SEE THE ATTACHED

• Describe how a scientist went from being a novice to an expert through work and effort by identifying the life history, training and education of a scientist

• Compare a scientist’s experiences and backgrounds to our own experiences and backgrounds

• Summarize a research contribution to the field of biology

The assignment may be completed as a written paper or as a video you create. You may also propose an alternative format—please email me first to discuss how your alternative format would meet the assignment goals.

• Academic Integrity means committing to and demonstrating moral and honest behavior in the academic setting. You are expected to complete this course with academic integrity. If it is found that you violated academic integrity, you are subject to consequences including a zero on an assignment, an F in the class, and even expulsion from the college. Please see the Essential Resources document for a full explanation of this policy.

• Violations of Academic Integrity include the following examples (note that this is not a comprehensive list): Having someone else complete assignments for you, copying content (from any source) into your assignments, using your classmates work as a reference, handing out copies of completed assignments (whether your own or someone else’s) to a fellow classmate, using and/or distributing unauthorized reference materials for quizzes and exams, distributing and/or using pictures/copies of quiz and exam questions and answer keys, etc., copying internet sources, paraphrasing internet sources without citations, and any other form of plagiarism.

• Some examples of plagiarism include copying and pasting from a source, not citing a source, and “switching” some words to slightly change the original source text. To avoid plagiarism, take notes from sources rather than copying them into a document, make sure you understand what you are reading and can explain it yourself, and summarize the information in your own words.

• Unless explicitly stated in the directions, all work in this class is independent work, and should not involve a partner or group.

• If you are unclear about whether something is a violation of academic integrity, please ask for clarification. I am here to help.

You will need to find a biologist that you share something in common with. What kind of things might you have in common with a biologist? You could both be female, Mexican, or born in Texas. Maybe you are both oldest siblings—it can be anything that you have in common. You can use Google to start your search—for example, you could be more general and search “Native American biologist.” You could also be more specific and search “Mexican biologist.” Many times, this will lead you to lists of possible people to research. If you are having trouble finding someone to research, please reach out to me for help.

For the most part, you are welcome to research any person you find interesting. They do not need to be super famous, award winners, or people in textbooks. They just need to be someone who has or is currently contributing to the field of biology. In fact, because I want you to expand your knowledge of biologists, there are a couple of very famous biologists included in most textbooks that I do not want you to use for this assignment—that includes Charles Darwin, Gregor Mendel, Frances Crick, James Watson, Maurice Wilkins, and Rosalind Franklin.

Here are a couple of websites that have lists of different scientists. This is a place to start, but also remember that your own Google search may turn up someone you will find more interesting.

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/07/i-am-a-scientist/

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/lists/all-nobel-laureates-in-physiology-or-medicine/

https://www.famousscientists.org/15-famous-black-scientists-in-history/

https://www.famousscientists.org/top-biologists/

https://thetempest.co/2018/09/03/now-beyond/8-female-scientists-of-color-we-should-know-about/

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/86985/10-game-changing-hispanic-scientists-you-didnt-learn-about-school

https://www.ranker.com/list/list-of-famous-ecologists/reference

https://cfmedicine.nlm.nih.gov/physicians/

An internet search is a great place to start your research for this particular assignment. Because of the nature of this assignment, academic sources will not be required. However, you should still make sure to assess the quality of your source. You will need to provide at least three references. While those three references may provide overlapping information, remember that using multiple references helps verify that the information is accurate and reliable. If you conduct a personal interview by email, phone or Zoom, only two references are required (the website you used to find their contact information and the interview, for example).

Examples of sources that would not be good choices

• A website created by a tenth grader as an assignment in her biology class

• A website for a company that makes bobble-head dolls of famous people

• A random blog that does not identify the writer or source as someone/an organization with credentials in the field. Notice how in the example below, there is no author information for the blog, no professional institution or organization behind the blog, and that there is an advertising pop up. These are all red flags about this source. While the information may not be wrong on this website, the possibility that the information has not been fact-checked by others is high.

Examples of sources that would be good choices

• Blogs or websites of magazines, universities and scientific organizations. In the example below, the website is maintained by the Nobel Prize commission. This internationally recognized organization is much less likely to have factual errors because it is reviewed by people knowledgeable about the topics on its website.

• Author information provided for any article, book or blog that the biologist may have published.

• Books or magazine articles about the biologist—this will be for the more famous biologists

• Website of the biologist or their work institution—if they are alive, they will likely have a Biographical page at the institution they work at or a page of information for their lab. This website will also have their email address if you want to contact them (see the suggestions below)

• If the person you are researching is still alive, consider emailing them some questions about themselves. This source would be referred to as “personal correspondence.”

• If the person you are researching is still alive, consider asking to interview them. This source would be referred to as “personal interview.”

Here is a template email to help you if you want to contact the biologist.

Dear Dr. XYZ,

I am an introductory biology student at Community College of Aurora, and one of our assignments is to research a biologist of our choice. I think your research is fascinating, and I was wondering if you’d be open to being interviewed or answering a few questions by email about how you became a scientist and your research.

Sincerely,

ABC

You should summarize your research in your own words and put together the information using the guidelines provided below. This is a relatively short assignment, so there should not be any quotations. Here is the breakout of what should be in your paper or video.

1. Title page (paper) or Introduction (video) with your name and the full name of the person you researched.

2. The first section should be a biographical summary of the biologist including information like where and when they were born, their family background, their schooling, how they became a biologist, and their career trajectory and personal life. If applicable, information about when and where they died should also be included. Think of this as the story of their life.

3. The next section should be about what you have in common with the biologist. What is the shared characteristic? How do you think that characteristic has impacted you? How do you think that characteristic impacted the biologist you researched? What are some differences between you and the biologist?

4. The next section should describe the major contribution and/or ongoing research this biologist has/is contributing to the field of biology. Make sure to provide background information about why their work is important and explain their research. You do not need to be an expert in their research, but you are demonstrating that you have a general understanding of their work.

5. The last section is the Bibliography. The Bibliography should include all of the sources you used to do your research. The Bibliography is a separate page at the end of your paper. The word “Bibliography” should be in bold font and centered at the top of the page. You do not need to use in text citations in your paper. However, you do need to format your Bibliography using APA Reference style. Use the websites below for help. For videos, the Bibliography will be submitted in written form—you do not need to include it in your video presentation.

APA formatting for Bibliography

Electronic reference format

Author, A. A.  (date of publication). Title of article. Retrieved from URL

Smith, T., & Williams, B. M. (2019). How to structure a dissertation. Retrieved from https://www.scribbr.com/category/dissertation/

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_electronic_sources.html

Periodical/magazine reference format

Author, A. A.  (date of publication). Title of article. Journal Title, volume(issue), page numbers. Retrieved from URL

Jones, L. (1990). How to eat and stay slim. Journal of Healthy Living, 4(3), 120-125.  Retrieved from http://journalofhealthyliving.org

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_articles_in_periodicals.html

Book reference format

(example from a book)

Author, A. A.  (date of publication). Title of book. Publisher.

Schacter, D.L., D.T., Gilbert, M.K. Nock  and  D.M. Wegner (2017). Introduction to Psychology. New York, NY: Worth

(example for a chapter from a text book or large reference book)

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year of publication). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor & F. F. Editor (Eds.), Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle (pp. pages of chapter). Publisher.

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_books.html

Additional Formatting Requirements for paper

• College level grammar, language use, punctuation etc.

• Font: Calibri or similar standard font

• Font size 11 or 12

• Double spaced

• Approximately 2-4 pages, not including Bibliography. (An exact word/page count is not required; the important thing is that you provide in depth responses about your topic for maximum points.)

Additional Formatting requirements for video

• You are welcome to create the video with any tool or app that you are comfortable with.

• However, make sure that you know how to share the video. Generally, uploading it to a place like Youtube and sharing the link works best. The D2L dropbox will not accept video files.

• You will also need to submit a transcript or outline of your video presentation. It is a good idea to create this before filming your video. It does not need to exactly match what you say in your video. However, it should make sense to a reader.

• Make sure your voice and presentation are clear and captured well by your video tools

• Videos create more options for creative expression, however, you should still use college appropriate language that communicates information accurately and with clarity.

• Video length may vary widely due to presentation style. Around 10 minutes is probably appropriate, but the most important thing is that you provide in depth responses about your topic for maximum points.

As a final step, make sure to review the rubric again (see D2L) that will be used to grade your assignment to make sure that you have completed all components of the assignment. Check your grammar and language usage and make sure your sources are all included in the Bibliography and formatted correctly. For papers, have your draft reviewed using the CCA Academic Learning Center or the Tutor Me online tutoring service. The links for both of these options are on the lower right-hand corner of the course D2L home page. For videos, have someone open the link, watch the video, and make sure they can follow and understand the information presented.

The CCA Academic Learning Center also has great resources on writing for all of your classes. You can find links to formatting references (and everything else!) here. https://www.ccaurora.edu/students/support-services/academic-learning-center/writing-resources

Pre-submission Checklist

• I have included an accurate and detailed biography of the life and education of my chosen biologist

• I have included a thoughtful personal reflection on a trait or experience I share with the biologist and how that trait or experience may have influenced the biologist and myself. I have also reflected on some of the differences between myself and the biologist.

• I have included a summary of the biologist’s research contributions in biology and provided background and context to demonstrate a basic understanding of their research.

• I have used my own words to summarize my resources and have used clear and understandable language and grammar appropriate for a college class.

• I have included a Bibliography with all of my sources (at least 3, unless I conducted an interview of the scientist, in which case 2 is sufficient). My sources are referenced using APA style.

• I have followed all of the required formatting for my paper and video submission and my assignment is in a D2L Dropbox compatible file type.

For videos, you will need to upload your video to Youtube or a similar hosting website. It does not need to be publicly posted. You should submit a link to the video, a Bibliography, and an outline of your video content to the D2L Dropbox by the due date. It needs to be in a .docx, pdf or similar file type to be compatible with D2L. If you use a Mac, be aware that .pages files must be converted to a compatible file as D2L cannot read .pages files.

All submitted work will be analyzed with Plagiarism Detection software.