One important skill we want you to acquire or improve in this class is the ability to find reliable information on topics such as soils and recognize when you have found it. The World Wide Web opens up lots of possibilities for finding information from your desk quickly. However, your use of the Web and of Internet tools and sources in general will be far more effective if you understand the basics of information sources -- the differences among various types of information, the most efficient way to access each type, how to recognize the value in what you find, and what to do with it once it’s been found.
Based on our experience in many past classes, it is clear that most students can benefit from additional experience and guidance in telling different types of information apart (e.g., what’s a scientific journal and what’s a magazine?), how to recognize reliable information and possible bias, and how to document information sources in text, tables, and figures as well as the reference list. To help you gain this experience, here are some specific links to Web-based resources you should find useful. If you want to explore on your own, an excellent place to start is the CFR 101 class presentation and library assignment prepared by Carol Green of the Forest Resources Library:
http://www.lib.washington.edu/Forest/classes/CFR101.html
General Overview:
http://www.lib.washington.edu/uwill/research101/
This is an excellent overview of information cycles, types of sources, finding tools, and evaluation criteria. It also includes worksheets to guide you through the research process. Everyone will benefit from looking through this tutorial and, if you are new to research, you should consider doing the worksheets as well.
http://www.lib.washington.edu/Forest/classes/cfr101powerpoint2/sld008.htm
This is a nice diagrammatic summary of the information cycle in the sciences.
Evaluating Sources:
http://www.lib.washington.edu/Forest/evaluation.html
General guidance from Carol Green
http://www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/research/skill20.html
http://www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/research/skill26.htm
http://www.library.cornell.edu/okuref/research/webeval.html
http://www2.widener.edu/Wolfgram-Memorial-Library/webevaluation/inform.htm
http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/help/critical/index.htm
http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/college/help/critical/discipline.htm
Documentation Styles and Formats:
http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/Documentation.html
http://www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/DocCBE6.html
This is the general style we expect you to use in this class. Review it carefully.
http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/cite8.html
This is the general style we expect you to use in this class. Review it carefully.
The practice of attributing information in your writing to the sources where you found it is a fundamental part of scholarship in many fields, not just science. Attribution and documentation are not just about ethics (plagiarism and academic honesty) but are also important because they allow your reader to verify the information independently as well as provide an entry point for further research. Think how many times you’ve been frustrated by Websites which don’t provide an indication of their information sources, making it impossible for you to go further with your research.
Different academic disciplines use different styles for documenting sources, although the information included is usually very similar. In the sciences, most styles are variants of the name-year (or author-date) system of the Council of Biological Editors (CBE). This is the general style we expect you to follow in this course, so be sure to check out and pay close attention to the CBE links provided above. The CBE manual, Scientific Style and Format, can be found in the reference section of the science libraries if you prefer to browse in paper form. The basics of the format we expect you to use for your reference lists in your poster and report are illustrated below.
In this section of your paper, report, or poster, you present the
complete documentation for the material you refer to in the body (including
text, figures, and tables) of your report. This presentation, in conjunction
with the citations you include in the text, enables the interested reader,
including, perhaps, you at a later date, to quickly locate the sources you have
used in preparing your report. It provides a convenient way for the reader to
obtain additional information about a particular topic, and it also provides
the reader with a means of verifying what you have written. By giving the
source of your information, the reader can more easily recognize possible
errors or provide an opportunity for him or her to correct any misconceptions
you may have acquired. Proper referencing is crucial in scientific publications.
Because misstatements of fact are readily propagated in the literature, the
References Cited section of a report provides the reader with the ability to
verify all statements made, and a careful scientist consults the listed
references before accepting statements made by other authors (at least the more
important statements).
Include only those references that you have actually read and that you
specifically cite in your report or paper. Unless told otherwise by your
instructor or editor, list references in alphabetical order according to the
last name of the first author of each publication. If you cite several papers
written by the same author, list them chronologically. If one author has
published two papers in the same year, list them as, for example, CL Harris
1990a and CL Harris 1990b. Each reference must include the names of all
authors, the year of publication; and the full title of the paper, article, or
book. In addition, for books you must report the publisher, the place of
publication, and the pages referred to. For journal articles, you must include
the name of the journal, the volume number of the journal, and the page numbers
of the article consulted.
There is unfortunately no single acceptable format for preparing this
section of a report; formats differ from journal to journal. A few rules,
however, do apply to most situations:
·
Spell out only
the last names of authors; initials are used for first and middle names.
·
Latin names,
including species names, are italicized or underlined to indicate italics.
·
Titles of journal articles are not enclosed within
quotation marks.
·
Journal names
are usually abbreviated. Acceptable abbreviations for the titles of journals
can usually be found within the journals themselves. However, do not abbreviate
the names of journals whose titles are single words (for example, Science or
Nature). (In this course, feel free to write out the full titles.)
The most important rule in preparing the References Cited section is to
provide all the information required and to be consistent in the manner in
which you present it. When preparing a paper for publication, you should
religiously follow the format used by the journal to which it will be
submitted. The following examples should be helpful in preparing References
Cited sections. Note that the last names of all authors of a paper are
included, even though the names of only one or at most two authors (e.g.,
Bayne et al. 1976, Eyster and Morse 1984) are cited in the text of the
report. Also note in the listing below that the format for listing books
differs from the format used for research papers.
Bayne, BL 1972. Some effects
of stress in the adult on the larval development of Mytilus edulis. Nature
237:459.
Carlton, JT, GJ Vermeij, DR
Lindberg, DA Carlton, and EC Dudley. 1991. The first historical extinction of a
marine invertebrate in an ocean basin; the demise of the eelgrass limpet Lottia
alveus. Biol. Bull. 180:72-80.
Hilbish, TJ, and KM
Zimmerman. 1988. Genetic and nutritional control of the gametogenic cycle in Mytilus
edulis. Mar. Biol. 98:223-228.
Wessells, NK, and JL Hopson.
1988. Biology. Random House, Inc., NY, pp. 374-379.
Toole, BP. 1981.
Glycosaminoglycans in morphogenesis. In: Cell Biology of Extracellular Matrix
(ED Hay, editor), Plenum Press, NY, pp. 259-294.
Biology 13 Laboratory Manual.
1991. Exercise in Enzyme Kinetics, pp. 16-23. Swarthmore College, PA.
Trimmer, BA. 1991. Principles
of physiology, using insects as models. II. Excretion of organic compounds by
Malphighian tubules. Biology 49 Laboratory Handout. Tufts University, Medford,
MA.
Hypertension, Dialysis &
Clinical Nephrology [Internet Homepage]. Hinsdale, IL: Medtext, Inc.;
c1995-2001 [cited 8 Mar 2001]. Available from: http://www.medtext.com/hdcn.htm
A sample References Cited section follows, with items arranged
alphabetically and chronologically. This is the way we want you to do it in
this course.
Bayne, BL 1972. Some effects
of stress in the adult on the larval development of Mytilus edulis. Nature
237:459.
Bayne. BL, DR Livingstone, MN
Moore, and J Widdows. 1976. A cytochemical and biochemical index of stress in Mytilus
edulis L. Mar. Poll. Bull. 7:221-224.
Biology 13 Laboratory Manual.
1991. Exercise in Enzyme Kinetics. pp. 16-23. Swarthmore College. PA.
Carlton, JT, GJ Vermeij, DR
Lindberg, DA Carlton, and EC Dudley. 1991. The first historical extinction of a
marine invertebrate in an ocean basin; the demise of the eelgrass limpet Lottia
alveus. Biol. Bull. 180:72-80.
Eyster, LS, and MP Morse.
1984. Early shell formation during molluscan embryogenesis, with new
studies on the surf clam, Spisula solidissima. Amer. Zool.
24:871-882.
Hilbish, TJ, and KM
Zimmerman. 1988. Genetic and nutritional control of the gametogenic
cycle in Mytilus edulis. Mar. Biol. 98:223-228.
Lima, GM, and RA Lutz. 1990.
The relationship of larval shell morphology to mode of development in marine
prosobranch gastropods. J. Mar. Biol. Ass. U.K. 70:611-637.
Toole, BP. 1981. Glycosaminoglycans
in morphogenesis. In: Cell Biology of Extracellular Matrix (ED Hay, editor), Plenum Press, NY, pp.
259-294.
Wessells, NK, and JL Hopson.
1988. Biology. Random House, Inc., NY, pp. 374-379.
Some of the material
in this handout has been taken, with minor editing, from the following very
handy book:
A Short Guide to Writing about Biology, Second Edition
Pechenik, Jan A.
Copyright 1993 by
HarperCollins College Publishers
ISBN 0-673-52128-1
QH304.P43 1993