You will do this assignment twice this semester. One of these two assignments will serve as your Signature assignment for the course (see Signature Assignment ePortfolio Reflection under Discussion and Writing Assignments).
You must upload the assignment to Canvas as a file (doc,docx,or pdf). Please add your name to the filename.
From one of the sources listed below, find a recent news article that is reporting about scientific research related to Human Biology. For example, you can find articles about scientific research on the human body, human health, or health-related environmental stories. The article you choose should be at least 4 paragraphs long. It should be a news article, not an opinion article or a blog.
You must properly cite (both in-text and as a reference list at the end of your paper) your article and any other sources that you are using in your paper, including the primary source that was used for the article that you have chosen. Please see this citation guide (Links to an external site.) for examples of the proper Turabian (a modified version of Chicago style) citation style to use. Use the author/date tab. We have chosen this style because it is commonly used in the natural sciences.
Here is an example of proper citation of an article in an online journal
For a journal article consulted online, include an access date and a URL. For articles that include a DOI, form the URL by appending the DOI to https://dx.doi.org/ rather than using the URL in your address bar. The DOI for the article in the Brown example below is 10.1086/660696. If you consulted the article in a library or commercial database, you may give the name of the database instead.
Brown, Campbell. 2011. "Consequentialize This."Ethics121, no. 4 (July): 749-71. Accessed December 1, 2012. https://dx.doi.org/10.1086/660696. Kurylo, Anastacia. 2012. "Linsanity: The Construction of (Asian) Identity in an Online New York Knicks Basketball Forum."China Media Research8, no. 4 (October): 15-28. Accessed March 9, 2013. Academic OneFile. In Text:
(Brown 2011, 752) (Kurylo 2012, 16)
Choose your article from one of these sources:
The Scientific American (Links to an external site.)
- Limit your search to "articles" once on the topic page within the Scientific American site.
- Scientific American does NOT provide references to the primary sources for their articles; however, you can go to the primary source by clicking on the in-text link.
Science News (Links to an external site.)
- Do not use a "Science Ticker" article, they are too brief.
- Links to primary sources and other readings are at the bottom of the article
Science Daily (Links to an external site.)
- Links to primary sources are at the bottom of the article
BBC News-Science and Environment (Links to an external site.)
- Links to primary sources are interactive within the text
Nature (Links to an external site.)
- Stay in the "News" section
- Links to primary sources are interactive within the text and also as references at the bottom of the article.
The New York Times (Links to an external site.) (Click on either the "science" or "health" tab at the top.)
- Links to primary sources are interactive within the text
Write a short paper (about 500 words, which is about 1 page of single spaced typing).
In the first paragraph, describe the main conclusions of the scientists. Include a few sentences detailing their supporting evidence-what was their research design and what did it show?
In the second paragraph, compare the article with the primary sources. You do NOT need to read the details within the primary source for your article; however, read the introduction and/or abstract of the primary source and comment on how this source compares to the article that you started with.
In the third paragraph, describe the possible impacts this information could have on society or on individuals. Some examples of this might include: effects on public policy, health care practices, financial impacts, and individual decision-making.
In the fourth paragraph, indicate whether scientists mentioned in the article affiliated with a nonpartisan group, like a University or Government, or affiliated with a for-profit corporation. If the latter, do you suspect that altered their conclusions? What if they (hypothetically) were affiliated with a for-profit institution such as a pharmaceutical company? How would that change your view of the study and its conclusions?
Also in the fourth paragraph, indicate whether there are other scientists, or policy-makers, mentioned as being in disagreement with the research scientists. Search for another article that is either in direct disagreement with the study in question, or performs a similar study and comes to different conclusions (even if the difference is slight). Make sure to cite the second source in the proper format.
In the fifth paragraph, explain in what ways did the article change and expand your views of the topic. If it did not change or expand your views, describe what you knew about the subject before reading the article. Also, explain why you chose this article to analyze.
In the sixth paragraph, provide your opinion as the whether you think the reporter did a good job or a bad job of giving background for the story. Did they "set up" the necessary knowledge to facilitate your understanding of the study? Please give an example to support your opinion.