Reading: Easier Said Than Done

Irene Vega

Reading is one of the main activities in the daily life of the scientist. In the academic and university environment, this task is assumed as a routine task for both consolidated researchers and those in training. However, it is becoming more and more complex to read everything that is published because there have never been so many scientists in the entire history of humanity and so many specialized studies have never been published.

Aware of this difficulty, Marcos Méndez, coordinator of the doctoral program in Conservation of Natural Resources at URJC, held a workshop last year to develop good reading habits during the thesis and to help the doctoral student throughout his career. investigator. The workshop provided ten rules, which have recently been published in the prestigious editorial series "have simple rules" of the magazine PLoS Computational Biology. “Even in a very specific field of research, reading everything is a very demanding task. For this reason, both scientists in training and those who are still working on their doctoral thesis need a good dose of self-discipline and organization to fit the task of reading into their routine work schedule”, says Marcos Méndez.

The ten rules explained in the article are, therefore, useful not only for novice researchers but also for those researchers already established who are overwhelmed by the accumulation of current scientific literature. Proof of how relevant these types of rules are is the great impact the article is having, which in four days has received more than 9000 visits and has accumulated more than 2000 downloads.

The ten rules are as follows:

1. Develop the habit of reading daily.
2. Read the articles in their entirety to build a solid foundation of knowledge in your discipline.
3. Do not ignore the fundamentals of your discipline: read the classics.
4. If you have to familiarize yourself with a new topic, it's a good idea to read in chronological order.
5. Avoid narrow-mindedness and read beyond your own discipline.
6. Create your list of relevant magazines.
7. Not all interesting information is published in articles - read books.
8. Use a reference manager to keep your bibliography organized.
9. Keep a long-term review, for your own use, as a way to remember what you read.
10. Build your personal library to become independent and inspire others.