In my research, most of the time — happy time — is reading others’ works, and learning from them.

“Stand on the shoulders of giants” is written on the main page of Google Scholar.

But the most frustrating time is when I try to recall something I’ve already read. I know I’ve read and learned it, but I can’t remember or connect it properly.

Reading papers is essential in research. How can we make reading joyful — from reading first to recalling and linking ideas later?

My 4-step strategy for reading research papers

Step 1: Write questions before reading

The first step of reading is not reading. It’s questioning.

Why do you want to read this paper? What questions do you hope it will answer? Jot them down.

When you have questions in your mind, you know what you’re looking for. By the end, you can assess whether the paper answers them fully, partly, or not at all. If it answers them partly, which parts are answered and which are missing. You can decide your next step. Read more papers to answer your questions fully. Or you stop, but know where you stand.

This first step guides you to start and end your reading. And create your next reading round.

Question first, Read second.

Step 2: Read and Take Notes

I prefer reading on paper rather than on a screen. I think more clearly on paper. Humans have used paper for thousands of years, while computers have existed for less than a century. Our brains are more naturally accustomed to processing information on paper than on screen.

Depending on the questions you seek to answer, and the paper you read, you take notes briefly or in detail. No one-size-fits-all template. I use two levels of note-taking:

• Summary Notes: I note key research findings in 2 or 3 sentences.
• Detailed Notes: For papers relevant to my literature review, I use a structured template: Objective, Setting, Method, Results, and Key Findings. (I wrote about this template in the post: Smart Notes, Smarter Research: How I Built My Writing System for Research)

Step 3: Write the notes into your writing system

System matters.

System matters in research, even in life. Motivation fluctuates. Are you sure you’ll feel highly motivated every day, 5 days a week, 52 weeks in a year, in 5 years, or 10 years — even when you do what you love? Don’t rely on You. Rely on Your System.

Your system does the things for you. It stores what you read, and learn, and helps you to recall ideas and link your thinking.

I use the Slip-box method (also called Zettelkasten) to organize my research notes in my Obsidian note-taking system. I learned the theory of this method from How To Take Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens, and some practical tips for using digital Zettelkasten from Digital Zettelkasten by David Kadavy. (I wrote a book review blog — Book Review: “How to Take Smart Notes” — How It Improved My Writing)

Step 4: Add the citation to your Reference Management System

This final step is simple. Add the article’s citation to your Reference Management System.

I previously used Mendeley, but its Chrome extension often had errors when importing citations. I switched to Zotero, which has been more smoother.

All giants start with a first small step. No one becomes a giant overnight, not even the giants. Start small. Build a system. Work on it. Refine it. Day by day, it will grow, you can see it. Then one day, others will look and think it happened overnight.