Literature Assignment Orientation

Before completing Step 1:

• Explore the course Web Sites
• Install required software
• Understand the relationship between your analysis and prior knowledge
• Understand plagiarism and learn how to avoid it
• Find and learn the citation style to be used for your Report

The Course Web Site

This site (http://www.uoguelph.ca/mcb/teaching/mcb6500-7500) is your guide to the Literature Assignment

General course information for each semester, including Report deadlines, are published in the Course Outline. Further questions should be addressed to the Course Coordinator.

Your analysis and prior knowledge: Citations

Some knowledge is generally accepted by the scientific community and included in textbooks (at least until it is proven incorrect and/or updated!). Such information can usually be stated without a reference. References must be cited to substantiate all other statements based on previous publications. Remember this as you work on your analysis. Keep track of your sources so that you can cite them correctly in your Lab Reports!

Citation allows your readers to find the (primary) information on which you based your work. This is important because they may wish to learn more about your topic or judge for themselves whether your interpretation is correct. Within the scientific community, the greatest weight is placed on articles that appear in refereed journals, those that have been subjected to peer review. In this context, a referee is an individual who is asked by a publication editor to provide a critique or review of an article that has been submitted for publication by its authors. The referee is chosen because (s)he is considered to be the scientific equal or peer of the authors and editor. The authors are then asked to respond to this critique, which is provided to them anonymously. The editor, chosen for his/her knowledge of the subject and proven ability to make objective judgments, must be satisfied that the submitted article is valuable and correct, and that all valid criticisms have been addressed before the article is published. To learn more about peer review, follow the two links below:

• "How to Conduct a Review"
• "I don't know what to believe..."

For most sections of your reports, you will cite only peer reviewed publications. In exploring the human context for your research article you will also use sources that are not peer reviewed. These sources must also be documented. References to email communications and private conversations will not be accepted as citations for your Lab Reports. More information on appropriately documenting your sources is provided below and in the instructions for preparation of your Report.

Reference Management Software

Reference management software can help you by building a database of references relevant to any project (drawing the information directly from the internet), interfacing with word processing software to insert references in the text as you write a report, and then using the format you choose to create the in text citations and reference list when your document is complete. Many faculty members use commercial software such as Endnote or Reference Manager. Ask your Advisor whether he or she has bibliographic software and a database of relevant references already available in the lab. Alternatively, use Mendeley to accomplish those goals. This will take the "editorial pain" out of report writing! Download the free Mendeley software, register for a Mendeley account and use the online tutorials to get started.

Plagiarism

As indicated by the University of Guelph Undergraduate Calendar, plagiarism is academic misconduct for which stringent penalties are imposed. "Plagiarism specifically can be understood as: the act of copying, reproducing or paraphrasing significant portions of someone else's published or unpublished material, and representing these as one's own thinking by not acknowledging the appropriate source or by the failure to use appropriate quotation marks. These materials include: literary compositions and phrasing, performance compositions, chemical compounds, art works, laboratory reports, research results, calculations and the results of calculations, diagrams, constructions, and computer reports or software."

Use this Laboratory to learn how to write about scientific research without plagiarizing the work of others. Consult the course Coordinator if you are in any doubt about how to avoid plagiarism.

Citation Styles

For Citation Style help, (click here)

In scientific writing, each author phrases statements or opinions in her or his own words, citing other authors as sources of information and ideas. You MUST use citations to acknowledge the sources of the information in your Report. Direct quotes are almost never used in scientific writing. If they are used, "they are enclosed in quotation marks and, if possible, printed in italics", and the source of the quote is cited. For this course you should only use direct quotes when discussing the human context of the research (Step 3).

A variety of editorial styles are used for citation, but there are some common themes. Usually a number or the author(s) name(s) and year of publication are placed in the text at the end of a statement based on the cited work. Cited references are listed at the end of the document either numbered and in order of citation or in alphabetical (and chronological) order by author name. Since each journal or publisher specifies a particular style for reference citation, authors who wish to publish in a particular journal must use that style. Adopting and consistently using a valid citation style ensures that you include all the information a reader will need to find any source you cite. (Have you ever been frustrated because an author didn't include a reference, or included an incomplete or incorrect reference?)

For this course we use the citation style of Molecular and Cellular Biology. Look up this style now. Use your reference management software to make sure that you record all the information you'll need to cite your sources.