![]() Usually, the earlier names in the list were highly involved, while the last name is the person in charge of the research group. In theory, this should include everyone who was involved in the research and willing to take responsibility for it. The limitations of the work will be highlighted here, as well as useful references that the authors use to justify their conclusions. They will also identify further work needed to answer the remaining questions. This is where the authors will explain implications of the findings and speculate on where the work is heading. It is possible you won’t fully grasp the statistics employed but pay attention to words such as ‘‘significant’’ and ‘‘non-significant‘‘. Good papers will summarise results in reasonably readable figures and tables and lay out the finding in each experiment. Was the drug tested on mice or humans? How many? Was the new device tested in the field or in controlled conditions? Does the technique use existing methods or an improved version? Is there something about the technique that raises questions for you? This section can be challenging to read, but here you can answer questions about the way the work was carried out. It will also tell you what is already known in the field and therefore the gap the research addresses. The introduction usually puts the research into context, giving references to previous literature and other important players in the field who might be useful to contact. The last sentence of the abstract often states the main research finding. These can be quite technical but will provide you with the first hint of what the researchers found, the scope of the work and so on. You don’t need to read the paper from beginning to end, but instead look out for specific things in each section Press releases sometimes use illustrations from stock graphics sites such as Flickr, which you may not have permission to use. It might imply that a new technique works in the real world, when the original paper states it works only under controlled conditions. Press releases often fail to mention the circumstances under which, say, a new innovation might work. Is it the first study ever of its kind or does it build on previous work? At what stage of development is this field or technique? Do other studies have similar results or does this one contradict the status quo? Check the language - are they suggesting this is a ‘‘cure’’ or a ‘‘magic bullet’’? Is the release implying cause-and-effect when in fact the study revealed only an association? Are there claims that the findings are applicable to humans when the research suggests it’s too early to tell? Note these down and check whether they can be justified.Ī release might present research as being a huge leap in the field when most likely it is a small step forward. Press releases sometimes oversell or extrapolate results. ![]() Here are a few things you should bear in mind when reading a press release You can use press releases as a starting point, to get some basic information such as contact details, initial story ideas and context. ![]()
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