Scientific Literature Project
Objectives:
- Learn more about a topic in Biology that you are interested in.
- Learn the components of a journal article, and understand the differences between popular press articles and journal articles.
- Read a ScienceNews article about a topic that interests you, and then read a primary source article from which the article is based. Summarize the purpose (hypotheses tested), methods, results, and implications of the article.
- Present your information in class
Assignment:
Part I: Understanding the components of a scientific journal article.
This information will help you understand the components of your chosen article. This information will be included on Lecture Exam 3 and on the Final Exam.
Read the following paper online and answer the questions below: Go to the website from Visionlearning on Understanding Scientific Journals and Articles
- What is primary literature?
- What is secondary literature?
- What is peer review, and what is the purpose of peer review?
- What are examples of the broadest, most competitive journals in biology? What is an example of a top-tier journal specialized in biology? What are examples of highly specialized articles in biology?
- Does the title of a manuscript summarize the paper or merely describe the topic?
- How many authors can there be in a scientific article, and what is the significance of being first author?
- What is the abstract, and what are the purposes of the abstract?
- What is presented in Materials and Methods? How much detail is required?
- What type(s) of information are presented in the Results section?
- What is contained in the Discussions and Conclusions section?
- How do the authors cite earlier literature upon which their paper is built?
- What might be included in Supporting Materials?