I tried to copy as much as possible from the paper, then fill in the blanks with how I would have solved it. I only had a partial solution but I still learnt heaps more than just reading the paper.

I think this is why implementing is such a useful learning tool. Papers I tried to implement I probably read cover-to-cover 10 or 20 times, as opposed just skimming abstract, method, results.

When missing key info, after searching the paper a few times:

• my first step was see if I could find anything on paperswithcode or github.
• failing that, google searches. see if I could find anything on forums, stack exchange sites, reddit.
• uni library or academic paper web search engines
• see if any papers that cite the paper I’m implementing give some clue
• last resort was to look into papers they cite.

That was all the tricks I had, keen to know any more.

I’ve found https://paperswithcode.com/ and github search & topics useful tools. In my experience implementing a paper from scratch is a fantastic way to gain a deeper understand of a paper. Don’t be discouraged, I can’t remember a single paper I’ve tried to implement that provided all the details necessary to implement.

I couldn’t find the version I used, but there was a MIT guide to writing an academic paper similar to this that I found helpful https://mitcommlab.mit.edu/eecs/commkit/journal-article-introduction/