Reading for research
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Reading is an important part of studying and an essential part of the research process. Feeling overwhelmed by your reading list? Try the following approach and learn which strategies and techniques you can use. Discover the way that works best for you and make reading more effective and enjoyable.
There you are with a pile of publications. How do you tackle it as efficiently as possible? The good news is: you don’t have to read all of them from the beginning until the end!
Just start by following the steps mentioned below:
- Decide how much time you have
- Before reading information scan it
- Zoom in on the useful information
- Ask yourself questions
- Take notes
Do you have any doubts about your selected publications, go to Evaluating search results.
1. Decide how much time you have
Depending on the time period of the project you are working on, decide how much time is available for reading, understanding and analysing the literature. Don’t underestimate the time you need and be realistic about how much you can read in the time available.
2. Before reading information scan it
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What Why How to select and prioritize Title Get a first broad sense of the subject and the relevance A proper title (incl. subtitle) is not too long and indicates where the book is about.
Scan the title for relevant keywords that you have determined in advance.
This can help to prioritize the titles on your reading list.
Tip: a title does not always cover the content of a book!Author and author affiliation Recognise the author based on reputation and recognition (authority) To determine the authority of an author in a certain field try to answer these questions:
Do I know the author? Is she/he an authority, a recognised author in the field?
Or if you don’t now:
Did you find several articles about the same topic written by this author? In that case he/she probably is an expert on this topic.
Look also at the affiliation. The affiliation gives you additional information, for instance does the author work at a (in the field) well-known university or institute.Cover and flap Information and reviews on the back flap give you an indication about the appreciation of the book The main topic of the book should be about your research topic.
Determine if the review on the back flap contributes to the understanding of the topic.
Check if it’s recommended by others.Table of contents Overview of the topics of the book.
The structure of the book helps understanding and selecting what to readA book will give you a complete overview of a subject.
By scanning the table of contents (skeleton of a book) you will get an idea of the content and make a selection of relevant chapters for your subject.Summary/abstract Look at the relationship and reliance to your own research An abstract contains the essence of the research described.
Every part of the book is reflected. Check the conclusions also. On this basis decide if the source is useful for you.
The context of the way the topic is treated must be (more or less) similar to the context of your research topic. Are the aspects of the topic mostly the same as in your research topic?Keywords Define the main topics of the book Keywords describe the main topics of a publication.
Are the keywords close and relevant to your research topic?Introduction/preface Shows what to expect An introduction is intended to convey the writer’s idea’s and the background of his research to the reader. Does this information match your expectations? Conclusion Define a relationship to your own research Read the conclusions at the end of each chapter and the final conclusion of the book.
In the conclusions you will find the answer to the research question of the book. Is this answer relevant for your topic?Chapters/paragraphs How can you use this information in your own research? Look at the titles of chapters and paragraphs. Read the beginning and the end (conclusions) of each chapter to get a detailed picture of the contents and completeness of the book.
Is the book suitable to build on your own research?Reference list Check for new insights and/or similarities with your selection By checking out the literature references you are able to see on which insights the book is based. Do you recognise any references: author names, journals etc.?
The reference list can help you find new views and insights for your own research.Date Define the relevance based on actuality of your topic Does your topic require current information, or will older sources work as well? Check the publication dates! Take notes! You need to be able to find the book again, for example when you need it for citations. So write down reference information. Annotate your selection. What is interesting, how it can contribute to your work etc. You need to be able to find the publication again, for example when you need it for citations. So write down reference information.
For more information about storing, go to: Reference management.
For more information about referencing, go to: How to cite. -
What Why How to select and prioritize Title Get a first broad sense of the subject and the relevance A proper title (incl. subtitle) is not too long and indicates where the article is about.
Scan the title for relevant keywords that you have determined in advance.
This can help to prioritize the titles on your reading list
Tip: a title does not always cover the content of an article!Author and affiliation Recognise the author based on reputation and recognition (authority) To determine the authority of an author in a certain field try to answer these questions:
Do I know the author? Is she/he an authority, a recognized author in the field?
Or if you don’t now:
Did you find several articles about the same topic written by this author? In that case he/she probably is an expert on this topic.
Look also at the affiliation. The affiliation gives you additional information, for instance does the author work at a (in the field) well-known university or institute.Which journals/proceedings Authority: importance of the journal/proceedings in the field It is important to know in which journal or proceedings an article is published. Each research area has its most important (trusted) journals or proceedings.
Do you know about the reputation of the journal or the conference in your field?Summary/abstract Look at the relationship and reliance to your own research An abstract contains the essence of the research described.
Every part of the publication is reflected. Check the conclusions also. On this basis decide if the source is useful for you.
The context of the way the topic is treated must be (more or less) similar to the context of your research topic. Are the aspects of the topic mostly the same as in your research topic?Keywords Define the main topics of the publication Keywords describe the main topics of a publication.
Are the keywords close and relevant to your research topic?Introduction/preface Shows what to expect An introduction is intended to convey the writer’s idea’s and the background of his research to the reader. Does this information match your expectations? Conclusion Define a relationship to your own research Read the conclusions at the end of each chapter and the final conclusion of the publication.
In the conclusions you will find the answer to the research question of the publication. Is this answer relevant for your topic?Chapters/paragraphs How can you use this information in your own research? Look at the titles of chapters and paragraphs. Read the beginning and the end (conclusions) of each chapter to get a detailed picture of the contents and completeness of the publication.
Is the publication suitable to build on your own research?Reference list Check for new insights and/or similarities with your selection By checking out the literature references you are able to see on which insights the publication is based. Do you recognise any references: author names, journals etc.?
The reference list can help you find new views and insights for your own research.Date Define the relevance based on actuality of your topic Does your topic require current information, or will older sources work as well? Check the publication dates! Take notes! You need to be able to find the publication again, for example when you need it for citations. So write down reference information Annotate your selection. What is interesting, how it can contribute to your work etc. You need to be able to find the publication again, for example when you need it for citations. So write down reference information.
For more information about storing, go to: Reference management.
For more information about referencing, go to: How to cite. -
What Why How to select and prioritize Title Get a first broad sense of the subject and the relevance A proper title (incl. subtitle) is not too long and indicates where the article is about.
Scan the title for relevant keywords that you have determined in advance.
This can help to prioritize the titles on your reading list
Tip: a title does not always cover the content of a webpage!Author and affiliation Recognise the author based on reputation and recognition (authority) To determine the authority of an author in a certain field try to answer these questions:
Do I know the author? Is she/he an authority, a recognised author in the field?
Or if you don’t now:
Did you find several articles about the same topic written by this author? In that case he/she probably is an expert on this topic.
Look also at the affiliation. The affiliation gives you additional information, for instance does the author work at a (in the field) well-known university or institute.Introduction/preface Shows what to expect An introduction is intended to convey the writer’s idea’s and the background of his research to the reader. Does this information match your expectations? Chapters/paragraphs How can you use this information in your own research? Look at the titles of chapters and paragraphs. Read the beginning and the end (conclusions) of each chapter to get a detailed picture of the contents and completeness of the publication.
Is the publication suitable to build on your own research?External links Check for new insights and/or similarities with your selection On which insights is a website based?
Do links on a website still work and what kind of sources do they lead to? Do you recognise these sources?Date Define the relevance based on actuality of your topic Does your topic require current information, or will older sources work as well? Check the publication dates! URL Check the reliability of a website Use reliable, well-known websites and be aware of commercial websites. Check domain suffixes: - .com=commercial site
- .edu=educational institution
- .gov=government
- .org=non-profit organization.
Takes notes! You need to be able to find the publication again, for example when you need it for citations. So write down reference information. Annotate your selection. What is interesting, how it can contribute to your work etc. You need to be able to find the publication again, for example when you need it for citations. So write down reference information.
For more information about storing, go to: Reference management.
For more information about referencing, go to: How to cite.
Tip: Highlight or take notes of interesting or important sections.
3. Zoom in on the useful information
Scanning the information will help you to decide on or select which articles, books etc. you will read in more detail. If the text is complicated and contains a lot of information, you may need to read it more than once to fully understand it.
4. Ask yourself questions
Be critical about what you read and ask yourself questions such as:
- How does the author know this and does he give any scientific evidence?
- How does this compare to other things I have read or know?
- Do I understand the methodology, reasoning and evidence?
- Do I agree with this author?
5. Take notes
Think about the purpose of your reading: take notes about how you can use the information in your paper. When taking notes, link them to the document or reference of the source to make sure you can find it back later. Also use your own words in order to avoid potential plagiarism.
Take notes about:
- What does the author say, and where (so you can find it again).
- Do I agree?
- Which other publications does this author agree or disagree with.
Tip: Making a mindmap can be useful for taking notes while you read or to summarize and understand what you have read.
There are many free mind mapping tools and tutorials available. Most tools require an account, for instance Coggle, Mindmeister and Wisemapping. If you don’t want to register yourself you can use Mindmup, but the capacity and functionalities are limited.
For more information on free and open source mind mapping tools you can consult this blog.
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Making a mindmap can be helpful to summarize selected articles for your research. If you make a proper mindmap you are able to recall the contents of the articles you read before. It takes a few steps to build a mindmap.
Step 1
Read the articles closely. Underline important sentences and put circles around keywords.
Step 2
Determine the structure of the articles: are there chapters and paragraphs? When an article is well-structured, you can use the structure for setting up the branches of the mind map.
Step 3
Take a sheet of paper and start with putting the topic of your research in the centre of the sheet.
Step 4
Branching: start by drawing the main branches and branch them further.
For the main branches use the chapters (topics) of the articles. For secondary branches use the paragraphs (sub-topics). Develop the secondary branches further by adding even smaller branches. These branches contain details and examples.While branching remember that it is important to use keywords instead of sentences. The keywords in the main branches are usually more abstract and can be common to several articles. In the secondary branches the keywords are more concrete and can differ from one article to another and complete each other. But put in everything that you have underlined while reading the articles.
Step 5
Work with a few different coloured pens to give each branch its own colour. This way you associate the branch with the colour and remember the information more easily.
Use visual elements like drawings or symbols to replace text. Use arrows to connect different sub-topics with each other. Frames or clouds can quickly show what’s important.Step 6
It is important to get a complete picture of the essence of your research topic. Ask yourself a few questions: does the mind map gives a complete overview? Do the keywords make sense?
Make some changes if necessary.Step 7
If you want to find out you made a clear mind map, look at it at a later time and see how much of the articles you can recall. If you do not remember that much, maybe you didn’t use the right keywords or some connections are missing. Try to find out what went wrong, so you won’t make the same mistakes again next time you make a mind map.
see also: How to Mind Map with Tony Buzan
Learning how to read for research requires a lot of practice. The table below summarizes advanced reading strategies and techniques. You can use this as a checklist during your reading process.
| Strategies and techniques | Rationale |
|---|---|
| Read the whole thing | Major arguments and evidence matter more than details. Grasping the structure of the whole is more important than reading every word. |
| Decide how much time you will spend | Real-world time is limited. If you know exactly how long you can actually spend on reading, you can plan how much time to devote to each item. |
| Have a purpose and a strategy | You'll enjoy reading more, and remember it better, if you know exactly why you're reading. |
| Read actively | Never rely on the author's structures alone. Move around in the text, following your own goals. |
| Read it three times | First time for overview and discovery. Second time for detail and understanding. Third time for note-taking in your own words. |
| Focus on parts with high information content | Tables of contents, pictures, charts, headings, and other elements contain more information than body text. |
| Use PTML (personal text markup language) | Mark up your reading with your own notes. This helps you learn and also helps you find important passages later. |
| Know the author(s) and organizations | Authors are people with backgrounds and biases. They work in organizations that give them context and depth. |
| Know the intellectual context | Most academic writing is part of an ongoing intellectual conversation, with debates, key figures, and paradigmatic concepts. |
| Use your unconscious mind | Leave time between reading sessions for your mind to process the material. |
| Rehearse, and use multiple modes | Talking, visualizing, or writing about what you've read helps you remember it. |
Source: “Summery of reading strategies and techniques” by P.N. Edwards is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Tips and tricks
Text-to-speech software
If you have difficulty reading, for example because of dyslexia, you could try text-to-speech software (or TTS) to have your computer read aloud to you. TU Delft offers a TextAid license free of charge for students with a disability.
Look for video tutorials about your topic. Do not use them as a replacement for written publications, but if you dislike reading, you can use YouTube or Apple iTunes U to find relevant video tutorials published by international top universities. A podcast can provide a good introduction to a subject.
Relevant links
TextAid (Information about Text-Aid text-to-speech software)
Support for students with dyslexia
References
ClkerFreeVectorImages. (2014). A man carefully reading a book [Image]. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Reading-297450.png
Crème, P. and Lea, M. R. (2008). Writing at university: a guide for students. (3rd ed.). Open University Press.
Edwards, P. N. (2008). How to Read a Book. (v5.0). http://pne.people.si.umich.edu/PDF/howtoread.pdf
Mordy, J. (2021). The best 7 free and open source mind mapping software. https://www.goodfirms.co/blog/best-free-and-open-source-mind-mapping-software