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Biology 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…

PopularScience article – 33 pts

Component Complete Fair Insufficient

Citation All information is present

3 pts

Most information is present

1-2 pts

Most or all information missing

0 pts

Summary Succinctly describes the article,

including relevant background,

findings, and

conclusions

7-10 pts

Briefly summarizes article, but gives

insufficient information to fully

understand the authors’ points

4-6 pts

Description is vague, or lacking key

information for reader to understand

the

article

0-3 pts

Interest Provides a clear reason for why the

research described in the article is

interesting to human health (may

include personal interest as well)

4-5 pts

Provides a statement of the article’s

interest or not, but reasons why are

lacking

2-3 pts

Does not adequately address this point

0-1 pts

Advice Clearly states that a reader would or

would not be inclined to follow the

article’s advice, and provides an

explanation to support this statement

4-5 pts

States whether or not a reader would

be inclined to follow the article’s

advice

2-3 pts
Does not adequately address this point

0-1 pts

Authoritative and

reliable

Clearly states whether information in

the article is presented as authoritative

and reliable, and provides an

explanation to support this statement
4-5 pts

States whether or not information is

presented as authoritative and reliable

2-3 pts
Does not adequately address this point
0-1 pts

Scientific rigor Clearly states the level of scientific

rigor in the article, including an

explanation to support this statement

(e.g. examples of information provided

or left out)

4-5 pts

States the level of scientific rigor in the

article
2-3 pts
Does not adequately address this point
0-1 pts

Writing mechanics – 9 pts
Component Complete Fair Insufficient

Overall organization Writing is coherent, with clear overall

unity of ideas

4 pts

Writing is generally sound, with some

organizational

mistakes

2-3 pts

Writing lacks logical organization and

coherence

0-1 pts

Grammar and

mechanics

Writing is free from distracting

mistakes
4-5 pts

Writing has a few distracting mistakes,

but reading is still possible

2-3 pts

Grammar, spelling, and punctuation

mistakes make reading difficult

0-1 pts

Scientific Research article – 33 pts
Component Complete Fair Insufficient

Citation All information is present
3 pts
Most information is present
1-2 pts
Most or all information missing
0 pts
Summary Succinctly describes the article,
including relevant background,
findings, and conclusions
7-10 pts
Briefly summarizes article, but gives
insufficient information to fully
understand the authors’ points
4-6 pts
Description is vague, or lacking key
information for reader to understand

the article

0-3 pts

Interpretation Provides clear explanation for why you

agree or disagree with the

interpretation of the data the scientists

found (i.e. why do you agree or not

with their conclusions, based on their

data?)

4-5 pts

Provides a statement of agreement or

not, but explanation for why is limited

or

unclear

2-3 pts
Does not adequately address this point
0-1 pts

Scientific vs. popular:

conclusions

Describes how the conclusions reached

by the two articles match or mismatch,

including clear examples

4-5 pts

Provides a statement of match or

mismatch, but examples are lacking or

unclear
2-3 pts
Does not adequately address this point
0-1 pts
Scientific vs. popular:

emphasis

Describes how the emphasis presented

(applicability, biological effects, etc.)

compares between the two articles,

including clear examples
4-5 pts

Provides a statement of emphasis

comparison, but examples are lacking

or unclear

2-3 pts
Does not adequately address this point
0-1 pts

Legitimacy of

popular article

Clearly describes your opinion about

the popular article, based on your

reading of the scientific article,

including clear examples to support

your claim

4-5 pts

Provides a statement of your opinion of

the popular article, but examples are

lacking or unclear

2-3 pts
Does not adequately address this point
0-1 pts

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.

www.ScienceDaily.com%20

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 page 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 (ScienceDaily) Article

• Provide a citation for the popular media article that includes the following: Article Title,
Publication Date, Article Source, Direct Internet Link to the paper at ScienceDaily

• 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? (The article may explicitly offer

advice based upon the research, or you may have to infer this advice from the

article’s content)

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 that 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.

http://libraries.wsu.edu/quickguides/sssa