Reading, analysing and note-taking

 

1. Analysing = extracting the relevant, important information from the document.

Recommendation – don’t read through the whole document – instead, look at key areas which give clues to the content of the writing.  “Previewing” (1):

• Title – should give a clear idea of the content
• Author credentials – academic, clinical, policy maker? Connected with an organisation or commercial company?
• Date of publication – could the content have been superseded, eg. new government?
• Publisher – indicates type of document, funder, intended audience
• Subheadings – scan for a quick understanding of the content

 

2. Skimming / skim reading = reading a text very quickly, focusing on key sections.  You can read sections in any order and miss bits out.  Useful sections include the introduction, conclusion, main findings, executive summary, abstract, results, diagrams or graphs.

Hint: Signal or signpost words: look for unusual vocabulary and important facts and figures which catch your eye.  Words which can direct you to conclusions or discussion (2):

although	consequently	furthermore	moreover	until
advantages	despite	in addition	results	versus
because	disadvantages	instead	therefore	whenever
causes	effects	in summary	thus

 

3. Scanning = scan quickly through until you have read and understood all the key points.   Re-read in detail any sections you marked as important.  Remember you are only reading what is necessary to be able to understand and identify the main points of the text.

 

4. Analysing - Note Taking

Consider your final product and intended audience:

• Style (eg. formal or informal? Academic or clinical?)
• First person or third person?
• Tone (eg. persuasive, formal)
• Take brief notes of the main points of each article
• Make sure the key thoughts from each section are not lost in the note taking process
• When you have finished, check you have captured all the main points and sense of the source document

Keep records of all materials used including full bibliographic details, page numbers, URLs, and the date that online materials were accessed.  This means that you can always trace the source of each piece of information used, and show the sources you have included in your work.

 

References:

(1) Freedman, L, 2012. Previewing. University of Toronto.

(2) Payne, E and Whittaker, L, 2006. Developing essential study skills. 2^nd rev. ed. Pearson Education.

 

Adapted from training entitled Instant evidence based medicine: how to quickly synthesise research, delivered by School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield on 6th September 2018, Glasgow.