Assigned papers:

As you read the paper, ask yourself the following questions.

Introduction:
• What is the question the authors are trying to answer? (What is the hypothesis?)
• Why is this question important? (Think about this question based upon the background presented by the authors as well as any previous knowledge you have on the topic.)

  Materials and Methods:

• What methods did they use?
• Were the approaches used similar to that used by other labs that have published on this topic? (You may not have enough information to answer this question, but it often has important implications for evaluating the results.)
• Were the results based upon a single method or multiple, independent methods?

  Results:

• Do the results seem valid? (Are they statistically significant? Do they rely on questionable assumptions?)
• Were the results expected or surprising?

  Discussion:

• Do the results justify the conclusions?
• What other experiments might strengthen the conclusions?
• Are there other possible interpretations of the results?
• Do the conclusions answer the question posed in the introduction?
• Are there further scientific implications of the conclusions? (Will this paper lead to new and different types of scientific experiments?)

Jot down any questions you have while reading the paper. Sometimes you can answer these questions after you continue reading the paper. If not, discuss the questions with other students or the instructors. We will schedule time in class to discuss the papers, so you should be prepared to talk about any questions you had as well as your evaluation of the paper at that time.

Assigned papers will be posted on the course Blackboard site.

Adobe Acrobat (".pdf") files can be viewed on most computers with Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you need the Adove Acrobat Reader software, it can be downloaded for free from Adobe.com/.