ENVIRONMENTORS STARTING YOUR BACKGROUND RESEARCHChapter Name

Date

ENVIRONMENTORS STEPS

Choose your project topic CONDUCT YOUR BACKGROUND

RESEARCH Form a your hypothesis Design your experiment Conduct at least 3 experimental trials Analyze data and draw a conclusion Communicate your results

OUTLINE OF YOUR RESEARCH PAPER

Your final research paper should include the following sections: Title Page Abstract & IntroductionBackground Research/Literature

Review Experimental Methods Results & Analysis Discussion & ConclusionAnnotated Bibliography Acknowledgements & Appendices

WHAT IS A LITERATURE REVIEW?

A literature review is a summary of published research previously conducted on a particular topic or area.

Literature reviews are a good starting point to learn all about a particular topic.

YOUR LITERATURE REVIEW SHOULD INCLUDE: At least 6 sources including:

At least 3 sources from books, journals, or magazines And at least 3 sources from primary Internet sources

Primary Sources are original documents containing first-hand information about a topic. Examples are: Diaries, interviews (your Expert Interview), letters,

original works of art, photographs, works of literature A secondary source is a commentary on, or

discussion about, a primary sources. Examples: Biographies, dissertations, indexes, abstracts,

bibliographies (used to locate a primary source), journal articles

HOW AND WHERE DO YOU BEGIN?

Visit your local university library for an introduction on how to search library catalogues

Ask the librarian for assistance, they are trained to direct you to sources

Think about key words related to your topic and look them up in search engines (online, library catalogues)

Use bibliographies at end of articles or textbooks

Look for scientific articles

Search the Internet for environmental organizations, professional societies, and/or government agencies.

WHAT IS AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY? A brief summary of sources, such as books, journals or

articles, about your topic, accompanied by proper citation.

Example:Locke, D. (1992) . Science as Writing. New Haven: Yale UP.

The principle argument of the chemist David Lockeés book is that "every scientific text must be read, that it is writing , not some privileged verbal shorthand that conveys a pure and unvarnished scientific truth" (ix). Within this text, he looks at the history of science writing and its development and through this examination problematizes the use of language in scientific discourse. His argument implies a need for critical attention to the rhetorical uses of language in scientific literature and the ways in which this language creates accepted knowledge.

CITATION GUIDELINES

Books Last Name, First Name. Book Title. City, State of Publication: Publisher, Year. Pages used.

Academic Journal

Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.” Journal Name. Volume Number.Edition Number (Year): Pages.

Government Publication

Country. Government Office (Abbreviation). Title of Page. Washington :GPO, Year.

Website Last Name, First Name. “Article Name.” Website Name. Day Month Year <website hyperlink>.

E-mail Last Name, First Name. “E-mail Subject Line.” E-mail to the author. Day Month Year.

Interview Last Name, First Name. Personal Interview. Day Month Year.

CREDIBLE VS. NON-CREDIBLE SOURCES

Distinguish between credible and non-credible sourcesCredible Source Non-Credible Source

• Information is still relevant• Objective• Free of errors•Properly cites the original sources in all content• Easy for others to obtain

• Out-of-date information• Biased towards a single point of view• Prone to errors• Does not cite the original sources of content• Difficult for others to obtain

IMPORTANT WRITING CONSIDERATIONS

Quoting – A quote must be identical to the original writing, using a narrow segment of the source. Example:"The Antarctic is the vast source of cold on our

planet, just as the sun is the source of our heat, and it exerts tremendous control on our climate," [Jacques] Cousteau told the camera. "The cold ocean water around Antarctica flows north to mix with warmer water from the tropics, and its upwellings help to cool both the surface water and our atmosphere. Yet the fragility of this regulating system is now threatened by human activity." From "Captain Cousteau," Audubon (May 1990):17.

MORE IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS As you are writing your paper, you are going to use

some of the same ideas in your sources that you used in your annotative bibliography. Yet, there is a huge difference between paraphrasing and citing the source, and using another person’s work as your own.

Paraphrasing is where you restate what you have read using your own words. If you use key words or phrases from a particular source, use quotation marks around them. After you do this, use in text citation to give the writer credit.

Plagiarism is where you use another writers work as your own with no citation.

BAD PARAPHRASING "The Antarctic is the vast source of cold on our planet,

just as the sun is the source of our heat, and it exerts tremendous control on our climate," [Jacques] Cousteau told the camera. "The cold ocean water around Antarctica flows north to mix with warmer water from the tropics, and its upwellings help to cool both the surface water and our atmosphere. Yet the fragility of this regulating system is now threatened by human activity." From "Captain Cousteau," Audubon (May 1990):17.

Bad Example: The Antarctic is the immense source of cold on our earth, just as the sun is the source of our heat, and it exerts a lot pressure on our climate. The cold ocean water in close proximity to the Antarctica goes north to mix with warmer water from the tropical area, and its upwellings assist to cool both the surface water and our atmosphere. However, the fragility of this regulating system is, at the moment, threatened by what humans do.

GOOD PARAPHRASING "The Antarctic is the vast source of cold on our planet,

just as the sun is the source of our heat, and it exerts tremendous control on our climate," [Jacques] Cousteau told the camera. "The cold ocean water around Antarctica flows north to mix with warmer water from the tropics, and its upwellings help to cool both the surface water and our atmosphere. Yet the fragility of this regulating system is now threatened by human activity." From "Captain Cousteau," Audubon (May 1990):17.

Good Example:According to Jacques Cousteau, the activity of people in Antarctica is jeopardizing a delicate natural mechanism that controls the earth's climate. He fears that human activity could interfere with the balance between the sun, the source of the earth's heat, and the important source of cold from Antarctic waters that flow north and cool the oceans and atmosphere ("Captain Cousteau" 17).

WHAT TO FIND MORE INFORMATION?

Science Buddies has more information on how to write your paper: http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_guide_index.shtml

The Encyclopedia of Earth website contains many peer-reviewed research: http://www.eoearth.org/

The EnvironMentors Online Community contains info on past students project topics: http://environmentors.net/projects/2011

For additional information on writing a scientific paper:

For examples of past student research papers:

REFERENCES

http://owl.english.purdue.edu

Sebranek, Kemper, Meyer (1997). Write for College: A Student Handbook. MA: Great Source Education Group.

2011-12 EnvironMentors Project: Student-Mentor Manual.