General Zoology
BIO 2
Introduction to Scientific Literature Assignment
This assignment is designed to introduce you to the primary scientific literature. Science is communicated through the primary literature. As biology majors, you will have to write many papers utilizing scientific articles and some of you may end up writing them as well! It is very important to be able to extract the important points from an article and to evaluate the methods used. You will visit our library here at Hartnell as well as the CSUMB library to learn about the resources available at each facility and how to search for scientific articles. Your assignment is a short literature review involving 5-8 original research papers.
1. Choose a Topic – This may be the most difficult part! You may choose a topic related to anything we have discussed in class. Try to avoid topics that will involve an excessive amount of technical jargon such as molecular studies. Have a very narrowed down topic as well as a more generalized version ready for the library trips so that if your general topic lists too many papers, or your specific topic generates nothing you can refocus without wasting time.
Example: Very General: Guppy behavior
General: Courtship in guppies
Specific: Female choice in guppies
Due date for topic (10 points): Wednesday, April 22
2. Find papers as closely related to your specific topic as possible. You should attempt to find as many as you can, so you can put together a list of 5-8 papers that are closely related to your specific topic. You will learn how to do this at the library field trips. Come prepared with a memory stick to download the papers – or you can email them to yourself. If you are organized, you will be able to do most of your research during the field trip.
3. Preview the papers you have brought home and choose at least 3 that you will use. Print them out so you can underline important points and make notes on the paper.
4. Read your papers in a critical manner using techniques you learned while reviewing a journal article earlier this semester.
5. Read through the information about writing a literature review in Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 of Writing Papers in the Biological Sciences. You will find everything you need concerning format, what tense to use when writing, how to cite a paper etc. there, so please follow the guidelines!!!
6. Write an outline of your paper that proceeds logically to make all of your points and then stick to this outline when writing your paper.
I. Introduction
A. Brief statement of the context of your topic within zoology.
B. Specific statement of purpose.
II. Literature Review
A. First area of focus
1. Details
2. Details
Etc. move from general to specific
B. Second area of focus
1. Details
2. Details
Etc. move from general to specific
C. Third area of focus
1. Details
2. Details
Etc. move from general to specific
III. Discussion
A. Conclusions based on what the authors of your papers found.
B. Suggestions for future research related to this topic.
IV. List of Literature Cited – alphabetized and formatted properly
Due date for outline: Monday May 4 (15 points).
7. Write the paper. Be sure to submit your paper to Turnitin.com to see your plagiarism score and make necessary revisions before Peer Review starts. You will review one of your class-mate’s papers as well as your own. You must submit your paper to Turnitin.com before midnight.
Due date for Peer-Review version (rough draft) of your paper: Monday May 11 (15 points)
Be sure your paper is close to its final version so your classmates can give you good feedback.
Due date for Peer-Review of a classmate’s paper: Thursday, May 14 (15 Points)
Points are awarded for thoughtful reviews that provide valuable feedback. Also, review your own paper using the rubric provided on Turnitin.com
Due date for the final version of paper: Monday May 18 (40 points)
You will find a rubric showing you how I will grade your paper on Turnitin.com. Use this rubric when writing your paper and during peer-review.
8. Present your paper to the class! Summarize what you found out for your classmates. Use PowerPoint, Prezi, etc. Each presentation will be 10 minutes.
Presentations will be Monday May 18 and Wednesday May 20 (20 points)