Scientific Article Discussion Questions
• Please be prepared to thoroughly answer the following questions in our discussion.
• TIP: Use this set of questions as you read the scientific article to get a LOT out of the paper!
Introduction
• What material/information is known?
• What material/information is unknown?
• What new material/information is the author trying to convince us of?
Materials and Methods
• What model is being used? Explain why this model is appropriate or inappropriate for this experiment. If inappropriate, state a better model and explain why you selected it.
• Is the sample set statistically significant? If not, how does this throw into question the validity of these results?
• What specific methods are used? (Be able to explain each of the methods)
• Were any of the methods unnecessary for this experiment? (Be prepared to defend your answer)
• Were there any methods/experiments that were missing or that, if included, would have strengthened the authors case?
Results
• Select the most important figure and explain why this figure makes the best case for the authors’ conclusion.
• Select the least important figure (or the figure that you consider irrelevant) and explain why it does not add anything to the paper.
• Select data whose interpretation you disagree with. What would the author have had to include for you to agree with their interpretation?
• Are all of the results obtained consistent with the hypothesis being tested? Are there any major outliers in the data?
• What sort of evidence would make the authors’ case stronger? What sort of evidence would argue against the authors?
• What case would a skeptical scientist make against the authors’ interpretation of their results?
Conclusion/Discussion
• Which conclusions are directly drawn from the analysis of the results, and which are more speculative?
• Do all of the conclusions drawn make sense based on the results?
• Has this article supported the generally accepted thinking on neuroscience or has it refuted it?
• How has this article furthered the field of neuroscience?