limited to
  scientific papers.
• However, the method can be applied to other
  materials with MINOR variations.

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CATEGORIZATION OF SOURCES

• Printed Sources of Information in Science and
  Technology are classified into Three Categories
• Primary Sources
• Secondary Sources
• Tertiary Sources

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Primary Sources

• Characteristics
• Contains original information
• Written by original researcher(s)
• Not published elsewhere
• Examples of Primary Sources
• Journal Article
• Conference Proceedings
• Government Publications
• Patents, Standards, Specification, etc.

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Secondary Sources

• Characteristics
• Collection of current information on a topic
• Lists all Primary Sources refered to therein
• Can be used as first object of search
• Examples of Secondary Sources
• Reviews
• Review papers in journals
• Abstracts, Journal Index
• Monographs, (some) text books

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Tertiary Sources

• Characteristics
• Presents current accepted knowledge on a
  topic/field
• Written for the general readership
• Does not stress on details of method or arguments
• Examples of Tertiary Sources
• Books
• Bibliography
• Encyclopedia

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THE PAPER(Anatomy of)

• The Head
• TITLE/AUTHOR(S)/AFFILIATION
• ABSTRACT/KEYWORDS
• The Body
• INTRODUCTION
• THEORY
• MATERIALS AND METHOD
• RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

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THE PAPER(Anatomy of, cont.)

• The Foot
• CONCLUSIONS
• RECOMMENDATIONS
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
• NOMENCLATURE
• APPENDICES
• REFERENCES

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CRITICAL READING PROCESS

• SURVEY/PREVIEW THE PAPER
• READ THE PAPER
• MAKE NOTES
• JUDGE THE MERITS OF THE PAPER
• COMPARE THE PAPER WITH OTHERS
• FORM OPINION ON THE PAPER

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SKILLS FOR CRITICAL READING

• PREDICTING
• EXTRACTING MAIN IDEAS
• FINDING SPECIFIC INFORMATION
• QUESTIONING
• FINDING ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
• MAKING INFERENCES
• EVALUATING THE MATERIAL
• DEPTH OF UNDERSTANDING ON SUBJECT MATTER ENHANCES
  THE ABOVE SKILLS

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CRITICAL READING PROCESS IN DETAIL
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SURVEYING/PREVIEWING THE PAPER

• SURVEY THE BEGINNING
• Read the Title, Author(s), Abstract (and
  Keywords) to learn the salient points of the
  paper
• Make an assessment of the paper
• SURVEY THE END OF THE PAPER
• Read the Conclusions, Recommendations,
  Acknowledgements, References, Appendices,
  Nomenclature, etc.
• Reinforce assessment of the paper
• SURVEY THE BODY OF THE PAPER
• Read the Headings and Subheadings in the paper
• Examine the Tables, Graphs, Diagrams, Photos and
  other visuals
• Reinforce assessment of the paper

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READING THE PAPER

• READ THE ABSTRACT
• The Abstract contains all the important
  information in the paper
• READ THE INTRODUCTION
• The introduction
• Covers the background of the problem
• Discusses the aspects of the problem still
  unsolved or not solved satisfactorily
• States the objective of the paper
• Outlines how the task is executed
• NEXT READ THE SECTION(S) YOU ARE MOST INTERESTED
  IN OR MOST IMPORTANT FOR YOUR PURPOSE

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MAKING NOTES

• READ THE PAPER OR SELECTED SECTION(S) OF THE
  PAPER
• MARK/HIGHLIGHT THE IMPORTANT POINTS/IDEAS
• MAKE NOTES ON THE MAJOR DETAILS IN THE PAPER
• RECORD NOTES ON NOTE-CARDS or DIRECTLY INTO YOUR
  COMPUTER

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MAKING NOTES(On Note-Cards)

• Write on the Front of the Card the Title,
  Author(s), Journal, Volume, Number, Month/Year,
  Page Numbers, Key Words
• Write on the back of the Card Your notes
• Transfer Card Notes to Computerized Information
  Management System (database)
• Database must carry the same fields as card notes
• Keep Card Notes in order

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Association of Malaria Parasite Population
Structure, HLA, and Immunological Antigen

• Sarah C. Gilbert, Magdalena Plebanski, Sunetra
  Gupta, Joanne Morris, Martin Cox, Michael Aidoo,
  Dominic Kwiatkowski, Brian M. Greenwood, Hilton
  C. Whittle, Adrian V.S. Hill
• SCIENCE, Vol. 279, 20 Feb 1998, pp 1173 1177
• Sample of Card Notes (front)

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NotesStudied Variants of antigenic epitope of P.
falciparum inducing cytotoxic T cell response

• Method Mathematical Model for the dynamics of 2
  parasite strains within 2 host classes.
  Statistically analysed samples of 795 Malaria
  infected children in Gambia
• Results
• (1) Variants present influenced by presence of
  HLA immune response to epitope
• (2) Evidence of cohabiting parasite strains
  facilitating each others survival.
• Sample of Card Notes (back)

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JUDGING THE PAPER

• OBJECTIVE IS TO DETERMINE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE
  PAPER
• DOES THE PAPER HAVE NEW CONTRIBUTION, VIS-À-VIS
• Methodology
• PURITY OF SAMPLES
• METHOD OF PREPARATION
• EQUIPMENT
• ACCURACY OF MEASUREMENTS
• Results
• DATA ANALYSIS
• ETC.

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JUDGING THE PAPER(CONT.)

• Conclusions
• Are the conclusions supported by the data
• Recommendations
• - ARE THE RECOMMENDATIONS VIABLE/DOABLE.
• HAVING COMPLETED THE ABOVE YOU ARE READY TO FORM
  AN INFORMED OPINION ON THE PAPER

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COMPARING PAPERS(ON SIMILAR TOPICS)

• IDENTIFY SIGNINFCANT FEATURES IN EACH PAPER, e.g.
• METHOD
• MATERIAL
• RESULTS
• WHAT FEATURES ARE COMMON
• WHAT FEATURES ARE DIFFERENT
• LIST RECOMMENDATIONS FROM ALL PAPERS TO DETERMINE
  BEST STRATEGY FOR YOUR PROJECT

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COMPARING THE PAPER(CONT.)

• MAKE A SUMMARY IN TABLE FORM OR/AND MAKE A CHART
  OR DIAGRAM

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Preparing The Literature Review

• Keep a copy of all relevant documents
• Summarize the abstracts and your notes on each
  document into 23 sentences
• Arrange them in chronological order highlighting
  significant developments, theoretical and
  experimental.
• Choose a theme for the review (or just use your
  project title)
• Write a coherent review essay, concluding with
  your assessment of the current situation in the
  field and listing possible further research
  directions, IDENTIFYING YOUR SELECTION and
  briefly describe the method you will use

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WRITING LITERATURE REVIEW

• AFTER PERFORMING CRITICAL READING ON 100 TO 300
  PAPERS PUBLISHED IN THE LAST 10 YEARS
• YOU ARE NOW PREPARED TO WRITE YOUR LITERATURE
  REVIEW WHICH FORMS PART OF YOUR
• PROJECT PROPOSAL
• GOOD LUCK