If you choose Option 1, this could be based on reviewing how a particular limnological process controls the structure and functioning of a lacustrine or running-water ecosystem; or how anthropogenic processes may be causing limnological changes, habitat degradation, or loss of biota in a particular aquatic ecosystem. Another possibility may be to review and critically evaluate some current controversy in the research literature. A list of potential term paper topics has been appended below.
The general goal here is to develop a proposal for further research on the particular topic. The writing of this term paper should go beyond a basic description of your topic, and should be written with the following subheadings and the general approach of a scientific research proposal.
(a) Introduction – This should place your topic and the aspects you propose to investigate into a broader limnological context. Briefly explain your topic, why the topic is important, and identify your key areas of investigation (specific research goals) within the broader topic. Your research goals should be clear and represent some aspect of the most important research issues associated with this topic that remain to be resolved. This could simply be what interests you most. You have flexibility to develop your specific research goals as you wish. This paper is not a “contract” requiring you to report back on “everything there is to know” about the topic. Focusing the topic down is better than trying to do too much.
(b) Key Major Investigations – Based on your assessment of the literature, the paper should identify what major investigations have been undertaken (a major investigation is typically an undertaking that has resulted in more than 1 paper being published – e.g. Experimental Lakes Area Reservoir Project). These investigations should represent the foundation of our present understanding of the topic, and could be listed in a summary Table as part of your paper. Briefly describe the study systems, and identify the key papers that have been published on the topic. This does not mean everything that has been published – but it should include the most widely cited papers. This is an important element of the paper that reflects the quality of research you have done.
(c) Aspects Well-Understood – Your analysis should then critically evaluate the evidence (from the Key Papers and Major Investigations) on which our present understanding of the topic is based, high-lighting particular aspects that you feel are now well-established and citing the specific evidence in support. Consider including one or two figures from papers that illustrate key evidence.
(d) Key Knowledge Gaps – This section should identify various aspects of the topic that you feel are not well-understood, as based on your research. From these knowledge gaps, you should high-light one key research question that should be prioritized for future research. Here is it important to cite particular evidence that may be conflicting with other evidence, or to briefly describe short-comings of work that has been done, or to identify new questions that have emerged which have not yet been addressed within the realm of the topic. Consider including one key figure from a paper or making up a summary table that illustrates “the gap”.
(e) Proposed Research Approach – Briefly propose a study design or comparative analysis that could answer the key research question you identified in (d). For the purpose of proposing what could be done to answer the question (and to keep this section relatively short), simply focus on a general study design that would test a clear hypothesis, and do not include details about resources that would be necessary to undertake the investigation.
Keep in mind this paper ought to assess a body of literature and this should not be approached like a “book review” where you look at one or two primary articles. Only primary research literature will be considered an appropriate source of information (no textbooks or web-pages [unless the source is an online peer-reviewed journal]) for this paper. You should plan on submitting your topic request by the week of Oct 12th for subsequent instructor approval.
REFERENCES – All factual information or data obtained from a book, or other source of information should be referenced in the manner utilized in the journal Ecology. For example, a reference to a source of information could be cited three different ways:
1) Schlesinger (1991) argues that…..
2) It is well established that significant amounts of methane are emitted from wetlands (Cicerone et al., 1988).
3) If the study sites within the ecosystem are classified as described in Whalen and Reeburgh (1990), I conclude that…..
The sources you cite in the text should also be listed alphabetically in the REFERENCE section of your report using the same format as the journal Ecology. Do not include web links showing where and when you downloaded your peer- reviewed articles (see the following attached example of a Reference list or look at a recent paper in Ecology for other examples of what should and should not be included in the Reference list). The list of references is not a bibliography. Only sources which are specifically cited in your report should be listed. Even though some journals such as Science or Nature use footnotes for citing references, footnotes will not be considered an acceptable format in your term papers.
FIGURES AND TABLES – Each should be labeled with a sequential number (e.g. Figure 1, Table 1) according to the order they are referred to in the text of your paper. Each should possess a self-explanatory caption, and the source of the figure or table should be cited if it is not something you created yourself. All graphs, diagrams, and maps (anything that is not a Table) should be referred to as a Figure. Append all Figures and Tables following the list of References, rather than inserting them into the main text of the paper.
PITFALLS TO BE AVOIDED – include:
1) Reliance on only 2 or 3 sources, even if a few more are mentioned.
2) Paraphrasing extensive sections of particular sources. I am interested in reading your synthesis of material, not in reading exactly what others have said.
3) Copying and pasting text from Internet or other “electronic sources”. This is a form of plagiarism.
4) Choosing a topic that is too broad. This allows little opportunity for in-depth analysis.
5) Writing the paper the night before it is due.
“THREE-MINUTE THESIS” PRESENTATION – You are expected to make a brief recorded oral presentation on your research topic/project (limited to 3 visual aids) to be available for remote viewing during the week of Lab 6. Your presentation will be strictly limited to 3 minutes or less, with no more than 3 visual aids (i.e. 3 Powerpoint slides submitted with a separate 3 minute mp3 audio file). With the slides and audio file, you are also required to submit a written Abstract (pdf file) of no more than 250 words that reflects the content of your presentation. This presentation should simply represent a progress report on the direction and focus of your project research so that you can get feedback on what you hope to do, and is also an opportunity for you to “teach” your classmates about what you are doing for your paper/project.
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