Undergrad Research Tips: Literature Review
When you start a brand new research project you look at the vast expanse of possibilities in front of you and think, "Where the hell am I suppose to start?" There is where the literature review comes in. You have to do a butt load of reading so you actually have a chance to understand the research you're conducting. If you're lucky enough your prof will give you a list of recommended readings, but I urge you to go beyond. Start hoarding important studies, manuals and textbooks like a paranoid squirrel preparing for a neverending winter.
1. Find a solid review study that provides a good introduction to your field and gives a bit of context. If you look a scientific journal they have a variety of pieces ranging from research papers to editorials to opinion pieces to review studies. A review study is a kind of like the voice-over narrator in a trailer. They're like: In a world with anemone toxins...blah blah blah. For me when I was started learning about anemone toxins, Sea Anemone (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Actiniaria) Toxins: An Overview was a great introduction to the field. Once you get the basics down you can look at specific things in that field in more detail (e.g. later on, you could find more studies on potassium channel toxins). You can also go the citations section of a review study to find even more studies that relevant to specific concepts.
2. Get all of your manuals and protocols! If you are using a lab technique that's new to you like peptide synthesis or FRET get your hands on the manual or protocol for the equipment or reagent that you're using. Sometimes the manual for the equipment you're using provides the best introduction to a technique. When I was learning about peptide synthesis I didn't get the clearest explanation from a textbook or study, I got it from the manual for the peptide synthesizer in my lab. Most manufacturers have the PDF version of the manual online (FOR FREE! GRAB ALL OF THE FREE STUFF!). Pay special attention to the troubleshooting section because everything will go to hell eventually and at least you'll know why nothing worked.
3. Read studies effectively. Based on my experience you need to read a study at least twice to really understand it. There is a typical reading order: Abstract-->Introduction--> Results--> Discussion--> Methods and materials. When you read the results pay close attention to the captions for each figure because they will help you understand the data better. Passively reading a study is a great way to ensure that you remember absolutely nothing. It's a good idea to read and annotate the important studies. I use Mendeley to annotate and highlight my studies, but you can also use Acrobat Reader.
Side note: The real reason I use Mendeley is because it lets me highlight everything in lots of pretty colors. I have and always will—love pretty colors.
I have one comment summarising each section (e.g. Introduction, different parts of the results etc.)
4. Sometimes you look at a method used in a study and it has an intimidatingly long and complex sounding name, you think, "The hell is THIS? Did they just throw a bunch of sciency words into a hat and use convoluted satanic rituals to get their results?" If you don't really understand or know about a technique find the original study where the researcher discovered the method. The OG study provides you with context and applications for that technique.
5. Are you daydreaming during a long train ride or waiting for a reagent to arrive or you're running an experiment that takes forever? Do your reading! When you're stuck waiting for results don't waste your time! Keep reading and reviewing literature.
6. Ask for help. Sometimes you try your best to understand a concept and it still doesn't sink in. Ask the Ph.D. students, post-docs and other equally clueless undergrads in your lab for help.
Those are my tips for doing all the reading and background research for a research project, but next time we will dive into writing and editing hell.
The fate of your first draft.