Module 1 - Research Short Paper Essay Directions

One of the major tools in scientific research is the literature review: Sifting through previously published science to determine the current state of the science about a topic. This activity will give you an understanding of what an environmental scientist must do as part of their work, as you will be given direct access to a vast database of research articles published by working scientists. What we see in mainstream news reports on television, in newspapers, and on the internet are usually simplified summaries of a much more complex scientific study, and as such, they may not provide you the whole picture of what the researchers did. Here, you will choose an actual science article to read yourself, without the filter of the news media to interpret it for you. Instead, you will write your own summary about the article, and interpret the study and results yourself.

To complete this assignment:

Search for a science article from the Elsevier ScienceDirect research database at the Hunt Library using the ScienceDirect tutorial.

For search terms, use any environmental topic that interests you. You may use your textbook glossary as a guide if you choose. It is entirely likely that your first few searches will yield a large number of titles at first, but it will be up to you to narrow it down to one article to review.

When you have found an article that interests you, download the PDF, and read the entire article. NOTE: Science articles can be very intimidating to read for those who are not scientists. They may contain a great number of unfamiliar terms, long mathematical equations, and advanced concepts that require higher-level education to fully understand. You are not required to completely analyze the data, concepts, or equations while reading the article. However, you must get a basic understanding of what the article is about, what the researchers were studying, their methods, and what their results and conclusions were.

After reading the article, write a 1 to 2 page short paper essay (text only, double-spaced) that summarizes the contents of the article. Your summary must (A)be in your own words, (B) not include any pictures, and (C) be written to APA standards with a cover page and a works cited page (NOT included in the page count). WARNING: Do not simply reproduce the article abstract. This is considered plagiarism, and you will be severely reprimanded for doing it (violates the Embry-Riddle academic integrity policy). Use the examples below to get an idea of how your short paper should be written, and what is expected of you from this assignment.