Fig 1.
The relationship with the research literature changes as a function of career stage.
Responses to the 6 point Likert scale questions for 2nd year undergraduate n = 79; 3rd year undergraduate n = 42; PhD student n = 44; PostDoctoral researcher n = 55; Academic n = 43. Statistics alongside straight lines indicate the results of Kruskal-Wallis H tests (Kruskal-Wallis H and P values presented, degrees of freedom = 4 in all cases). Square brackets indicate significant Mann-Whitney tests for differences between groups, ** indicates P<0.01, * indicates P<0.05.
Fig 2.
Different sections of scientific papers are considered easy to read and important at different stages of academic careers.
A: The proportion of participants considering a section easy to read (presented as ‘Somewhat easy’, ‘easy’ ‘very easy’ combined) as a function of career stage. Results of Chi-square tests are indicated on the left hand side. B: The mean importance rank of sections as a function of career stage. Error bars are omitted from individual points for clarity, with the sole error bar in grey representing the largest 95% confidence interval for any of the data points. Asterisks above data points indicate significant differences in response compared with the previous career stage as determined by Mann-Whitney post-hoc tests.
Fig 3.
Researchers at different career stages read papers for different purposes.
Responses to the 6 point Likert scale questions for 2nd year undergraduate n = 79; 3rd year undergraduate n = 42; PhD student n = 44; PostDoctoral researcher n = 55; Academic n = 43. Statistics alongside straight lines indicate the results of Kruskal-Wallis tests (H and P values presented, degrees of freedom = 4 in all cases). Square brackets indicate significant Mann-Whitney tests for differences between groups, ** indicates P<0.01, * indicates P<0.05.
Fig 4.
Increased familiarity with scientific literature allows experienced researchers to read papers selectively.
A: Wordcloud extracted from advice given by researchers to someone reading a scientific paper for the first time. The size of the word is proportional to the frequency with which the word was mentioned. Words mentioned fewer than 5 times, and the words ‘read’ ‘reading’ and ‘papers’ are excluded for clarity. Colours used do not represent any aspect of analysis. B: Model of development of scientific literature processing skills. Researchers move acclimation through competency to proficiency through their careers, although these should be viewed as a continuum rather than defined phases. This development of skill is associated with increased familiarity with scientific papers, terminology and background knowledge, and with a change from extrinsic to intrinsic motivations for reading.
Table 1.
Thematic analysis of advice researchers gave to someone reading a scientific paper for the first time.