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INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE FORMAL SCIENTIFIC PAPER
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The Biology 1110 Scientific Paper will constitute 40 points of your lab
grade. In preparing to write your
scientific paper, take very thorough notes about each part of the experiment,
answer all questions, and carefully record all results.
This will help you in writing your scientific paper.
Your instructor will give you a list of experiments that will be
acceptable for your scientific paper. This
scientific paper will be in standard scientific paper format.
The text should be 3-5 pages in length, and double-spaced TYPED (using a
normal size type). Depending on the
number of tables or figures you present, your paper may be longer.
In
order to provide you with feedback and guidance on your progress, your
instructor will require you to submit a draft version of the paper prior to
turning in your final report. The
instructor will not grade the draft and will NOT edit the draft for you
regarding spelling, grammar, and sentence structure. In checking the draft, your instructor will be looking at the
overall organization, and substance of the content you have included.
You alone are responsible for ensuring that your sentences are clearly
written, grammatically correct, and contain no spelling errors.
The draft must be typed, have text in all sections, include data, and
references. Failure to submit the draft will reduce the possible points that can
be earned for the paper from 40 to 30.
You might want to look for some examples of scientific papers in the
library before you begin. The
instructors have compiled a few examples of both professional and student
papers, and placed them on reserve in the library.
Asking at the circulation desk for BIOLOGY 1110 Lab Scientific papers can
access them. Since several
instructors teach Biology 1110 lab, particular instructor names are not
associated with this reserve item. As
you will see there are several similar formats, but your paper should consist of
the following parts: 1. Title page-
a statement of the question or problem your paper addresses, 2.
Introduction- background and significance of the problem, 3.
Materials and Methods- a description of the experiment, and the materials
needed to perform the experiment, 4. Results-
presentation of your data, 5. Discussion-
interpretation of your results, and further implications, 6.
References- materials you used in writing your paper.
You must provide the heading for each section.
Place the title of each section against the left margin of the page, in
all capital letters, and on a separate line.
Writers use the introduction to move ALL
readers to the same level. Some
readers may have no knowledge of your subject.
The introduction should give them sufficient information to understand
the purpose and significance of your project, and the results you obtained.
In the introduction, you will give background about your subject.
For example, if you were writing a paper on cell membrane function, you
would include in your introduction a description of types of transport across
the cell membrane, why this is necessary to cell function, and any other bits of
information the reader might need before proceeding.
The introduction should also clearly state the purpose of the project.
The writer needs to let the reader know what hypothesis was being tested.
There are many ways to state it, but if all else fails, you could
include; "The purpose of this project was to....."
In the introduction, use the past tense to refer to your own work; use
the present tense to refer to work you are referencing.
"Methods
and Materials" is exactly as the name implies. In this section, you should list all of the materials used
and step-by-step directions on how to perform the experiment.
From your paper, a reader should have sufficient information to be able
to repeat your exact experiment. It
will be tempting for you to just copy the procedure section from your lab
manual. DON'T DO IT!
The lab manual is not written in scientific paper format.
The materials and methods section should be written in paragraph form,
using the past tense.
Your first paragraph will contain a list of materials needed
to complete the experiment. The
following paragraphs will describe the procedure.
When writing this paper, assume that you are an independent researcher
writing for other independent researchers.
NEVER refer to the students, the class or the teacher.
Do not use sentences such as "The teacher will provide the
students with solution X" or "The students will work in groups of
four." This information is
irrelevant.
One of the difficulties in writing the materials and methods section is
knowing how detailed to be. Remember
that your lab manual is written as a teaching resource, not as a scientific
paper. In the procedure section of the lab manual, there may be
information that is not necessary to include in the scientific paper.
For example, it would not be necessary to inform the reader that you used
wax marking pencils to label the tubes. It
is also not necessary to describe STANDARD procedures such as preparing a wet
mount or using a microscope.
A scientific paper will NOT include instructions for how to use equipment
either. For example, if you were
using a spectro-photometer to read the absorbance values of a particular sample,
you would just describe the type of sample being measured, the control used, and
the wavelengths of light at which the sample was measured.
You would not include instructions for which buttons to push, and when.
Other researchers in other labs might not have the same brand or model
spectro-photometer, making that information irrelevant.
It is the reader’s responsibility to learn to use equipment in the
laboratory by reading the manufacturer's instructions.
In the materials and methods section, do not describe expected results,
or failed attempts. It would not be
helpful to the reader to know that on your first try, you goofed, and added the
wrong solution to tube A.
Results
In this section you will describe the results you obtained, without
making analysis or explanation. You
will include charts, graphs, drawings, or tables to help compile and present the
data you obtained.
Using our example, if you were writing a paper on cell membrane function,
you would describe exactly what happened to the Elodea after adding the
salt solution or distilled water. You
might want to draw a picture of the cell as it appeared after adding the
solution. In scientific papers, numbers are most useful.
Any time you can use numbers to express results, your work is more valid.
Try to express your data in terms of numbers as often as possible.
For example, you might compare the size
of the cell or central vacuole before and after adding the salt solution and you
might time the reaction, and record
that data. You could even create a table showing the differences at different
times and among different cells. The
visual presentation of data allows the reader to quickly reference and sort your
results.
Always be sure to label and title any chart, graph or drawing that you
might use, and refer the reader to it in the text of the paper. For example, the
first illustration you use might be labeled "FIGURE 1: The effect of
hypertonic solutions on the Elodea."
While tables, graphs, and illustrations are critical to the result
section of the paper, you must also have some text in this section.
The text guides the reader from figure to figure, describing what the
figure is showing. The text points
out interesting trends in the data. Do
not include a chart or graph without referring to it in the text of the
result section. The result section
describes what results were obtained, but you will not draw conclusions or make
explanations for the data in this section.
For example, if you were writing about cell membrane function, your
result section would show how the size of the central vacuole increased in
hypotonic solutions, so much so that the animal cells exploded.
You would point out how long it took for this to occur, if the trend was
the same in plant cells, and what happened with hypertonic solutions (using
charts and graphs). Yet you would NOT try to explain why it happened.
You would not try to discuss the osmolarity, the relative concentration
of solutes to solvents. That information would belong in the conclusion section.
In this section you explain "WHAT"
your results mean, why you obtained them, and your basis for this understanding. In the conclusion you would refer the reader to the original
problem or question that the research was intended to solve. Using the same cell
membrane example, in the conclusion you would explain why the cell size
decreased after adding the salt solution, or why it did not, and how this led to
your conclusion. You should also
describe why the results you obtained are important, and what the broader
implications might be. Often one
bit of scientific research brings up interesting questions that could lead to
other research.
At the end of your paper, you should list any references you used to help
you understand the subject area of your paper, or any references that provided
information related to the subject. Your
references will be most useful in writing the introduction and conclusion.
These are the parts of the paper where you provide the reader with
relevant background information related to your subject, and where you speculate
as to the further implications or impact that your new knowledge provides.
You will NOT find articles, or books that describe the exact experiments
that you performed, but you WILL be able to find information related to
the subject. For example, you will not be able to find articles discussing
the use of catechol oxidase to examine enzyme function, but you should be able
to find additional information on enzymes.
Don't dismiss articles because of odd titles. They may contain valuable information. For example, an article titled "Manufacturing Beer"
might have a section where enzymes involved in beer making are discussed.
You must have at least three outside references.
Of course you will use your textbook, and lab manual, but you should have
three other references from other sources.
The purpose of this exercise is to allow you to become familiar with the
library and what resources are available. Please
maintain perspective as you search for references.
The reference section is just one part of the overall paper, and we
certainly do not want you to spend an inordinate amount of time (2-3 hours
should be sufficient to find adequate references) on this section.
You must include a copy of your references with your paper.
Following are categories of available sources for you to use.
You must cite a reference from three of the four categories.
This ensures that you have examined a variety of formats.
I.
Technical Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
While standard dictionaries and encyclopedias are not acceptable, you may
use specialized dictionaries and encyclopedias providing specific biological or
chemistry information as one of your references.
Our library has several technical encyclopedias in the reference section
on the first floor of the ERC. There
are also technical dictionaries and encyclopedias on-line and can be accessed
from the PSTCC library web page via the PSTCC home page.
The on-line database service carrying the technical encyclopedia is DISCovering
Science. You can access these
from any campus, or from home. You must print or copy at least one page from the
reference with the information that you are using in your paper and include with
your paper.
II.
Books
You may use the online catalog to find books in the PSTCC library, which
contain pertinent information. This online catalog can be accessed from the
PSTCC library web page via the PSTCC home page from any campus or from home.
As you are searching the card catalog, you will want to be general as you
enter the SUBJECT. Once again, do
not expect to find information on catechol oxidase, try ENZYMES or PROTEINS, or
CELLS. Use general terms to search
for books. You are not expected to
read the entire book. Use the index
to find the page(s) that relate to your subject.
PLEASE BE COURTEOUS TO OTHER STUDENTS.
SINCE MANY STUDENTS ARE COMPLETING THIS ASSIGNMENT AT THE SAME TIME,
REFRAIN FROM CHECKING THE BOOK OUT. WHILE
IN THE LIBRARY, FIND THE RELATED PAGE OR PAGES, AND MAKE A COPY. You must print
or copy at least one page from the reference with the information that you are
using in your paper and include with your paper.
Journal articles can be found using the online database available from
the PSTCC library web page via the PSTCC home page.
These can be accessed from any campus or from home.
Descriptions of the type of information found in the various databases
are given, and you are welcome to search any for related journal articles.
However, we recommend that you try the following two databases in
particular:
1.
INFOTRAC
Expanded Academic ASAP
2.
BioDigest
IV.
Internet References
Your fourth possibility for finding a reference is the Internet.
Your textbook has a home page web site, and this would be an excellent
place to begin. The address is:
http://www.prenhall.com/~audesirk
The
open lab on the third floor main campus library, the computers in the reference
sections or the ERC on any satellite campus has NETSCAPE capabilities, or you
can use your Internet provider from home. In
addition to the Audesirk home page, there are many search engines that you can
try such as Altavista and Yahoo. These
search engines allow you to enter words to search.
Be prepared for an enormous amount of information.
It might take a while to find something appropriate.
Wherever
you are using information you obtained from the reference in
the body of the paper, cite the author's name and year of the
publication in parenthesis at the end of the sentence or paragraph.
If you use the author's name in the sentence, put the year of the
publication in parenthesis after the name.
Here is an example of what this would look like in the body
of your paper:
The macrophage is a large cell
derived from monocyte blood cells. It
can remove foreign particles in the blood stream by phagocytosis.
In the immune response, the macrophage is required for the generation of
T-helper cells (Golub, 1981).
There is no single format for the citation of references at the end of
the paper. Scientific journals use different formats, and these change
periodically. In this paper,
we ask you to use the APA citation format found the latest edition of the
Harbrace Manual (13th Edition, pages 548-555). There are copies of this manual in the reference section of
the ERC at each campus, and there are copies in the learning center.
You probably have your own copy if you took English 1010-1020 here at
Pellissippi. The APA format is
preferred in science articles because it emphasizes the date of publication by
placing it after the author’s name. The
date of publication is very important in science as new findings might alter
previous interpretations.
.
Here are final suggestions in writing your paper. Do not use the
first person in your writing. Do
not say " I then added five ml of one percent trypsin to my cells."
Say something like this instead: "The cells were treated with five
ml of one percent trypsin." Use
the past tense. Use the metric
system instead of English units of measurements.
For numbers ten or lower, write out the word. When using scientific names, be sure to capitalize the genus
name, and underline both genus and species names.
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