UC San Diego astronomy professor Adam Burgasser has co-authored a guide to help students critically read scientific papers. The book, written with alumna Genevive Bjorn, addresses what they call a "hidden curriculum" in science education.

"How to Critically Read the Scientific Research Literature: Introducing the CERIC Method" came out in June from Cambridge University Press. It introduces a five-step framework: Claim, Evidence, Reasoning, Implications and Context.

"Critical reading is generally treated as an assumed skill, one that teachers and mentors expect students to know without providing any formal instruction or research-based validation," Burgasser said in a UC San Diego Today Q&A published Monday, Sept. 7. "We call this part of the 'hidden curriculum' in science."

Burgasser, a professor of astronomy and astrophysics who earned his bachelor's degree at UC San Diego in 1996, co-wrote the book with Bjorn, who completed her master's in education there in 2015. Bjorn is founder and director of The Higher Learning Lab.

The problem is well-documented.

Researchers have tracked falling rates of college students completing assigned reading since the early 1980s, according to the UC San Diego article. The university's own Senate-Administration Workgroup on Admissions has flagged declining language and literacy skills among recently admitted students, Burgasser said. Difficulty reading scientific literature is among the main barriers to degree progression and one of the top reasons students leave graduate programs, according to Burgasser.

The CERIC Method offers a structured reading approach. Instead of reading a journal article start to finish, users identify the five argument components across sections of a paper. A 2024 peer-reviewed study in Frontiers in Education found the method significantly improved critical reading, research self-efficacy and reduced reading apprehension among 24 doctoral students.

The framework has been tested well beyond traditional classrooms. Burgasser said he and Bjorn have taught it to education research students, religious studies graduate students, citizen science groups, high school students and retirees on a cruise ship.

The book targets undergraduates reading their first research article, graduate students preparing literature reviews and instructors teaching scientific literacy. A companion website at cericmethod.com offers free teaching resources, including worksheets and grading rubrics based on Burgasser's UC San Diego courses.