PAPER
GUIDELINES:
INDEPENDENT RESEARCH, INDEPENDENT STUDIES & INTERNSHIPS
MEL CUNDIFF - EBIO
I. LIBRARY RESEARCH PAPER FORMAT
TOPIC/PURPOSE/FORMAT: This
assignment is designed to follow the independent library research one might do
for background information on his or her own research project. The paper may be either persuasive or
argumentative in nature – not descriptive (i.e.,
not like a book report). The paper topic
will be dictated, of course, by the nature of the independent study or independent
research project. If an internship does
not lend itself to an obvious paper topic, pick a topic that is as closely
related to the work that was done as possible and which can be researched in
the scientific literature.
The Independent Research Paper should 1) follow the
organization of a scientific paper by including headings such as purpose,
methods, results, etc., 2) include an abstract and 3) be written in a
manner acceptable for publication in a scientific journal such as Bioscience.
This is, however, not the case with the Internship
and Independent Study Papers.
These projects will not include the collection, synthesis and
interpretation of scientific data, but will instead be library research papers
using the scientific literature as
reference materials. The scientific literature on this topic is
to be researched and reported on in a manner understandable to a non-expert in
the field. An abstract of the paper is
not necessary.
LENGTH: The paper is to be
typed and double spaced. For each semester
hour of credit that is being sought the paper must include: 1) a minimum of six
pages of text (excluding graphics of any kind), and 2) a minimum of six scientific, refereed journal articles used
as references.
DUE DATES/LATE POLICY:
Unless specific exceptions have been approved by the professor in
advance, the paper is due exactly one week prior to the beginning of final
exams in the semester that credit is to be received. Expect a 10% loss in score for a paper
submitted late. The paper can be turned
in during office hours or placed under the professor’s door (Ramaley C170).
PAPER EVALUATION (Refer to Parts II,
III, IV and V following)
A. 70% PAPER CONTENT including: organization;
strength and support of the argument/thesis; clarity; grammar; overall writing
style; in-text citations (do not use inappropriate second-hand citations -- i.e.,
references that others have used and cited, but which you haven’t read
firsthand but included in your own Literature Cited).
B. 15% BACKGROUND RESEARCH. This refers to the nature of the scientific
references: Are they mostly peer-reviewed scientific journals? Are there a minimum of six for each semester
hour of credit?
C. 15% LITERATURE CITED SECTION. Does it follow the proper format? Is it complete and accurate? Are there inappropriate references; i.e.,
ones not cited in the text of the paper?
Are there in-text citations with no references here? Is there a lack of ambiguity between in-text
citations and the references here?
II. RESEARCH
METHODS/REFERENCES: Since this is a scientific
paper, the bulk of the resource materials must come from the scientific
literature. Appropriate references can be accessed via Chinook at http://libraries.colorado.edu/,
CU Boulder’s on-line catalog and e-Resources access. To retrieve journal
citations (and in many cases full-text articles), click on Find Articles & More.
From there select the subject areas, or if
you know the name of the database you can select from the A to Z list. Databases of interest:
Biological
Abstracts--All aspects of biology, 1969 to present
Click on Biological Sciences
+ to open
complete database coverage including:
·
Animal Behavior Abstracts – 1982 to present
·
Ecology Abstracts – 1982 to present
·
Toxicology – 1981 to present
GEOREF--All aspects of geology, including marine and environmental geology, 1966
to present. Includes water
chemistry.
Web of Science--Science Citation Index, 1970
to present
It is acceptable to use a few “popular press” and/or
internet references in addition to
the peer-reviewed, scientific
ones. However, using fewer than the minimum number
of scientific references (six)
will result in a significant reduction in paper score. Following the guidelines listed herein will
eliminate these penalties and emphasize the importance of the “scientific”
nature of this paper. Articles from such
publications as American Scientist, Science News, National Geographic,
National Wildlife, Natural History, Wildlife Conservation, New Scientist,
Discover, Sea Frontiers, Audubon, Ocean Realm, Underwater USA and textbooks
or books in general are “popular press” publications (not peer-reviewed,
scientific publications) and not to be the primary references in this
paper. This also applies to articles
downloaded from the internet.
CITATIONS/IN-TEXT: Both the author(s) and the date
must be used for a citation, and it must not be ambiguous. For example: a) “Smith and Jones in 1992
found that...” or b) “The reproductive behavior and physiology in sharks was
discovered to be quite complex (Smith and Jones, 1992).” Use a semicolon to separate two or more
in-text citations (e.g., Smith and Jones, 1992; Jones, et al.,
1994a). Footnotes must not be used. The above, and following, examples are taken
from the “Sample Format,” see Section IV, below.
It citing a book, it is necessary to include the page number from which the
citation was taken, e.g., (Jones, 1973, p. 421). Note: This page citation is not to be
included with the reference in the “Literature Cited” section (see Jones,
1973). The page number is not to be included when citing a
journal article; e.g., “Hansen, et
al., 1992” would be sufficient. The
use of “et al.” is to be used
whenever three or more authors are involved.
PLAGIARISM: Researchers must be given
credit (via citations) in the paper for the work they have done. Failure to do so is a form of plagiarism. The highest standards and academic honesty
are expected from the students in the
III. LITERATURE CITED SECTION
NOTES:
A “LITERATURE CITED” section
is to be added at the end of the paper and it is to include all references used
in the text of the paper and no
others. The format below (Section IV)
must be strictly followed! The heading
of this section should be “Literature Cited”; not something else like “References,” etc.!
The journal articles/references are to be alphabetically
ordered by the last name of the first author.
Only the first author of a paper will be last-name first!
Last names and initials of all authors must be used. “Et al.” may not be used here.
If there are multiple papers by a single author (or a team
of authors), the most recent paper must be listed first.
If a single author is also the first author on a
multiple-author publication, list the single-author reference first, regardless
of the publication dates. Duo-authored
papers follow single-authored papers and appear before multiple-authored
papers.
Ambiguity must be eliminated when multiple papers by a
single author (or a team of authors with the same first author) are published
in the same year. Adding an “a,” “b,” etc., to the year
as a suffix (e.g., 1993a) will eliminate this ambiguity. The same suffix in the In-Text citation is to
be used. See “Jones, 1993 (a & b)”
and “Jones
et al., 1994 (a & b)” below in Section
IV.
If multiple-authored papers with the same first author are
published in different years, list the most recent one first, regardless of the
alphabetical listings of the secondary authors (“multiple authors,” here is
interpreted as three or more). See
“Jones et al., 1995,” “Jones et al., 1994a” and “Jones et al., 1994b” below in
Section IV.
The authors’ names will be followed by the year of
publication.
The title of the paper follows the year, and that is
followed by a period (.) and then the name of the journal or publisher. The name of the journal or publication must
be either italicized or underlined
(see examples below in Section IV).
The name of the journal is immediately followed by the
volume number, a colon, and the page numbers of the article. Some publications include an issue number in
parentheses, e.g., “(4),” or with an abbreviation, “No. 4,” after the
volume number. This issue number is NOT to be included here.
If a book is used, the sample format below must be followed
-- see “Jones, 1973,” or “Miller, 1991.”
A book is a non-refereed publication and, if used, must be in addition
to the minimum of six scientific references.
If a reference is taken from the internet it is not
refereed and is considered to be a popular press publication. It may be used, but only in addition to the
minimum of six scientific references.
Include the date it was accessed.
If a reference is not cited in the text of the paper, it is
inappropriate for it to be included in the “Literature Cited.”
IV. LITERATURE CITED SECTION
SAMPLE FORMAT:
Black, A.B. and C.D.
Davis. 1994. The mating behavior of sharks. Journal
of Experimental Marine Biology 179:921-931.
Hansen, E.F., G.H.
Johnson and I.J. Jones.
1992. The geographical
distribution of the grey reef shark, Carcharhinus
amblyrhynchis. Ecological Monographs
62:164-184.
Jones, I.J. 1993a. The reproductive physiology of the
great white shark. Physiological Zoology 66:771-780.
Jones, I.J. 1993b. The reproductive physiology of the tiger
shark. The American Journal of Physiology 74:131-145.
Jones, I.J. 1975.
Aggressive behavior in the shark family Carcharhinidae. Science
189:653-671.
Jones, I.J. 1973. Sharks of the World.
Jones, I.J., K.L.
Miller and E.F. Hansen.
1995. Tooth morphology of the
white shark, Carcharodon carcharias. Journal of Morphology 226:279-283.
Jones, I.J., K.L.
Miller and A.B. Black. 1994a. Sexual dimorphism
in the shark family. Environmental Biology of Fishes 34:172-207.
Jones, I.J., K.L.
Miller and C.D. Davis. 1994b. Bottlenose dolphin
(Tursiops truncatus) flight behavior
from the great white shark (Carcharodon
carcharias). Marine Mammal Science 10:515-521.
Miller, K.L. 1991.
Shark mating behavior. In Biology of Sharks, ed.
M.N. Richards and O.P. Rogers.
Prentice-Hall Inc.
Russell, Q.R. and
S.T. Wagner. 1994. Shark intelligence. Journal
of Fish Biology
45: 111-147.
Smith, U.V. and I.J.
Jones. 1992. Shark aggressive behavior.
Journal of Ichthyology 32: 143-167.
V. HELPFUL
HINTS:
The scientific literature is
often difficult to understand. It should
be read and re-read until its
significance can be logically explained to someone else.
The paper topic should be thoroughly researched and a level
of understanding reached such that the results and assumptions of the
researcher can be questioned. One should
be willing to challenge the researcher’s conclusions.
Look for alternate premises and differing points of
view. A scientific versus a less authoritative view might be argued. Additional popular press references may be
helpful here. It is necessary to
distinguish between facts and opinions.
What one writes should reflect what he or she judges to be most logical
and credible. Evidence from both sides
of the argument should be included. Take
a side, and use persuasion, logic and organization to defend it.
The thesis of this paper should be thoroughly defended and
obviously reflect its author’s own thoughts and ideas. Be reminded that this is not original
research -- but a properly cited report on the research of others.
A significant amount of
time should be spent on the organization of this paper. Pay particular attention to what is best for
the audience. The audience should
immediately realize where the paper is headed.
Appropriate headings and transitions as well as attractive graphics will
help hold the interest of your audience.
Only information (statements, figures, tables, photos, graphics,
etc.) which is necessary for
the support of the position/thesis should be integrated into the paper. Superfluous information (such as padded
references in the “Literature Cited” and unnecessary graphics) is both
inappropriate and confusing.
Be reminded that scientific names and foreign
words such as “et al.,” “via,” “i.e.,” “in situ,” or “El Nino”
wherever they are used are to be either italicized
or underlined. The species name
is never capitalized and the genus name is always capitalized. See correct usage in several examples of the
previous “LITERATURE CITED SECTION SAMPLE FORMAT” (Section IV).
This paper is to be carefully organized, clearly and concisely written
with correct grammar, and be free of typographical errors. It should evolve through several revisions
and be proofread by both the author and one or more outsiders. Submit a clean, neat, originally printed
paper including a “Title Page” with all of the pages numbered. On the title page include the paper title,
author, date and the course name and number. A few ink corrections are acceptable. In addition to a hard/printed copy of the
paper, it is also required that an electronic copy be submitted, either on a
disc or via email. This copy needs to be in a format which is compatible
with Microsoft Word 2000.
MAXIMUM HOURS FOR THE
EBIO MAJOR
INTERNSHIP 6 PASS/FAIL EBIO 3930
INDEPENDENT STUDY (JR) 6 GRADED EBIO 3840
INDEPENDENT STUDY (SR) 6 GRADED EBIO 4840
INDEPENDENT RESEARCH 6 GRADED EBIO 4870
MEL CUNDIFF
RAMALEY C170
Office Hours: Tuesday
303-492-8549
Cundiff@Colorado.EDU
http://spot.colorado.edu/~cundiff/