How to annotate a scientific article
Annotate means to add notes (an-NOTE-tate) to text that you are reading, to offer explanation, comments or opinions on the author's words. Annotation takes practice, and the better you are at it, the better you will be at reading complicated articles.
Step 1: Determine how you will annotate the text you are about to read. If it is a printed article, you may be able to just write in the margins, a coloured pen might make it easier to see. If it is an article posted on the web, you could also you Diigo, which is a highlighting and annotating tool that you can use on the website and even share your notes with your instructor.
Step 2: Scan the document you are annotating, some obvious clues will be apparent before you read it, things such as titles or headers for sections. Read the first paragraph, somewhere there (or possibly in the 2nd paragraph) should be a BIG IDEA about what the article is going to be about. In the margins, near the top, write down the big idea of the article in your own words, this shouldn't be more than a phrase or a sentence.
Step 3: Underline topic sentences or phrases that express the main idea for that paragraph or section. You should never underline more than 5 words, though for large paragraphs or blocks of text, you can use [brackets]. Write in the margin next to these underlines a summary of the paragraph or the idea being expressed.
Step 4: Connect related ideas by drawing arrows ⇒ from one idea to another, annotate those arrows with a phrase about how they are connected.
Step 5: If you encounter an idea, word, or phrase you don't understand, circle it O and put a question mark ? in the margin that indicates an area of confusion, write the question in the margin.
Step 6: Anytime the author makes a statement that you can connect with on a PERSONAL level, annotate in the margins a summary of how this connects to you. Write any comments or observations you feel appropriate to the text, you can also add your personal opinion.
Step 7: Place a box around any term or phrase that emphasises scientific language. These could be words you are not familiar with, define those words in the margins.
To summarise how to annotate a scientific article:
1. Identify the BIG IDEA
2. Underline topic sentences or main ideas
3. Connect ideas with arrows
4. Ask questions
5. Add personal notes
6. Define technical words
Extract from The biology corner, accessed 12/02/2016, <http://www.biologycorner.com/worksheets/annotate.html>
How to annotate/summarise research papers
How to read and understand a scientific paper: a guide for non-scientists
The author of the above blog gives excellent step-by-step instructions for reading a primary research article. Below is a summary of each instruction:
1. Begin by reading the introduction, not the abstract.
2. Identify the BIG QUESTION.
3. Summarise the background in five sentences or less.
4. Identify the SPECIFIC QUESTION(S).
5. Identify the approach.
6. Now read the methods section. Draw a diagram for each experiment, showing exactly what the authors did.
7. Read the results section. Write one or more paragraphs to summarise the results of each experiment, each figure, and each table. Don’t yet try to decide what the results mean, just write down what they are.
8. Do the results answer the SPECIFIC QUESTION(S)? What do you think they mean?
9. Read the conclusion/discussion/Interpretation section.
10. Now, go back to the beginning and read the abstract.
11. FINAL STEP: (Don’t neglect doing this) What do other researchers say about this paper?
Template to be used in the development of the scientific poster
| Section | Content and activities |
| Title | Question under investigation is the title |
| Introduction | Explanation or reason for undertaking the investigation, including a clear aim, a hypothesis and/or prediction and relevant background physics concepts |
| Methodology |
Summary that outlines the methodology used in the investigation and is authenticated by logbook entries Identification and management of relevant risks, including the relevant health, safety and ethical guidelines followed in the investigation |
| Results | Presentation of collected data/evidence in appropriate format to illustrate trends, patterns and/or relationships |
| Discussion |
Analysis and evaluation of primary data Identification of outliers and their subsequent treatment Identification of limitations in data and methods, and suggested improvements Linking of results to relevant physics concepts |
| Conclusion | Conclusion that provides a response to the question |
| References & acknowledgments | Referencing and acknowledgment of all quotations and sourced content as they appear in the poster |