By Kevin K. Haussler, DVM, DC, PhD, DACVSMR

In a world overflowing with information and misinformation, scientific research articles are among the most trustworthy sources of knowledge — but they can also be intimidating if you don’t know how to approach them. Whether you’re a student, professional, or simply curious, here’s a practical guide to accessing and incorporating research into your daily practice.

Why care about scientific research?

• Evidence-based decisions: Research helps separate fact from hype. Just because a social media post has thousands of ‘likes’, it does not always make it true or useful information.
• Up-to-date knowledge: Journal articles share the newest findings. Most of what we do every day is based on our own personal experiences and training, which may be biased and incomplete.
• Body of knowledge: Science is built upon an extensive foundation of pre-existing information. A single research article does not ‘prove’ anything, as it is only a small fragment of knowledge that, over time, may be supported or refuted by additional evidence.
• Scientific method: Many studies are hypothesis-driven – meaning that they are designed to try to prove something wrong, instead of trying to convince everyone that something is right.
• Professional edge: Being research-literate makes you more credible and effective. Developing a working knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of a topic provides the opportunity to make well-informed decisions and avoid mishaps.
• Personal empowerment: Research helps you make smarter choices. While following the crowd is easy and often conforms to peer or societal pressures, making decisions based on scientific evidence strengthens much needed critical-thinking skills.

Critical thinking and clinical decision-making skills

Developing critical thinking and clinical decision-making skills is essential for anyone working in healthcare, science, or just daily life. These skills help you move beyond snap decisions or current social media trends into analysis, reasoning, and practical judgment.

Relying on scientific facts is crucial because they are based on rigorous, evidence-driven methods, peer review, and objectivity, making them reliable and self-correcting over time, whereas social media posts often spread partial information, unchecked opinions, biases, and sensational claims that can mislead or cause harm.

Science builds cumulative, lasting knowledge that directly impacts health, safety, and global policy, while viral posts are often driven by popularity rather than facts. In short, scientific evidence ensures informed, safe, and effective decision-making, while social media content, though widespread, often lacks accuracy and accountability.

If you care about facts and progress, you need to care about research.

Who typically conducts research?

Most research – which requires access to facilities, equipment, research subjects, and technical support – is conducted through universities or clinics.

Research and writing manuscripts are not for everyone – anyone wanting to do research needs knowledge, skills, resources, ethical awareness, and certain personal qualities to ensure the work is scientifically valid and responsible:

• Educational and knowledge requirements: Include awareness of how to conduct research, understanding data collection and analysis, and the ability to synthesize the existing body of knowledge to identify gaps or problems that need to be solved.
• Required skills and competencies: Include critical thinking, technical skills, ability to plan and conduct research, and problem-solving, as well as personal qualities such as innate curiosity and the motivation to design and conduct research, patience and persistence, attention to detail, and ethical integrity.
• Legal and ethical requirements: Include owner consent, conflict-of-interest disclosures, ethics training, and closely following institutional and governmental guidelines.

Research is expensive

Conducting research and publishing articles is expensive and takes a lot of resources.

Unfortunately, there are very limited funding sources for equine research and investigators must work very hard to access the money required to conduct the research needed to answer basic questions.

There seems to be pervasive opinions that suggest that ‘big phama’ or maligned corporations have an oversized role in funding and controlling the results of independent researchers, which is not true. Numerous safeguards and ethical guidelines exist to prevent this from happening.

Types of research papers

There are many different types of scientific research papers. Most of these involve a peer-review process while others may not require any review process or oversight by external reviewers.

• Case reports – Detailed information on a unique clinical case and its management
• Case series – Collection of data from a series of clinical cases with overlapping commonalities
• Observational – Descriptions of observations of a particular issue or clinical parameter in a group of subjects
• Experimental – Evaluation of the effectiveness of a proposed intervention – usually involves a comparison group with no applied treatment (i.e., control group) or another type of treatment
• Reviews – Narrative summaries are a descriptive review of the existing literature on a specific topic of interest. Systematic reviews include more formal quantitative and statistical analyses of a group of studies on a specific topic that are used to provide global perspective on the existing body of knowledge.
• Technical notes – Detailed description of how a procedure or specific test is performed
• Editorials – Consists of someone who provides their opinion on a specific issue or topic of interest

Peer-review process

Peer review is a quality-control process in which independent experts (the ‘peers’) evaluate a manuscript before it is published in a scientific journal. The goal is to ensure that the research is valid, clear, original, and significant. It is not about censorship but about critical evaluation by knowledgeable professionals.

What does the peer-review process entail?

• Submission: The author submits a manuscript to a journal.
• Editorial check: The journal editor does an initial review to check scope, formatting, and basic standards. Some manuscripts are rejected at this point without peer review.
• Selection of reviewers: The editor selects 2-3 experts (peers) in the relevant field who have a working knowledge of the presented topic.
• Review process: Reviewers critically evaluate the study and provide anonymous reports of their feedback.
  • Clarity: Is the manuscript readable, structured, and coherent?
  • Scientific rigor: Are the methods valid, appropriate, and reproducible?
  • Analysis: Are statistics correct? Are conclusions supported by data?
  • Originality and significance: Does it advance knowledge?

Reviewers then recommend that the paper is accepted as is, accepted with major or minor revisions, or rejected.

• Decision: The editor considers the reviewer feedback and makes a final decision. Authors may then revise and resubmit or withdraw the paper and try to resubmit the work elsewhere.
• Final acceptance: After satisfactory revision, the paper is formatted for the specific journal requirements and published.

How to find articles

If you don’t have academic access, there are still many effective ways to find research articles.

• Start with free databases such as PubMed and Google Scholar, which provide abstracts and often full-text papers. Open-access journals (e.g., PLOS, Frontiers) make all articles freely available.
• Many authors upload versions of their work on ResearchGate or institutional repositories, and you can also email researchers directly—most are happy to share a PDF of their paper.
• Review the reference list of a good paper to discover additional articles on the topic of interest.
• Finally, library services, nonprofit repositories like Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), artificial intelligence services like SCITE and browser add-ons like Unpaywall can help you legally access paywalled content. These strategies ensure that even without subscriptions, you can still engage with high-quality, up-to-date research.

The quick-scan approach

Components of a research article:

• Title: Clear, concise, and informative label
• Abstract: Concise and accurate summary
• Introduction: Defines the research problem, background, and objectives
• Methods: Detailed description of research design and methods
• Results: Clear presentation of data, tables, figures
  • Statistical analysis – provides a measure of what we can believe
• Discussion: Interpretation of results, comparisons, and implications
• Conclusion: Key takeaways and future research directions
• References: Representative citation of key sources
• Conflict of interest: Disclosure of possible financial, professional, or personal gain

When approaching a scientific article, an efficient first step is to browse strategically by focusing on the title, abstract, conclusion, and visual data such as figures and tables. The title gives you a snapshot of the main topic and scope, while the abstract summarizes the study’s purpose, methods, key findings, and implications in a concise format. Skipping ahead to the conclusion helps you quickly grasp the authors’ final interpretations and whether the results are relevant to your needs. Meanwhile, figures and tables distill complex data into visual summaries, allowing you to judge the strength of the evidence and see patterns without reading the full text.

This quick-scan approach saves time and helps you decide whether the article is worth a deeper, detailed read.

Criteria for a good paper – and red flags to watch for

Once you have found an article, ask yourself: Is this worth my time to read? Can I believe everything that it says?

Look for:

• Relevance: Matches your specific interest or problem
• Peer review: Published in a reputable journal by recognized authors and institutions
• Clear research question: Defined objective and hypothesis
• Strong methodology: Study design matches the research question
• Transparent data: Results are clearly presented and not ‘cherry-picked’
• Concise summary: Conclusions are well supported and not overstated

Red flags to watch for:

Not all papers are created equally. Some articles are clear and concise, while others seem to be very confusing, long, and difficult to read or understand. Here are a few red flags to be cautious of when reading a research article:

• Poorly written and difficult to understand. Most authors strive to present their information in an easy-to-read format.
• Lack of an appropriate control group in an experimental study design. This may involve comparison with subjects that had no applied treatment, a fake treatment (e.g., sugar pill), or a different type of treatment or standard of care.
• Does not provide enough information to truly understand what was done. A well-written article provides enough detail to allow others to replicate what was done in the study.
• Extremely small sample size (e.g., 5-6 subjects) in an experimental study, where “n” refers to the number of subjects included in a study.
• Exaggerated claims that are not supported by the data provided. Authors are often very proud of the hard work that they did and were able to get published, and therefore may exaggerate the clinical significance of their findings.
• No discussion of study limitations. All research has its strengths and limitations. Just mentioning all the good aspects without discussing what could have been done better does not provide the reader with a well-rounded perspective.

How to apply what you have read

Applying what you learn from a scientific article means translating research findings into meaningful action in your personal and professional life.

Start by reflecting on the key takeaways and asking how they connect to your context—whether it’s expanding your diagnostic skills or improving patient care.

Consider the quality and limitations of the study before adopting its recommendations, and compare findings with other reliable sources to avoid relying on a single piece of evidence.

Once confident, integrate the insights into decision-making, practice, or further research, and share them with colleagues, peers, or communities to spark discussion and improvement.

Ultimately, the goal is not just to understand the research but to use it thoughtfully to make informed, evidence-based choices. Research isn’t about memorizing facts — it’s about learning how to think, question, and act wisely.

In closing…

Reading scientific papers can feel daunting at first, but with steady practice, it becomes a transformative skill — almost like a superpower.

Instead of being overwhelmed by technical jargon or dense data, you begin to see patterns, evaluate evidence, and separate reliable research from weak claims.

The key is to start small: Choose articles in areas that genuinely interest you and focus on digestible sections such as the abstract, conclusion, or figures before attempting a full deep dive. As you grow more comfortable, train yourself to identify high-quality sources — peer-reviewed journals, reputable institutions, and studies with strong methodologies and appropriate sample sizes.

While you are reading, always practice active questioning:

What is the main claim?

How was this tested?

What are the strengths and limitations?

Most importantly, ask yourself: How can I use this knowledge in my life or work?

Whether it’s improving patient care, guiding professional decisions, or fueling curiosity, applying research bridges the gap between theory and practice. Over time, scientific reading doesn’t just inform you — it sharpens your critical thinking, enhances your decision-making, and equips you to contribute more meaningfully in your field and community.