Research Paper –
BIOL 1407
Etheredge - Spring, 2004
General
Information:
The research paper is a mandatory
part of the BIOL 1407 coursework and it will count as 50 of your total class
points for the semester (out of possible 550 points). The purpose of this assignment is to aid you
in putting together some of the information from BIOL 1406 and 1407 and to use
this information to interpret a biology topic of your choice. You will be graded on how well you follow directions,
the quality and understandability of your writing and, most important, the
paper’s content.
The paper is due by class time
on date indicated in syllabus. Papers
not turned in by this time will have 5 points per day deducted as a late
penalty. In addition, there are three
preliminary assignments due associated with the paper and failure to meet the
deadline on any of these will also result in 5 points penalty being deducted.
Timeline:
(see syllabus for exact dates)
Receive assignment from instructor
Feb. 16 (MW class, Feb. 17
TR class) Topic selected is due for approval
March 10 (MW), March 11 (TR) List
of at least 6 possible references (written in correct format) with a
copy of the first page of the article, first page from internet site or table
of contents from book;
(only three of the six may be internet sites)
March 29 (MW), March 30
(TR) Outline of paper due
April 26 (MW), April 27
(TR) Final copy of paper due
Requirements
of Paper:
The body of the paper (not including
title or reference pages) must be a minimum of 5 FULL pages in length. The paper must utilize at least eight
references and no more than half of the references can be from the
Internet. Only books written by a
scientist or qualified science writer, peer-reviewed or respected journals or
Internet sites of scientific integrity should be used as references.
Format for
Paper:
You
should use the CBE or scientific format in writing the paper. This style uses the (name, year) system for
citations within the body of the paper rather than footnotes. Help for this format style can be found on
the Internet at www.monroecc.edu/depts/library.cbe.htm or in booklets used by
some instructors in ENGL 1302 (Writing Research Papers by James D.
Lester or Research and Documentation in the Electronic Age by Diana
Hacker).
The paper
should include:
1. Title/cover
page with the title of the paper, student’s name and date
2. Body
of the paper
3.
References or Cited References
page -- Citations for all references used in the paper; arranged alphabetically
by author’s last name
General
format of Paper:
·
Margins
of at least 1 inch but not more than 1¼ inch
·
Double-spaced
with ½ inch paragraph indentions
·
Font
is to be legible and of appropriate size – Times New Roman, size 12 or
equivalent is suggested
·
Pages
of body of paper to be numbered (title page is not numbered)
·
Parenthetical
citations for information sources within body of paper (Name, year)
·
Reference
formats same as taught in BIOL 1406
·
Pages
stapled in upper left corner
Reference
format: (same as used in
BIOL 1406)
Journal
Example-
Layne,
J. N. and J.V. Griffo.
1961. Incidence of Capillaria hepatica in populations of the
Author(s) name*. Year of publication. Title of article. Journal name. Volume
(issue # if needed):page numbers of article.
*remember
first author’s name is list LAST, FIRST and other authors are list FIRST LAST
name. First line is flush with left
margin; then all remaining lines are indented. Note punctuation and sequence.
Book-
Author(s)
name. Title of book. City of
second line
also should be indented.
Internet
site-
Author’s last name,
initials. (Date of
Publication) Full title of page/work. Title of site (if applicable). Complete URL address (Date
accessed).
Topic of
Paper:
The topic should be one of a biological nature that is of interest
to the student. It should bring the
reader up to date on the latest findings of the topic, may also include a
history of the topic and how ideas concerning it have changed or might change
further. No two students may select the
same topic. Changing the topic after
initial approval can only be done with the instructor’s consent.
Possible
topics (but not limited
to this list!):
ž
Historical
person in biology – life history, significant accomplishments
ž
Causes
of mass extinctions
ž
Biodiversity
– consequences of loss
ž
Continental
drift and distribution of life on Earth (biogeography)
ž
Methods
of dating fossils
ž
Phylogeny
and fossil record of a particular animal group
ž
Select
a disease – history, cause, treatments
ž
Biological
effects of smoking
ž
Effects
of cigarette smoking during pregnancy
ž
Effects
of alcohol use during pregnancy and fetal alcohol syndrome
ž
Prenatal
diagnosis of congenital diseases during pregnancy
ž
Gene
therapy – how it works and current developments with specific diseases
ž
Cloning
techniques
ž
History
of the AIDS epidemic and search for cause
ž
Viruses
and cancer
ž
Development
of vaccine for particular disease
ž
Role
of immune system in fighting diseases
ž
Biology
of aging
ž
Nutritional
considerations of a vegetarian diet
ž
Causes
of human infertility and treatment options
ž
The
biology of a particular group of animals, plants, fungi, protists
– latest information on evolution, reproduction, behavior, nutrition, and role
in ecosystem
ž
Commercial
uses of algae or fungi or bacteria
ž
Endangered
species (select one) – natural history, why endangered, plan for help, future
ž
Greenhouse
gases in the atmosphere and the greenhouse effect
ž
History
and implication of human population growth
ž
Global
warming
ž
Acid
rain
ž
Use
of pesticides, insecticides, and or herbicides and their biological
consequences
ž
Zebra
mussel invasion of North America
ž
Red
tide phenomenon
ž
Tropical
forest destruction
ž
Biology
of a coral reef and importance to oceans/planet
ž
Use
of stem cells to treat disease
ž
Link
between diet and certain types of cancer
ž
Gene
regulation in cells
ž
Specific
aspect of recombinant DNA technology or biotechnology
ž
Evolutionary
history of horse (or other organism)