Strategies for managing intensive reading

Before you begin reading a journal article or a book, ask yourself:

• what information do I need to find?

This will be dependent on your research themes, aims and objectives.

• will this text provide the information I need?

This can be determined by looking at the contents page, preface, index, introduction, chapter headings, illustrations and diagrams, section headings, summaries and reference section(s).

Seek advice from your;

Supervisor(s)

• explain the difficulties reading poses for you and that you are keen to find ways of using your reading time efficiently and effectively
• ask your supervisor(s) to recommend a list of key texts and parts of texts. (This is much more efficient if you ask for this list before you start)
• discuss ideas you glean from your reading - are you interpreting the writers accurately?
• if you disagree with a writer, are you able to challenge their ideas?
• ask for feedback on discussions of the literature and the arguments you present
• negotiate realistic deadlines for reading key texts
• explain the difficulties reading poses for you and that you are keen to find ways of using your reading time efficiently and effectively.

Disability adviser

• even if you have not used learning support during your degree, you may find it helpful to talk with an adviser about whether there is support available to you
• if you have an assessment of your requirements, you will possibly be entitled to funding through the DSA (Disabled Students' Allowance) to provide that support, whether it be for assistive software, computing equipment, or a learning support tutor
• ask your disability adviser about the most recent software developments to identify any that might be effective for you.

Peers

• where possible, discuss with peers the strategies they use to manage intensive reading.

Postgraduate researcher perspectives

You may identify with one or more of these postgraduate researchers' comments about reading. Whether they match your experience or not, work out the advice you would give to each one about how to tackle the hurdle raised by intensive reading.

References

Rugg, G. and Petre, M. (2004) The Unwritten Rules of PhD Research Chapter 6 Palgrave.

Kurland, D. (1994) I Know What it Says...What Does it Mean?: Critical Skills for Critical Reading Wadsworth Publishing Co Inc