Forming your perspective¶

As a student, writing a perspective article can seem daunting, especially when you're still learning the field. By focusing on a specific article, you can develop a well-grounded perspective that demonstrates your ability to engage deeply with current research, think critically about challenges, and propose thoughtful ideas for future work. Follow this framework to help you get started.

Deep reading of the focal article¶

Begin by immersing yourself in the assigned focus article. Read it multiple times, each time with a different purpose:

First read: Grasp the main argument and findings.
Second read: Analyze the methods, results, and conclusions in detail.
Third read: Critically evaluate the article's strengths, limitations, and implications.

Pay particular attention to:

The "Introduction" to understand the context and motivation for the study;
The "Methods" section to grasp the approaches being used;
The "Results" to understand the key findings;
The "Discussion" section, where authors interpret their results and place them in a broader context;
The "Future Directions" or "Conclusions" sections, where researchers often highlight unanswered questions or areas needing further investigation.

Take detailed notes as you read, focusing on the main arguments, methodologies, and unresolved questions in the article.

Contextual analysis¶

Examine the article's citations to understand its theoretical and empirical foundations:

Read key papers cited in the introduction and discussion sections.
Investigate more recent papers that have cited this article to see how the field has evolved.

This will help you place the focus article within the broader context of the field.

Identify key points¶

Create a list of the article's most important elements:

What is the main problem or question the article addresses?
What are the key methods or approaches used?
What are the most significant findings or conclusions?
What limitations or future directions does the article suggest?

Critical evaluation¶

Assess the strengths and weaknesses of the study's approach:

Consider alternative interpretations of the results.
Reflect on how well the conclusions are supported by the data.
Think about potential limitations that weren't addressed in the article.

Develop your perspective¶

Based on your analysis, start forming your own views. Your perspective could:

Extend the article's approach to a new problem or dataset.
Propose modifications to the method to address identified limitations.
Suggest how the findings could be applied in a different context.
Argue for or against the article's conclusions based on other literature.
Identify gaps or unanswered questions raised by the article.

Remember, your perspective doesn't need to be entirely novel. It could be a synthesis of the focus article's ideas applied in a new way, or a call for more research in a particular direction. The key is to support your viewpoint with evidence from the focus article and related literature, and to clearly articulate why your perspective is important for the field.

Support your perspective¶

Use evidence from the focal article and related literature to support your viewpoint. Explain how your perspective builds on, challenges, or extends the article's work.

Consider broader implications¶

Reflect on how your perspective contributes to the wider field of computational biology. Discuss potential practical applications or theoretical advancements that could result from your perspective.

Formulate research questions¶

Based on your perspective, propose specific research questions or hypotheses that could be investigated in future studies.

As you develop your perspective, continually refer back to the focus article and your notes. Ensure that your viewpoint is grounded in the current state of the field and addresses real, recognized challenges or opportunities. Don't be afraid to discuss your emerging ideas with your professors or peers - these conversations can help refine and strengthen your perspective.