Guest writer: Liam Wilkinson, Science Co-op Peer Mentor and Biochemistry/Microbiology Co-op Student
A great way to improve your knowledge and skills as a young scientist is to read about new scientific breakthroughs in diverse fields. This will allow you to think about problems in new ways by drawing upon previous findings.
Additionally, exposing yourself to new research might reveal a field that you may want to pursue through co-op placements and beyond!
Two great ways to read about new scientific research is by accessing summary research articles offered by large journals such as Science and Nature. These sites take the most important papers published in their journals and summarize them into short articles. These articles provide the main take-aways while avoiding the niche jargon and methods that deter many from reading research papers.
Then if something sparks your interest, you can learn about the details in the full paper. Both sites can be accessed for UVic students for free by accessing through the library website.
Science Magazine: https://www.science.org
Nature: https://www.nature.com
Don’t forget to check out the growing list of peer reviewed publications that Co-op students have contributed to!