1. Engaging with Scientific Literature Image adapted from xkcd.com.

2. Goals of this class: Get comfortable with reading primary literature. Learn how to talk about research. Figure out what your interests are.

3. What you can expect: Lots of opportunities to practice skills related to finding, reading, understanding and communicating about research. Pair and small-group work. One-on-one time with the instructors. Intellectually engaging discussions about real science.

4. What you will learn in this class: How to: – Locate information on topics you’re interested in, – Use library databases and citation management software, – Skim a scientific article, – Read data figures, – Critique a scientific argument, – and much more!

5. What you won’t learn in this class: Details about specific scientific methods. How to write a scientific article (UWP 104e).

6. Administration and Grading: Instructor: Co-instructor: Contact: 2 units (P/NP) Approximate grade contributions: Participation (30%), short writing assignments (30%), 3-page literature review and 10-minute oral presentation (40%).

7. Oh no! A final project? Well yes, but it’ll be fun, I promise. Any subject you want, as long as there is research literature on it. Yes, anything... Biofuels? Malaria vaccine development? Quantum mechanics? Evolution of the English language? Medieval French women’s fashion?

8. How to pass this class: Show up (required 9/10 meetings). Turn in the homeworks. Do the final assignment. How to get the most out of this class: Participate in discussion. Think about the material. Practice the skills. Find something (anything!) you’re interested in for the final project.

9. Questions?

10. Let’s get started!

11. Icebreaker Something surprising that all of your group members have in common. Also write down contact information for your group members. You have 4 minutes!

12. Science in the news – In your group, come up with a list of controversial science topics discussed in popular media. 3 minutes!

13. Science in the news class list

14. Now, list possible sources of information. Where would you look for answers to questions about these topics? 3 minutes!

15. Source of information class list

16. Case study: vaccines Conflicting sources of information Who do you trust? Why? Answer first question before receiving information source. Answer second question after receiving but before reading handout.

21. Look at the data! – Who has done experiments to test their claims? (eg. that vaccines cause autism) – What were the results of the experiments? – How well accepted are these results in the scientific community? Are they reproducible? Is there a compelling model to explain the results? How do you know who is telling the truth?

22. How does science happen?

23. slvsef.org/

24. Write paper Revisions/new experiments Publish Community response More experiments Retract Corrections Peer review

25. Questions?

26. Demo: VPN & Proxy server

27. Demo: Online databases

28. Demo: Citation management software

29. Types of scientific literature Research articles: – Detailed account of a specific set of experiments – Written by scientist(s) who conducted the research Reviews: – Summary of many research articles – Written by expert in field Non-technical articles (news/commentary): – De-jargoned version of a research article – Only written for most “news-worthy” articles

30. Homework For a topic of your choice, use an online journal database to locate one of each of the three types of articles. Save these articles to your choice of citation management software and export a bibliography (any format). Submit the bibliography as Assignment 1 on SmartSite. You do NOT need to read these articles.

31. Topics? Human impact on global warming Stem cells – why are they important for research? Genetically modified foods – are they safe? Efficacy of acupuncture/homeopathy/etc. Gene therapy for cystic fibrosis Global nitrogen cycling (or sulfur cycling) Advances in DNA sequencing technology Controlled drug delivery Quantum cryptography Exoplanet detection methods Genetic markers for... (pick a disease)

32. Resources Journal databases – PubMed – Web of Science/ Web of Knowledge – Many, many others! Citation management software: – Mendeley (www.mendeley.com)www.mendeley.com – EndNote (free through UCD library) – ReadCube (www.readcube.com)www.readcube.com

33. Hot topics in biology/chemistry/physics: – archive.sciencewatch.com/ana/hot/ For chemistry people: – www.wiley-vch.de/util/hottopics/ More Resources

34. Questions?