Need some one to write for me a research paper in Biology
Human Biology
How are scientific discoveries communicated in popular media?
In this writing assignment you will compare a recent original scientific research paper to the way
in which it is reported in popular media.
Learning objectives:
• Read and understand the results from a scientific research paper
• Critically compare the findings reported in a scientific research paper to those reported in
popular media regarding the same research
Step 1:
Watch the Last Week Tonight video about Scientific Studies at: https://youtu.be/0Rnq1NpHdmw
This video is meant primarily for your entertainment, but illustrates how misunderstandings of
science (or possibly intentional misinterpretations) presented in popular media can give the
illusion that either science can prove any point you want it to, or that scientists lack agreement or
understanding of their fields. As you can probably imagine, a news outlet may experience
conflict between their desire to faithfully report on a story and their desire to attract readers and
thereby attract advertising dollars. Due to this conflict, due to reporters not understanding the
research, or simply due to space constraints, some news reports of scientific discoveries may not
accurately reflect the actual science. The goal of this assignment is explore how science is
presented by one popular media source compared to the original scientific publication.
Step 2:
Go to www.ScienceDaily.com to find a popular media article. Locate a recent (published within
the last 6 months) article dealing with a discovery related to human health (e.g. medicine,
nutrition, etc.). You can browse around, especially in the Health section, or search for a topic of
your interest. Just be sure that your chosen article addresses some aspect of human biology, such
as medicine, behavior, evolution, physiology, etc.
Step 3:
In addition to this popular media article, you will need to find the original research paper it was
based upon. Before you get too far into the topic, be sure you can locate the research paper.
You’re looking for something that was published in a peer-reviewed journal. Do not select a
popular media article that cites a scientific discovery presented at a meeting or symposium – you
will have much greater difficulty finding the original research.
Locate the research paper that the popular media article was based on.
For most of the articles published on ScienceDaily, there is a direct link to the research paper.
Alternatively, you can use Google Scholar to locate the original research article. Use the
researcher’s name, the journal’s name, and the title of the research paper or a few keywords
about the research to help locate the article.
Contact your instructor early if you are having trouble finding the research paper.
Step 4:
Read the two articles.
Start with the popular media article, taking particular note of the scientific claims made and the
support offered for those claims. Are there any indications of sample sizes, effect sizes, statistical
probability, the population the claim applies to, or other specifics?
Next read the research paper. I recommend approaching it in this order (note that this is NOT the
order the article is written in):
1. Abstract – This is a summary of the article, meant to give the reader a quick
understanding of the background, methods, and findings of the article.
2. Introduction (aka Background) – This gives you a sense of related research that has been
done prior to this article. The authors should be doing two things: first, summarizing this
scientific field’s general knowledge as it pertains to the research they did; and second,
providing a rationale for why this research is important.
3. Discussion (and Conclusion) – This is a summary of the findings of the article, and how
those findings relate to the broader context of this scientific field. This is where the
authors should be talking about how and why their findings are important.
4. Methods – This gives the specifics about how the study was done. At the very least, you
should be able to find out how many subjects were used in the research, and what
specifically was done to each subject. This section (and the Results) can be very dense –
work your way through slowly to understand as much as you can.
5. Results – This gives the specific findings of the research (e.g. Group A gained an average
of 2 kg more than Group B). Statistical results will be here as well. Statistics is beyond
the scope of this course, but read through them to understand as much as you can.
6. Revisit the Discussion and finally the Abstract – Review these sections again, now that
you more fully understand the specifics of the research.
Writing:
This assignment does not have a set minimum or maximum length or word count. Just fully
address the questions I ask you below, and however long your paper ends up will be right – I
anticipate it will likely total to 4 typed, double-spaced pages. Note that all you need to write is
specifically what I ask for. You do not need to include introductory or concluding paragraphs –
this paper does not need to follow any standard essay-writing conventions you may have learned
in English classes. We won’t give you any extra points for writing more than we ask for, but we
also won’t penalize you if you do write a few extra paragraphs (just don’t get carried away!).
Feel free to use the template I have provided to guide your writing.
Popular Media Article
• Provide the citation for the popular media (ScienceDaily) article, using the conventions
found here: http://libraries.wsu.edu/quickguides/sssa. Include a web link to the paper.
• 1 paragraph summary of the popular media article
• About 2 paragraphs answering the following…
o Why would people be interested in reading this article?
o What advice is offered by the article, and why or why not would people be
inclined to follow the advice of the article?
o Was the information presented as authoritative and reliable? What specific
information (or lack thereof) makes you feel that this is the case?
o What degree of scientific rigor was presented in the article? Was information such
as sample size, population, effect size, or statistical probability included?
Scientific Research Paper
• Provide the citation for the research paper, using the conventions found here:
http://libraries.wsu.edu/quickguides/sssa.
• 1 paragraph summary of the research paper (yes, there’s likely to be overlap between this
summary and that from the popular media article)
• About 3-4 paragraphs answering the following…
o The scientist authors collected data which they used to support or refute their
hypotheses and build their conclusions. Based on the data presented by the
authors, do you agree with their interpretation of their data and their data’s
importance? Why or why not?
o Do the conclusions reached by the popular media authors match those reached by
the scientist authors? In what ways do they differ?
o How does the emphasis presented by the popular article compare to that in the
research paper? Broad vs. narrow applicability, major vs. minimal effects, etc…
o What is your opinion about the scientific legitimacy of ScienceDaily, based on
their treatment of this research paper?
*** I strongly recommend you use PDF format for submission to Blackboard. Alternatives
could include Word or Open Office formats, but please do not use the Papers format.
Human Biology Writing Assignment 1
How are scientific discoveries communicated in popular media?
In this writing assignment you will compare a recent original scientific research paper to the way
in which it is reported in popular media.
Learning objectives:
• Read and understand the results from a scientific research paper
• Critically compare the findings reported in a scientific research paper to those reported in
popular media regarding the same research
Step 1:
Watch the Last Week Tonight video about Scientific Studies at: https://youtu.be/0Rnq1NpHdmw
This video is meant primarily for your entertainment, but illustrates how misunderstandings of
science (or possibly intentional misinterpretations) presented in popular media can give the
illusion that either science can prove any point you want it to, or that scientists lack agreement or
understanding of their fields. As you can probably imagine, a news outlet may experience
conflict between their desire to faithfully report on a story and their desire to attract readers and
thereby attract advertising dollars. Due to this conflict, due to reporters not understanding the
research, or simply due to space constraints, some news reports of scientific discoveries may not
accurately reflect the actual science. The goal of this assignment is explore how science is
presented by one popular media source compared to the original scientific publication.
Step 2:
Go to www.ScienceDaily.com to find a popular media article. Locate a recent (published within
the last 6 months) article dealing with a discovery related to human health (e.g. medicine,
nutrition, etc.). You can browse around, especially in the Health section, or search for a topic of
your interest. Just be sure that your chosen article addresses some aspect of human biology, such
as medicine, behavior, evolution, physiology, etc.
Step 3:
In addition to this popular media article, you will need to find the original research paper it was
based upon. Before you get too far into the topic, be sure you can locate the research paper.
You’re looking for something that was published in a peer-reviewed journal. Do not select a
popular media article that cites a scientific discovery presented at a meeting or symposium – you
will have much greater difficulty finding the original research.
Locate the research paper that the popular media article was based on.
For most of the articles published on ScienceDaily, there is a direct link to the research paper.
Alternatively, you can use Google Scholar to locate the original research article. Use the
researcher’s name, the journal’s name, and the title of the research paper or a few keywords
about the research to help locate the article.
Contact your instructor early if you are having trouble finding the research paper.
Step 4:
Read the two articles.
Start with the popular media article, taking particular note of the scientific claims made and the
support offered for those claims. Are there any indications of sample sizes, effect sizes, statistical
probability, the population the claim applies to, or other specifics?
Next read the research paper. I recommend approaching it in this order (note that this is NOT the
order the article is written in):
1. Abstract – This is a summary of the article, meant to give the reader a quick
understanding of the background, methods, and findings of the article.
2. Introduction (aka Background) – This gives you a sense of related research that has been
done prior to this article. The authors should be doing two things: first, summarizing this
scientific field’s general knowledge as it pertains to the research they did; and second,
providing a rationale for why this research is important.
3. Discussion (and Conclusion) – This is a summary of the findings of the article, and how
those findings relate to the broader context of this scientific field. This is where the
authors should be talking about how and why their findings are important.
4. Methods – This gives the specifics about how the study was done. At the very least, you
should be able to find out how many subjects were used in the research, and what
specifically was done to each subject. This section (and the Results) can be very dense –
work your way through slowly to understand as much as you can.
5. Results – This gives the specific findings of the research (e.g. Group A gained an average
of 2 kg more than Group B). Statistical results will be here as well. Statistics is beyond
the scope of this course, but read through them to understand as much as you can.
6. Revisit the Discussion and finally the Abstract – Review these sections again, now that
you more fully understand the specifics of the research.
Writing:
This assignment does not have a set minimum or maximum length or word count. Just fully
address the questions I ask you below, and however long your paper ends up will be right – I
anticipate it will likely total to 4 typed, double-spaced pages. Note that all you need to write is
specifically what I ask for. You do not need to include introductory or concluding paragraphs –
this paper does not need to follow any standard essay-writing conventions you may have learned
in English classes. We won’t give you any extra points for writing more than we ask for, but we
also won’t penalize you if you do write a few extra paragraphs (just don’t get carried away!).
Feel free to use the template I have provided to guide your writing.
Popular Media Article
• Provide the citation for the popular media (ScienceDaily) article, using the conventions
found here: http://libraries.wsu.edu/quickguides/sssa. Include a web link to the paper.
• 1 paragraph summary of the popular media article
• About 2 paragraphs answering the following…
o Why would people be interested in reading this article?
o What advice is offered by the article, and why or why not would people be
inclined to follow the advice of the article?
o Was the information presented as authoritative and reliable? What specific
information (or lack thereof) makes you feel that this is the case?
o What degree of scientific rigor was presented in the article? Was information such
as sample size, population, effect size, or statistical probability included?
Scientific Research Paper
• Provide the citation for the research paper, using the conventions found here:
http://libraries.wsu.edu/quickguides/sssa.
• 1 paragraph summary of the research paper (yes, there’s likely to be overlap between this
summary and that from the popular media article)
• About 3-4 paragraphs answering the following…
o The scientist authors collected data which they used to support or refute their
hypotheses and build their conclusions. Based on the data presented by the
authors, do you agree with their interpretation of their data and their data’s
importance? Why or why not?
o Do the conclusions reached by the popular media authors match those reached by
the scientist authors? In what ways do they differ?
o How does the emphasis presented by the popular article compare to that in the
research paper? Broad vs. narrow applicability, major vs. minimal effects, etc…
o What is your opinion about the scientific legitimacy of ScienceDaily, based on
their treatment of this research paper?
*** I strongly recommend you use PDF format for submission to Blackboard. Alternatives
could include Word or Open Office formats, but please do not use the Papers format.
Name:
Biology 101 Writing assignment 1
Popular media article (from ScienceDaily)
Citation:
Summary:
People would be interested in reading this article because… They would (or would not) be inclined to follow the advice of this article because…
The information in this article was (or was not) presented authoritatively. Specific examples that led me to believe this include…
This article was (or was not) very scientifically rigorous. Specific examples that were included (or excluded) from the article that led me to believe this include…
Peer-Reviewed Scientific Research Article
Citation:
Summary:
I agree (or disagree) with the author’s interpretation of their data and its importance. Specific examples that led me to believe this include…
The conclusions stated by the popular media article do (or do not) match those reached by the scientific article. Specific ways the two articles differ in their conclusions include…
The emphasis presented by the popular article was comparable (or not) to the emphasis presented in the scientific article. Specific ways the two articles differ in their emphasis include…
Based on their treatment of this scientific article, I trust (or do not trust) the scientific legitimacy of this popular media source. Specific examples that made me feel this way include…
