Step 1: Choose a paper. Have a different person choose the paper every week. Check the previous Journal Clubs here to see who chose one the longest time ago. Let new lab members join the club a few times so they can see what it is like before asking them to choose a paper themselves.
Step 2: Ask them to come up with papers that represent the Cutting Edge of Science. Think about:
– papers that present something new (e.g. a novel data set or approach)
– papers should preferentially be recent (so that we can use the new insights/data promptly)
– if the paper appeared in a lower-impact journal, this could avoid it having been noticed by competing groups 😉
– review papers are good to learn some background, but they usually do not represent the Cutting Edge of Science.
Step 3: Use the “Add content” link to post the paper on the Edwards Lab Site http://edwards.sdsu.edu/labsite/index.php/intranet/journal-club. Mention who chose the paper and when we are discussing it.
Step 4: Send out an email to the Edwards Lab mailing list telling them which paper to read and the date of the Journal Club. Attach a PDF of the paper. Also, tell everyone to really read the paper, or the Journal Club will lose its meaning.
Step 5: While reading, try to understand what the paper is about. If something is not clear, discuss it with the others.
Step 6: During the Journal Club discussion, remember the following points:
– Think about how we can use the information presented in the paper in our own research.
– Try to focus on positive things – trashing something is just too easy.