Introduction
This course guide is related to the Senior Capstone Seminar assignment in biology. Each student must select a topic and (1) submit a written paper in scientific format, (2) make a public presentation, and (3) prepare a poster. Each of the three (paper, presentation, and poster) must be suitable for scholarly publication and presentation at a scientific meeting.
Sally Carroll-Ricks, MLS, MM, AHIP, Assist. Prof., Library
in collaboration with Alan Lievens, M.D., PhD, Assoc. Prof. of Biology, January 30, 2009
Texas Lutheran University
Format of Paper
All papers should include an Abstract, an Introduction, and a Literature Cited section. The contents may vary but papers describing a student's original research typically will include sections on Materials and Methods, Results, and Discussion/Conclusion. Just as original research papers incorporate the
scientific method, so do literature reviews incorporate a
research method. Papers that review the literature will typically include Abstract, Introduction, Review of the Literature, Discussion, and Literature Cited. As you examine articles, notice what sections are being used and observe how the article is organized. Graphics or illustrations incorporated into your paper, presentation, or poster must be cited and included in your Literature Cited. Consult the
Council of Science Editors: Writing web page for help in formatting your paper.
- Know - Identify your information need (what kind and how much).
- Retrieve - Retrieve the information you need effectively and efficiently.
- Evaluate - Evaluate the information you retrieve and the credentials of the author or publisher and incorporate valid information into your knowledge, values, and practice (ex., solving a problem or making a decision--academic, personal, or professional).
- Use - Use the information effectively to accomplish your specific purpose (ex., writing a paper, making a presentation, creating a poster).
- Act ethically - Analyze the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of your information, and then retrieve and use the information ethically (not plagiarizing) and legally (not violating copyright).
based on the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education
Association of College and Research Libraries, 2000
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Know - Identify the Information Need
- What kind of information do you need? Do you need books, journals, encyclopedias, dictionaries, reports, etc.
- How much information do you need? What is the scope of your project? How comprehensive is your project? How many references do you need?
- What problem are you trying to solve? This may help you to develop a researchable question or construct a hypothesis.
In general, you need to understand what resources you may use and decide on how many references or resources you will need. For this particular assignment, your paper will need at least 10 references (from current, primary scientific literature), gleaned from appropriate scientific databases. Any references from the "open" Internet must be from authoritative, reliable sources. Encyclopedias and dictionaries may not be used as reference sources. The topic must address current biological thought and research.
The search engines and databases you will use for this assignment allow you to limit your search by the kind of information (book, journal, etc.). The free Internet search engine you will use for this assignment (Scirus) allows you to choose from abstracts, articles, books, company homepages, conferences, patents, preprints, scientist homepages, as well as theses and dissertations. One of the subscription databases you will use for this assignment (SciFinder) allows you to choose from biography, book, clinical trial, commentary, conference, dissertation, editorial, historical, journal, letter, patent, preprint, report, and review.
In science, "current" typically means the last 5 years; but, if no relevant citations can be found during that time period, then you can extend the time period backward. Because of the time lag involved with the publication of books, they are often thought not to contain the most recent scientific thought and research. For that reason, the journal literature is often preferred.
For this course, limiting your search to articles, reports, or journals from MEDLINE, PubMed, Scirus, SciFinder, or ScienceDirect, and specifying the publication dates (e.g., 2004-2009) will typically generate current citations from the primary scientific literature.
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Retrieve the Information Effectively and Efficiently
In deciding a topic, you should "browse" the scientific periodical literature (journals, magazines, authoritative web sites) to get a broad understanding of what has been or is being written about your topic. Developing a search strategy that allows you to retrieve pertinent references is effective and doing so in the least amount of time is efficient. Below is a systematic way to develop a search strategy that is effective and efficient.
Search Strategy
A useful search strategy for obtaining keywords when you have not decided on a topic is to look at the
Library of Congress Classification scheme (general subject of a call number) pertaining to biology. Once there, click
Q -- Science or
R -- Medicine. Click a subtopic in which you are interested and use these as keywords in a science search engine (e.g.,
Scirus: for scientific information only) or in a library database (e.g.,
SciFinder Scholar).
A useful search strategy is to use keyword searching on the name of a topic and use the Boolean AND operator to add other keywords or concepts. The NOT operator may also be available. Some search engines or indexes require you to group phrases together with parentheses whereas others require you to use quotation marks. Use the Help guides offered by the resource to determine the best search strategy.
Once you complete a search, use the limiters available in the database to narrow your results further. For example, in the free Internet web resource,
Scirus: for scientific information only, use the ADVANCED search and limit your results by date, information type, content source, and subject area. Examine the search results for possible topics that interest you. If Scirus cannot link you to full-text, search the library's
PERIODICAL TITLES list to see if the library can provide the full-text in one of its databases or in the print collection. If the library cannot immediately provide you the full-text and you can wait 7-10 days, submit an
Interlibrary Loan Journal Request and the library will notify you when the article is available for you at the Circulation Desk.
For the capstone project, the key databases are
Medline or PubMed,
ScienceDirect, and
SciFinder Scholar. Each of these databases offers different search capabilities. You should conduct searches in each one to determine which one allows you to retrieve the most relevant list in the least amount of time.
SciFinder Scholar, however, is an excellent first choice because it is the most comprehensive (10,000 journals) and includes citations from Medline/PubMed (5200 journals) and ScienceDirect (2000 Elsevier journals). If your topic is primarily medicine-related or you intend to enter the medical field, you should use either
Medline or
PubMed. If your topic is primarily biology-related, you should use
SciFinder Scholar.
Regardless of which source you consult, an integral part of your search strategy is to use the limits and features available to you in the resource. The key feature that sets Medline/PubMed and SciFinder apart from other databases is the ability to search by using the controlled vocabulary or index terms that professional indexers have created for the literature they cite.
In SciFinder, once you have retrieved a list of citations, use the RIGHT pane to ANALYZE BY and dropdown to choose CA CONCEPT HEADING. This will re-sort your list and include ONLY those items that use the subject heading you selected.
In SciFinder, once you have retrieved a list of citations, checkmark relevant articles and use the GET CITING button to retrieve a list of articles that cite the articles you have checkmarked. Articles that cite a relevant article are likely to be relevant to your topic as well.
Once you have determined a topic, refine your initial problem statement or question.
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Evaluate the Information
Initially,
evaluate the abstract or title, along with the credentials of the author or publisher, for its relevance to your topic. If you find it relevant, retrieve the full-text by linking to it from within the database you are in, or by searching the
PERIODICAL TITLES list to see if the library can provide it in another database or in the print collection. If need be, submit an
Interlibrary Loan Journal Request if you can wait 7-10 days.
If the article is relevant, examine its reference list for articles related to your topic.
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Use the Information Effectively
Incorporate the information from the references you have identified to support your topic, following the advice of your mentor or professor.
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Act Ethically - Analyze Issues and Cite Sources
Analyze the economic, legal, and social issues surrounding the use of your information, and then access and use the information ethically and legally. As an ethical professional, to avoid
plagiarism and to abide with
copyright provisions, you must inform your audience (whomever is receiving the information you are presenting) of your sources. You must abide by TLU's policy on
academic honesty and plagiarism. Standard citation style allows others to retrieve the document or source material that you utilize, in the same way that a description of the scientific method used in original research allows others to repeat the exact experiment that you conduct. As a professional, you should use an official citation manual, recognized by your profession, in forming the description of the documents or sources that you utilize. In science, the most often used style is the Council of Science Editors'
Scientific Style and Format. Consult the
Council of Science Editors (CSE): Citation Style and the
Sample Literature Cited (modified CSE style) for help in formatting your citations.
If you incorporate graphics, tables, charts, etc. from other sources into your PowerPoint presentation or poster, you must cite each graphic on the slide or poster so that it is clear to viewers where each graphic appeared originally.
Citing documents and graphics can be confusing, so if you need assistance in creating a citation, ask your professor, mentor, or Ask-A-Librarian.
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