How to consume mass quantities

Not the kind of "mass quantities" that the Coneheads would consume, but mass quantities of academic readings and scientific findings. I'm not a fast reader myself, so I've tried different speed reading programs over the years, and have developed some of my tricks for getting through stacks of readings (are readings still "stacked" if they're in PDF files??). 

Here are some things I've tried that seem to work well.

Rule #1: Don't read through articles end to end

When you're reading for a class or for a scientific paper, you only want to read end to end if a) the topic is brand new and you need general orientation, b) the content you need is in the lit review, c) you've read the findings and you still don't understand them.  

Another way to phrase this is "Define the goal of your reading." When you're reading as part of a project or paper (rather than reading for a general overview of a topic or for fun), you're usually reading to find references to support your work. Thus you want to focus on the most helpful parts of the readings  (e.g., the findings). Make sure you can distinguish between these different kinds of reading (i.e., the goal of your reading), and use the right approach for the goal. 

Rule #2: Adopt a method

Particularly if you need to burn through a lot of reading, having a methodical way to process the "stack" is really helpful. Here are some options. 

1. Alpha & Omega method: Read the abstract and conclusions first. This will give you the overall goal of the research and the take-home findings. These are probably the most important things for you to gather. 
2. "To the point" method: There are a couple versions of this method, but the goal is to get to the point of the paper. 
1. Option 1: Read the results section first (and only go back to methods when needed)
2. Option 2: Read tables and figures first. They can be easier to consume than text sometimes.
3. Option 3: Read conclusions/discussions first. Do this if you're trying to get the most general "big picture" take-home message or ideas for future research.

Rule #3: Document your progress

Remember that your goal is to extract findings and conclusions, not just highlight them. So, rather than just underlining or highlighting key findings (something I did for years), make sure that your note-taking method pulls the findings out so that they're easier to find later. You don't want to have to flip through pages of articles to find your meaningful highlights. Here are some ideas. 

1. Create a list of 3-4 "take home message". If you only remember 3-4 things about the article, these points are what you want to remember. Make this list in a separate document or on the first page of the article so it's easy to find. 
2. In Adobe Reader (and maybe other PDF readers), you can insert comments and then have only the comments displayed (rather than showing them on the pages of the document). This is another way to bring important points to the surface. 
3. Copy key text and tables right out of the document into your notes file or document draft. Be careful that you don't accidentally plagiarize when doing this. It protect against that, I like to copy out of articles as screen caps (rather than text) so that I can't edit it directly. 

You also want to make your notes "retraceable". For your take-homes or anything you copy out of the article, be sure to say where in the article it was found (e.g., page, and even paragraph). This makes it easier to go back to the full discussion if you have to. 

Suggestion #1 Try formal speed reading methods

I've tried a couple (Evelyn Wood: http://www.ewrd.com/ewrd/index.asp and Iris: http://www.irisreading.com/). I've had more luck with Iris (by which I mean, it's stuck as a habit), but that's probably because I took the Iris course, while I tried to learn EW from the book. Here are some general speed reading tips taken from both. These methods assume you're reading a chapter or section end-to-end (which you may not be if you're using one of the methods above). However, you can apply these techniques to individual sections of a research article pretty easily. 

1. Do your reading in multiple passes (you don't have to do all these...they're a combination of the two methods)
   1. Pass 1a: Read at a pace of 1-2 sec per page, just skimming for style, key words, etc.). This is a "warm-up pass" of sorts.
   2. Pass 1b: Read the opening and closing paragraph of the chapter or section. A similar type of warm-up.
   3. Take notes. What will the section be about? What terms seem new, etc.
   4. Pass 2: Read the first sentence of each paragraph. 
   5. Pass 3: Read the full text. 
2. Both methods recommend using a finger or some sort of pointer to "underline" or "tap" beneath the words as you read. Essentially, you follow your pointer to keep your eyes moving.
3. Don't back track. If you think you missed a word or sentence, just keep going. You'll likely pick it up later in the text or on the next read-through. 
4. Don't take note while actively reading, but in between passes. Taking notes slows you down. 

Suggestion #2 Make a game of it. How quickly can you  extract three substantive take-home messages. 

Suggestion #3 Use your environment. Don't read articles while lying comfortable on your sofa or in bed. Do them in a location or at a time that puts some pressure on you to finish. For example, read while standing and only sit down after you've finished an article. Or, read articles on the bus. Keep your readings hand so you can read them in those frequent 5-15 minute down times each day (e.g,. before a meeting, waiting for your dinner to heat up in the microwave). 

Suggestion #4 Use Technology. http://accelareader.com/ is just one example that Iris recomments. You copy text into it and it shows you a word at a time at your chosen pace. Here are some other tools: http://www.irisreading.com/software-and-apps/

Happy reading!