Spring1999

INFS 470 Special Topics: Scientific Literature and Communication in the Sciences
Project 1 Guidelines

Goal of Project 1. Prepare an extensive bibliography and write an introduction to it.

Objectives of Project 1:

• Carry out a scientific literature research project from inception to organization of search results.
• Define the research task
• Develop search strategy
• Select databases
• Carry out searches
• Compile the research into usable bibliography that is organized in a meaningful way (chronological, category, etc.)
• Write a one (or two) page introduction to the bibliography

Important Dates:

1. Due March 16: Project 1, Part 1 -- Select a topic

2. Due March 30: Project 1, Part 2 -- Prepare search strategy

3. Due April 20: Project 1 -- Turn in completed project

Requirements:

1. Select a topic. [Turn in assignment called "Project 1, Part 1" -- March 16]

2. Prepare search strategy. [Turn in assignment called "Project 1, Part 2" -- March 30]

3. Prepare an extensive bibliography of resources about the topic and write a one to two-page introduction aimed at an educated, general audience. Include an Appendix A (see description below) and an Appendix B that contains copies of all search results. [Turn in completed project -- April 20]

Guidelines

1. Introduction will be well-written -- thoughtful, concise, grammatically correct, etc.

2. Introduction will introduce the topic by describing it, identifying important issues, and indicating why the topic is important. Essentially, you are writing a concise 1-2 page paper on the topic. Write the introduction for an educated, general audience.

3. Introduction will cite the sources you used to write the introduction.

3. Bibliography will primarily include recent, up-to-date material. However, older "classics" about the topic may be included.

4. Bibliography will include a variety of types of resources (journal articles, dissertations, monographs, etc.)

4. Bibliography will be organized in some meaningful way -- alphabetically by author, chronologically (for example, most recent articles first), or by some other arrangement (for example, by sub-topics).

5. Bibliography will demonstrate that you can consistently and correctly use a standard citation style. Use a style found in a scientific journal in the Mundt Library.

6. Appendix A should answer the following questions about your project:

• how is the bibliography organized?

• what citation style did you use (journal title whose citation style you used)?

• what databases did you search?

• which database or databases were the most useful?

7. Appendix B consists of printouts of search results from each of the databases you searched. These do not need to be "pretty" and should not be "cleaned up."

Clarifications:

1. I do not expect you to actually read every item in your bibliography. The bibliography demonstrates your ability to find what potentially good material is "out there" about your topic.

2. You will need to do enough reading to write the introduction.

3. Plagiarism is stealing and will, of course, lead to dire consequences. The introduction will be written in your own words and will cite the sources of your information.

04/19/99 RLS