Spring 2015
Structuring a Scientific Article Assignment
Name: _______________________________
Honor Pledge Signature: _______________________________
The goal of this assignment is to:
· Reinforce understanding of the scientific method;
· Learn how to present your research in a scientific report/article.
Primary literature (as opposed to a review article) reports the results of an experiment (or set of experiments) performed by the authors of the paper. This assignment will help you learn how to present the results of your experiments. To complete the worksheet below, first read the article by Meerts and Vekemans entitled, “Phenotypic plasticity as related to trampling within a natural population of Polygonum aviculare subsp. aequale.” The article is posted on Canvas. Then follow the directions below.
Part 1 – Complete for Lab 7 (March 3rd). Write your answers on this template, and then print the template and answers. Turn in your answers and the article with your highlighting at the beginning of class.
1. Use the “Introduction” section to answer these questions.
The purpose of an Introduction is to introduce readers to the general topic and goal(s) of the study to be described, and to present the rationale behind the study. Here is where the author places the work in a theoretical/broad context. At the end of the Introduction, an author should clearly state the study questions to be answered and/or the hypotheses to be tested.
a) Highlight the sentence that states the goal of the study.
b) The goal has several parts. Break the goal into two parts, and state each part in the form of a question here.
Question 1.
Question 2.
c) Now state the hypothesis that answers each question.
Hypothesis 1:
Hypothesis 2:
d) Notice that the authors have stated their goal at the end of the Introduction. Why have the authors included two paragraphs of information before the statement of the goal? [In answering this question, think about how you, as the reader, would respond if the Introduction included only the last sentence.]
e) Within the introduction, highlight the first mention of the experimental plant species.
f) How do the authors abbreviate this species’ name after they first mention it? ___________________________.
e) Because the authors are writing for a scientific audience, there may be words or phrases you may not understand and may need to look up elsewhere. List two words that you did not know the meaning of when you first read this paper. Words can come from anywhere. Look up their meaning.
___________________________ ___________________________.
2. Use the “Material and Methods” section to answer these questions.
This section of a scientific paper describes the experimental organisms used and the experimental design to test hypotheses and answer questions stated in the Introduction. The section covers the how, what, where, and when of experiments, i.e., where an experiment was conducted, what the experimental species and treatments were, when experiments were performed, what type of data were collected (i.e., the dependent variables), what statistical tests were performed and why.
a) Underline where the study population was located.
b) How did the microhabitat vary in this area?
c) How many experiments were conducted? _________
d) Notice that in the germination and growth experiment, detailed information is given about:
1. # maternal plants sampled and # offspring (seedlings) grown;
2. how the offspring were grown, e.g., in pots, soil and nutrients, spatial layout;
3. where offspring were grown.
e) In August 1989, aboveground parts of plants in the population were collected from several microenvironments. Highlight the sample sites.
f) Note that all the measured traits (i.e., variables) are listed in the Methods section.
g) Highlight the sentence stating that t-tests were used to analyze data.
3. Use the “Results” section to answer these questions.
This section should objectively describe experimental results. The results should always be summarized in words. Also, authors include tables and/or figures to help to convey information. [Note: graphs are called “figures” in scientific writing.]
a) Highlight the text describing results for the controlled greenhouse experiment.
Questions b – d concern Table I:
b) Table I summarizes data for the dependent variables measured. At the top of the table is a “legend.” A legend tells the reader what information is included in a table or figure (in this case a table), and it identifies symbols used in the table/figure. Under the column “Trampled” what do the numbers “3.91± 0.86” mean?
c) What does “NS” mean? _____________________________
d) Where in the table did you find the information to answer questions b and c?
Questions e - f concern Figure 1:
e) Figures have legends to help readers understand what is being shown in a graph or picture. Highlight the first sentence of the legend.
f) Now highlight the sentence(s) in the text that describe what is shown in Fig. 1.
Question g concerns Table III:
g) Now look at Table III. Where can the reader go to find out what the abbreviation LL in column 1 stands for? ____________________
Questions h – i concern Figure 2:
h) Fig. 2 shows the results of a linear regression analysis. This statistical test was used because there is good reason to believe that the vegetative weight of a plant strongly influences reproduction Therefore, for the purpose of this figure, vegetative weight is treated as the ______ variable. (Choose one: dependent or independent?)
i) Note that the legend in Fig. 2 tells the reader what is on the x and y axes but says nothing in words about how vegetative weight affects reproductive weight. Where in the text does the reader need to go to find this information?
4. Use the “Discussion” and “Results” sections to answer these questions.
The Discussion section could be called the “evaluation” section. In this section authors:
· draw conclusions,
· evaluate hypotheses,
· answer questions raised in the Introduction,
· mention limitations of the experimental design that might affect conclusions,
· compare current results with those previously reported in the literature,
· suggest questions that could be addressed in future studies.
Here is where authors answers all questions and evaluates hypotheses posed in the Introduction, i.e., states whether or not hypotheses should be accepted or rejected. Decisions about hypotheses should be justified, and justification is typically achieved by referring to specific results to support one’s conclusions. Remember a hypothesis may be supported by the data or not supported. If not supported, don’t assume that the experimental design was faulty. That is only one possible explanation. Always consider alternative hypotheses that may not have been tested. Also, the Discussion section is the place to place the results and conclusions in the larger context of previously published studies by comparing results with previously published data.
a) Let’s dissect the first three sentences of this Discussion. The first sentence is introductory. State the purpose of the:
Second sentence: ________________________________________________________
Third sentence: _________________________________________________________
b) In short articles, sometimes authors state some conclusions in the Results section, which is what Meerts and Vekemans often did. Return to the results for “Controlled conditions” on p. 205. Underline in the first paragraph a conclusion drawn from the data. Today, conclusions should be placed in a Discussion section.
c) The second paragraph on p. 210 begins, “The lack of genetic specialization …”. Why do you think that the authors included that paragraph in the Discussion?
________________________________________________________________________
THAT’S ALL that should be completed by 3 March!
Part II – Complete later.
Return to the Meerts and Vekemans article entitled, “Phenotypic plasticity as related to trampling within a natural population of Polygonum aviculare subsp. aequale.”
5. Now consider citations to tables, figures and other research articles.
a) Highlight the citation to table 1 in the Results section. Notice that “Table I” is cited in parentheses. This citation directs the reader to Table 1.
b) Susan Warwick’s 1980 paper is cited in the Introduction and in the Discussion. Highlight these citations. How do the citations differ?
c) What sort of information have the authors drawn from the Warwick paper? (methods? hypotheses? results? Conclusion?). It may be different for each citation.
6. Find the “Acknowledgements” (also correctly spelled “acknowledgments”) section.
In this section the authors thanks collaborators who helped with the study or offered comments on earlier drafts of the report. Authors also thank sources of funding for the study and anyone who gave special permission, which made the study possible, e.g., permission to go on someone’s land to collect data.
a) Why were two people acknowledged in this report?
b) What section of the paper do the Acknowledgements follow?
c) What section follows the Acknowledgements?
7. Look at the “References” section (currently most often called “Literature Cited”).
This section lists all articles cited in the body of a paper. This section helps readers find earlier relevant literature. We will examine the structure by focusing on the article by Warwick, 1980.
a) What part of the author’s name is listed first?
b) What follows author’s name?
c) The title of her article follows that. How do the words “Plantago major” and “Poa annua” differ from other words in the title? Why might that be?
d) The journal name follows the article title, and afterwards come the volume number and first page of the article. What is the volume number? What are the page numbers?
e) The style has changed over the years. Today articles are commonly cited this way:
Warwick, SI. 1980. The genecology of lawn weeds. VII. The response of different growth forms of Plantago major L. and Poa annua L. to simulated trampling. New Phytologist 85:461-469.
Baker, HG. 1965. Characteristics and modes of origin of weeds. In: Baker, HG and Stebbins, GL. Eds. The Genetics of Colonizing Species. Academic Press, New York, pp. 147-168.
8. Now let’s return to the beginning of the paper to consider some parts that we have ignored up to this time.
First are the title and a list of authors. Notice that the title is informative. After the list of authors, comes the Abstract.
An abstract summarizes the study in 200 words or less. First, the general goal and rationale for the study are stated. Then for a short article, 1-2 sentences summarize the methods. The results are summarized in 1-2 sentences. The final sentences state the conclusion(s).
a) What is the value of an abstract?
b) What is the purpose of the “Résumé”?
After the Abstract comes the Introduction, which we have already discussed.
9. Finally, list the parts of a research paper/report in order of appearance. You should follow this order, and include all parts in writing your report.
1) ________________________
2) ________________________
3) ________________________
4) ________________________
5) ________________________
6) ________________________
7) ________________________
8) ________________________
9) ________________________
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