Reading Technical Material

Source material
Books
Journal articles Articles from conference proceedings

Technical reports
Theses from universities

Research Article
Structure of a typical paper
Abstract Introduction Literature

Problem Statement
Main story Conclusion and future work

Example: Two papers

Reading a research paper/chapter

Survey the paper: read the abstract carefully
Introduction is usually not very technical; you can read it seriously Literature survey helps decide what this paper does when comparing with other research---new and old. Scan the rest of the paper and write down the questions that the paper is trying to ask Scan the paper again to see what answers the paper has provided for the questions

Reading a research paper/chapter

Now reread to see if you can understand the details
It is possible that there are parts of the paper for which you need background material via other papers or books or other sources; obtain them

Literature Survey
Critical to understanding what others have done.
Search the web: Google Scholar is an obvious starting place. Use keywords more smartly. Look deep into a search result Perform backward (papers referenced by the paper you are reading) and forward references (other papers citing the paper you are reading) Breadth first searches to get the canvas; depth after you home in on something that you like Do not hesitate to do background reading and develop technical knowledge required to understand the papers that you like Important to not be overwhelmed and not be intimidated

Literature Survey
Make notes and regularly think about the big picture
You have to put in the effort. Everything takes time!!