Abstract:
For a brief reading on what an abstract should look like and what it
should include go to: Scrutiny of
the Abstract.
You can also check out the following
chapter on scientific abstracts
taken from the Scientist’s Guide to Poster Presentations, by Dr. P.J.
Gosling. (pages open in new window)
Introduction:
Similar to the site listed above,
this website
aids you in structuring your introduction (and the rest of your paper).
(page opens in new window) How to find
Papers and other Resources:
Two search engines are particularly useful for finding journal articles
on earth Science topics. Geobase covers journal articles since
1980 and displays the title, authors, where to find the article and (in most
cases) the abstract of the article. Georef covers journal
articles, conference abstracts and a wide variety of other sources since
1785. Both search engines can be accessed via TC's
online resources
for ENVS
page.
Trinity College does not subscribe to most of the journals listed in geobase
or georef. You will have to get them via
inter-library
loan.
Note: Getting material via
inter-library loan is easy but it will take a few days or so until you receive
your materials. So don't wait until the last day before the due date
to do your research. |
Reading Worksheet:
This worksheet will help you summarize journal articles as well as term
papers and will assist
you in organizing the necessary facts for your term paper. It is also used for the peer review exercise.
pdf version (for Adobe
Reader)
Word version
How to cite correctly:
The handout below outlines the citation style required for this class.
Direct Quotes:
Scientific papers rarely make use of direct quotes. That's best left for
your term papers in the humanities where you might get credit for quoting
pages from Shakespeare, Chaucer or Tolstoi. So please learn how to summarize
and paraphrase.
How to cite (pdf file)
Acceptable Resources:
acceptable sources
- peer reviewed articles copied from scientific
journals
That's it. You can read a few articles
from the science pages of the NY times, but then you should go to the
scientist's web page and dig out the original paper.
unacceptable sources
- Dave Jone's web page on dinosaurs and the
aliens that killed them with laser guns
- Most newspaper articles. They are not peer reviewed, that means there
is no guarantee at all that the reporter got it at least halfway right.
- Webpages - unless they contain the peer
reviewed article
- Everything else that doesn't have a list of references in the end.
Make sure your resources are current
(less than 10 years old).
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