SUNYM Principles of Biology Smoking and Suicide Article Essay

Biology 107 Paper # 1 – Application of the Scientific Method
Due by Wednesday 9/25 @ 2:00pm (Late submissions will not be accepted)
Select an article from a scientific journal or a credible scientific internet source. The paper must
present a finding or discovery in science. You are to carefully read this article and analyze it to
answer the following questions:
What is the observation being addressed?
– is it an anomalous observation?
What type of explanation (or explanations), are used?
-are alternative explanations presented? Are reasons given why the
specific explanation presented was chosen?
How was the explanation tested. Was the test or tests used decisive?
Is it a causal study? If so what type? Were the causal links properly established?
Did the paper contain any fallacies disguised as science?
Were the conclusions presented supported by the test results?
The paper must be in your own words. Plagiarized papers will receive a grade of zero. Quality
is important, quantity is not. Your paper should be as long as it needs to be to concisely
communicate your answers Use as many words as necessary to fully address each of the
questions. You must include enough discussion to support each of your answers. You must
attach a copy of the article you have analyzed. Your typewritten paper is due no later than
Wednesday 9/25 @ 2:00pm. You can submit your paper by email (ogradydp@morrisville.edu)
or in hard copy. LATE PAPERS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. There will be no “redo’s “
or “do over’s”.
Note: You must select a legitimate scientific paper reporting the results of a “real” scientific
discovery. DO NOT select a news story or a summary article about a scientific discovery. You
must use the appropriate discretion in selecting an acceptable paper. If you need help selecting
a source, please seek advice. One terrific source is the College Library. You can ask for help
at the reference desk. Or, see me. After you select your article you may want to show it to
me to be sure that it meets the criteria. If the article you select does not meet the criteria
you will receive no points for the assignment.
If you have any questions, please email me or visit me during office hours.