Research Assignment on Scientific Sources: Techniques and Comparison

Assignment Purpose and Steps

The purpose of this assignment is to become familiar with different types of sources that are available to us when researching a topic. We will be examining how information from popular press sources and scholarly (peer-reviewed) scientific sources on the same topic vary. To complete the assignment, you will select a scientific topic of interest and use techniques introduced by the librarian who presented in your class, to find both scholarly and popular press articles on your scientific topic. In doing so you will work though steps 1-3 of this assignment. Once this portion of the assignment is complete, you can then move on to the actual written assignment, part 4.

Pick any biology topic such as evolution, biotechnology, genetics, environmental concerns, etc. You can get some ideas from the table of contents in your biology textbook.

Find two articles on your selected topic, one that is more popular (magazine or newspaper) and one that is more scholarly, using the library article databases linked on the BIO101 Lab Research Guide.

Create CSE citations (see the last page for examples of this format) for the two articles you found:

After you have found your articles and completed your citations, you can have them reviewed by a librarian to check that you have one of each type of article and to check your citations.

Step 3. Read Articles & Take Notes. Look for, identify, and take notes on

Popular Article Characteristic 1 (e.g., describe the author credentials): 

The written assignment should contain four sections:

(1) an introduction and overview of the topic,

(2) a summary of the information presented in the popular article on your topic,

(3) a comparison of that popular article’s content to the information found in your scholarly source and

(4) your bibliography. In section 3, please be sure to clearly articulate your impression of how the scholarly sources differ from your popular article.  When writing the assignment keep in mind that every statement that contains information from someone else’s work must be cited directly in the text (as author, year), and as a full citation entry in the bibliography.

We will be using the CSE citation style because it is what is typically used in science, and it’s the easiest of the styles. Submit the final version of the paper to Canvas.

(1) Introduction and overview of the topic (5 points)—here you should present an introduction to your topics and sources. Be sure to include information that the reader needs to know in order to understand what you are presenting in the following sections.

(2) Summary of the information in the popular article on your topic (5 points)—here you should present the topic using information derived exclusively from your non-scholarly articles with emphasis on your criteria selected from step 4 (above). This section should end with a logical and smooth segue into section 3 and should also include in-text citations where appropriate.

(3) Comparison to scholarly sources (5 points)—if you’re finding that once source alone doesn’t suffice, you can have more than one, it’s okay. Here you should compare your non-scholarly findings to findings of one or more scholarly sources (again from your chosen criteria in step four describe above). Please be sure to clearly state how the scholarly source(s) differ from your popular article. Use in-text citations where necessary.

 (4) Bibliography (5 points)—list all sources (a minimum of two) according to the CSE citation style guidelines.  Please note that no direct quotes are allowed in this paper. Everything must be synthesized in your own words. The total points here include your completion of steps 1-3 and submission of this worksheet as a separate file from your paper.  

Since you are submitting the assignment on Canvas, put your last name in the title of the file of your paper that you upload (for example, “SMITH_CLIMATE_CHANGE”). The font should be 11-point Calibri or Times New Roman. I prefer that paper be single spaced, but double spacing is fine. Your paper must be at least 1,200 words. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.  

In-text reference: Learning to use scientific databases is key to finding the literature of biology.

In-text reference: Human interleukin-12/23 monoclonal antibody has been shown to be effective in treating psoriasis.

In-text reference: Knothe (2006) uses a unique approach to citation analysis.

End of paper reference:  Knothe G. 2006. Comparative citation analysis of duplicate or highly related publications.