Everytime I read a paper, I almost always forget what it was about the next time I look at it. I made this web app so that I can upload to a single place the summaries and comments that I have for the papers I read. Looking back at a given summary helps me quickly remember what I learned the first time I read the paper.
After I read a paper, I like to write down the answer to four questions:
- Why is this work imporant? This gives me a sense of the application of the paper and why it is important. It helps me put things into context and understand the rest of the content of the paper better.
- Why is this work different? The answer to this question tells me what is new or different about the method proposed by the authors, when comparing against the rest of the current literature.
- How does it work? This answer delves into some of the technical details of the paper, although it still tries to avoid the nitty-gritty and still gives the big picture idea.
- What are the results? This provides any interesting or significant results that are particularly important. Any additional comments or thoughts I have would be written as well.
I use these four questions, and their answers, whenever I need to go back to a paper to refresh my memory and what it proposes and how it does it. This web app allows me to store all of these summaries in a single place.