Before commencing your research, you are required to read an…
Before commencing your research, you are required to read and complete York’s Academic IntegrityTutorial here: http://www.yorku.ca/tutorial/academic_integrity/index.htmlWhen you are ready to take this tutorial (‘quiz’), you will need to log in with your Passport York account, toensure that your own name/user account will be displayed on the results page.You are required to submit a copy of the results page, showing your name and a perfect score of 10/10 onthis quiz. A deduction of 5% will be applied to your project grade if this component is missing.HELPFUL TIPS:• You can easily make electronic copies of web pages by ‘printing’ them to a .pdf file, with a• Alternatively, you can also simply take a screen-capture of the results page, and save it as avirtual pdf printer. There are many free programs available that can do this, such as the CutePDF Writer: http://www.cutepdf.com/Products/CutePDF/writer.aspgraphics image (.jpg), as your electronic copy of the quiz results page.Stage 2: Finding the Media ArticleYou must find an article from an acceptable newspaper or news magazine or other popular media newssource that specifically describes the contents of a published scientific research experiment (of a physical,not theoretical, nature) on any of the appropriate research topics (see page 1). For help with ideas aboutappropriate key words to use when searching the media sources, look to the general topics listed in thecourse kit readings.The following are some examples of acceptable media sources:Astronomy Magazine, Universe Today, Portal to the Universe, Science Centric, Science Daily,Science News Online, Science/AAAS, Nature, CBC News: Technology & Science, ScientificAmerican, Popular Science, National Geographic News, Science and Technology for Canadians,Maclean’s Magazine, The Toronto Star, Globe and Mail; othersNote that web blogs, wikis, and other individually-run websites are NOT acceptable forms of mediareporting for this project.Media articles should be at least 500 words in length (longer is better), and should focus on one primaryoriginal research experiment rather than discussing the results of many different experiments (and/ortheoretical papers).If you need help with determining the suitability of a particular media article, do NOT post the specificarticle title and/or web address in the Moodle forum. Instead, send an email (including your full name in it)to the following address: 1870researchprojecthelp@hotmail.ca (Make sure to keep a copy of your email foryourself as back up.) Our course Teaching Assistant will respond to your question on media article topicsuitability (only) within about 2 days. (For all other questions about the project, post your public questions inthe Research Project discussion forum in Moodle, or private question by email to ns1740to@yorku.ca).NATS 1870A: UNDERSTANDING COLOUR SU 2014HELPFUL TIPS:• The York library system allows you to search many newspapers and magazines online fromits home page: http://www.library.yorku.ca/• Particularly helpful database to use in this research is the General Science Abstracts (viaWilson); search for its title on the York Library homepage• The Steacie Science and Engineering Library is a whole library at York dedicated to science!(It even has real-life librarians who can help you!)• Consult the following useful website from the York Library on how to find articles in thepopular media versus scholarly journals:http://www.library.yorku.ca/ccm/Home/ResearchAndInstruction/finding-journal-articles.html.htmStage 3: Finding the Scholarly ArticleHaving found the media article, you must now find the original (primary) scholarly article in which thisresearch was first reported. The media article itself should mention the names of the researchers (who mayor may not be the authors of the actual media article itself), the title of their original research article (aspublished in the scholarly journal), and where it was originally published. Again, use the searching facilitiesat the library to locate and access this original publication. Note that as a York University student, yourlibrary privileges include subscription to an enormous database of journals that normally require asubscription fee. (If you need help with accessing paid-subscription journals with your York U. account,contact a librarian.)Stage 4: Your Report: Comparing the Science in Media and Scholarly ArticlesAfter reading both the media and the scholarly article, you will now compare them in your own writtenreport. To be complete, your report must address all of the following questions.1. Complete the following identifier table:Media Article Research ArticleTitle of ArticleSource of ArticleDate of PublicationWas the research done bythe author of the article?Where are the Authorsfrom (if information isavailable)?Give the name andlocation of their place ofwork.Note: the contents of this table do NOT count toward the final word count limit on your report.NATS 1870A: UNDERSTANDING COLOUR SU 20142. Provide a précis (short summary) of each article in your own words. A good way to make sure you writethe précis in your own words is to read the article a few times until you feel you understand its content asmuch as possible, and then put the article away and write the précis without looking at the article. Onceyou have written the précis, reread it and the article together to make sure you have not missed anyimportant points. If your words seem much simpler than those of the article, so much the better!3. Describe the structure or format of the article – how is the information presented to the reader? Is thearticle divided up into sections, and if so what are they? (This applies to both media and scholarlyarticles).4. For the media article, how are the experimental results presented? (For example, is it just a generalwritten description, are actual numbers reported, are there tables, graphs, statistics?)5. Compare the general conclusions of the media article with the general conclusions of the research paper.Do they differ in any way, and if so, how?6. Does either of the articles criticize the data, criticize the conclusions, provide alternate hypotheses orconclusions to explain the data? If so provide details.7. Does one article provide criticism or alternate viewpoints that the other article fails to mention? If so,what are they? (For example, do the authors of the research article mention limitations of their researchand conclusions that are left out of the media article?)8. Does the title of the media article accurately reflect the content of both the media article and the researcharticle? If not, provide details.9. Has this exercise given you any insights into how scientific research is done and reported, or into howthe media covers such research?Format and Expectations of the Report• This is NOT AN ESSAY; therefore you do not need to have a thesis, or try to ‘prove’ or ‘disprove’any argument(s). Instead, you are asked to report on the differences between science research aspresented in popular media versus scholarly journals. Your report can simply answer each of thenumbered items as they are presented above, in a numbered sequence.• The report should be 4-5 pages of standard font 12, double-spaced text (equivalent to 1,200 to 1,500word count). It should be minimum 4 pages and maximum 5 pages in length, with penalties forcontent less than the minimum or more than the maximum.• 1” margins on all sides should be used. Use of extra wide margins or headers or footers will be takeninto account when evaluating the length of the report.• There is no particular preferred style of citation that has to be used, as long as your style is consistent.You will use only 2 sources in your report, so citation of them should be quite straightforward.NATS 1870A: UNDERSTANDING COLOUR SU 2014• Quoting of the articles themselves should be kept to a minimum, and is NOT to be used as ‘contentsubstitute’ of your report. Excessive use of quotes will be penalized.• The report should be written with proper English grammar; have your report proofread by someoneelse who is not in your class (such as your family or friends), especially if English is not your firstlanguage.Academic Integrity StandardsThis project is to be completed independently by each student. Any academic integrity infractions found inreports will be strictly penalized, from zero on the entire report to any other appropriate penalties as outlinedby York policies on academic integrity. Any kind of ‘copying and pasting’ (even if it is referenced) isprohibited – you are meant to conduct your own research and then write it up in your own words. Anycopying between classmates will result in a penalty (from minor to total zero) for all parties involved.Please see the following link for more details as to York’s academic honesty policy.http://www.yorku.ca/secretariat/policies/document.php?document=69
