Reading an Engineering Research Paper: A Simple Guide

Reading research papers can be tough. Most papers are written for experts, which makes them hard to understand. Here, I give a guide on ways to tackle them. This guide, inspired by William G. Griswold's insights from UC San Diego, offers a systematic method for extracting valuable information from technical literature.

What to Look For

When you start reading a research paper, ask yourself these simple questions:

1. What's the Problem?

   • What unique question is the paper trying to answer?

   • Why is this problem important?

2. What's the Solution?

   • What new idea or method did the researchers come up with?

   • How is their solution different from previous attempts?

3. Does the Solution Work?

   • How did they test their idea?

   • What proof do they have that it solves the problem?

What to Pay Attention To

1. Main Contributions: What's new in this paper?

   • Is it a new tool?

   • A new way of thinking about a problem?

   • A summary of existing research?

2. Future Ideas:

   • What other research could come from this?

   • What questions are still unanswered?

Smart Reading Tricks

• Don't try to read every single word

• Skip technical parts you don't understand

• It's okay to read the paper more than once

Some Reading Steps

• First read: Get the big picture

• Second read: Understand the details

• Third read: Form your own opinion

Taking Notes

• Highlight important parts

• Write down questions that pop into your mind

• Try to explain the main points in your own words

Pro Tips

Use online resources to help understand tricky parts

Don't get discouraged if you don't understand everything

Practice makes perfect

Effective research paper reading is an acquired skill. By systematically analyzing the paper's motivation, solution, evaluation, and contributions, readers can extract maximum value from technical literature.

Reference

W. G. Griswold, "How to Read an Engineering Research Paper," CSE Department, UC San Diego.