INTRODUCTION

Biologists do a wide variety of research to answer many different types of questions. They also come from many different places and backgrounds. This activity gives you a chance to find a biologist you can relate to in some way. Maybe you’ll relate to the work they are doing, some part of their identity, or the environment where they work. The choice is yours!

 

Why are you doing this activity?

What will you, as a student, get out of it?

What are you supposed to do?

How will you know if you did the activity successfully?

 

PROCEDURE

1. Use the following resources to choose a scientist to explore. Pick someone whose work interests you and/or whom you can relate to in some
   1. Scientist Profiles PDF in Canvas
   2. BioInteractive’sScientists at Work 
   3. HHMI Investigator list
   4. I am a Scientist Project
   5. UTA’s College of Science
2. Do the following to learn more about your scientist and theirwork and complete Table 1:
   1. If you picked a scientist from the “Scientist Profiles” document, watch the BioInteractive video listed for that scientist.
   2. Find and explore your scientist’s website by searching Scientists often have a website hosted by the university or institute at which they do their research.
   3. Perform a Google search to read other articles or resources that mention your Remember to use only reliable sources.

 

 

3. Find a scientific paper written by your scientist, either as an author or co-author. (You can useGoogle Scholar, a UTA library database, or the scientist’s website to locate papers.) This should be original research conducted by the scientist. Go through the paper as follows:
   1. Read the abstract and
   2. Examine the figures in the What data are being represented?
   3. Read the discussion

 

4. Begin to organize the information you have located. Note that this section is for taking notes for your own reference.  Do not turn this in.  It is intended to help you develop an outline for your essay.

 

Make sure the information in this table is incorporated into your essay before you submit the assignment.

 

Table 1: Scientist Details
Scientist’s name
Describe the field of biology they are working on (for example, evolution or infectious diseases) in 1 or 2 sentences.
Why are they doing this research? Why is it important? What motivates them either personally or professionally?
What questions are they trying to answer? Give 2 minimum.
Sources. You must use at least 3 sources for your essay. One should be the Scientist’s website and another the primary article. These sources will be referenced using APA formatting.	1. Website: 2. Primary literature article: 3. Other reliable source 4. Other reliable source

 

 

 

5. Write a 400- to 500- word essay that summarizes your scientist’s work and why you relate to it.

Type your essay in a word document. No copying- you must always paraphrase and cite. You are permitted to include 1 scientist quotation if pertinent to the essay and it does not count toward your word count and will not be used to evaluate the quality of your work since it is not written by you.