Term Paper on "Discipline of Biology"

Term Paper 5 pages (1767 words) Sources: 15

[EXCERPT] . . . .

discipline of biology is very broad in scope; it spans the entirety of the human race and can only be described as the study of life. It encompasses a broad spectrum of academic fields that most view as independent disciplines in and of themselves. In the following discussion, we will look at what resources are available for the field of biology and how credible such sources are for the discussion of biological discoveries. There are over one million papers published in the field on a wide array of biological and medicinal journals annually. The key factor with the credibility of biology research is an understanding of the motivation behind the research conducted. According to Dr. Kawasatu of the University of Tokyo, "it is much harder to determine the credibility of biological research, purely based on the number of publications every year. Hidden agendas are evident in a variety of disciplines; only close scrutiny into the details of research statistics can reveal biases." The key issue within identifying accurate sources for biological research is that such avenues for publications are too numerous to fully understand. Sources within the field of biology include journals, websites, online-forums, popular science publications, email listings, university professors, researchers, corporations, and many other venues. The below analysis will look at several categories of such research.

The first step to beginning research within the field of biology is at the nation's premier universities. Educational institutions such as Harvard, Cornell, University of California, San Diego, University of Chicago, etc. are just a few that have made profound affects on biology. Once a professor or researcher have mad

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e significant discoveries within the field, they will naturally gravitate towards these esteemed universities to conduct further research. Biology research within the university are not completely unbiased however, there are several problems associated with the credibility of such research. The majority of funding for biology research comes from institutions, governments, and private grants. These grants are issued on a theme basis, where biologists must present a cohesive idea for presentation. As a result, many biologists base their research on the premise of specific institutions or agencies that provide them grants. This is especially noticeable in the wake of global warming, where competing agencies and organizations attempt to influence research by preparing grants for various researchers around the world. The most important factor in determining the credibility of university sources is to understand the fundamentals of the data collected. Biology is much harder to manipulate than other sciences, because the data collected is very concrete. Although many attempt to frame research in different ways, the raw data is what peers look for when examining the credibility of research. When one wants to start research on a particular area within the biological sciences, the necessary first step is to consult with a university professor specializing in the field. he/she will have a strong understanding of the literature necessary to begin understanding the nuances of the discipline.

Journals are the most popular medium for biological research. Almost all biology journals require their articles to be "peer reviewed," by definition this means that such journal articles are "constructively criticized and understood by the extended scientific community." Once a journal article is officially published, the common understanding is that at least three other scholars have thoroughly examined the claims made within the article and approved it for publication. One such popular biology journal is called "PLos Biology," this is a peer reviewed journal published by the Public library of Science on a monthly basis. Some of the most influential and groundbreaking research within the field of biology are published in each trimester. Many times, journals will republish articles that have already surfaced in smaller journals, the intent is that such articles gain international acclaim and come to the attention of other scholars within the field. This practice was very common in the early 20th century, but with the spread of the internet and instantaneous communication, there is much less of a need for such practices. One example of such a journal is the "International Journal of Biological Sciences." This journal is regarded as the most complete compilation of significant biological publications within any given bi-monthly period. Articles of significance from various countries are compiled together and presented to the community in general.

Although journals are the most popular medium by which new and groundbreaking research is revealed, the majority of such publications are seeped in field specific terminology and extremely hard to digest. Therefore, several other alternatives exist for non-specialists of specific disciplines to gain a broader and simpler understanding of biology disciplines. These sources take on two specific types, popular science journals and books. Popular science journals are a much more interesting and literary source of biology information than peer-reviewed journals. Such articles are written so that they can be digested by lay-men as well as biology professionals. One of the most recognized publications is "Perspectives in Biology and Medicine." Presents research in both biology and medicine in very coached terms and applies them specifically to a wider audience than traditional peer reviewed journals. On its website, Perspectives in Biology and Medicine explains that its mission statement is to "present articles of current interest in medicine and biology in a context of humanistic, social and scientific concerns." The vision of popular science journals is to coach biological developments in the context of social concerns and applicable impacts. Therefore, it grants a direction for newly discovered research to have a real global impact. The problem with such publications is that they can be framed in different contexts that may be severely biased. Since articles within popular science journals are not peer reviewed they often contain unwarranted assertions and extensions of arguments that deviate from the author's primary intent. As a result, they are much less trustworthy because the majority of these articles have a hidden agenda.

Books are another powerful driver of biology information. Books are primarily written by biology professionals to recap a specific science and to present a detailed contextual understanding of the spectrum of research within a certain field as well as the integration of new research within the field. Books are an excellent source of information on biology topics because they are much more in-depth than journal articles. They present the history of particular research and often will fill in the gaps of how modern research has been built upon the research of the past. One of the most popular general biology books for instance is titled "Biology, Visualizing Life" by Dr. George B. Johnson. This book is used as a text book in many different universities, although it was originally published as a general overview of the biological discipline. The shortcoming of books within this field however is that they are extremely hard to update, and as a result they do not accurately represent new information within the field nearly as accurately as journals. Books can provide a full picture of the scientific developments within biology, but it is not nearly as cutting edge as journal articles, because it takes much longer to develop a book. Therefore books can be used to gain a contextual understanding of major themes and areas of research within biology, but are poor providers of current information regarding a specific field or discipline within biology.

A final source of crucial information within the biological sciences exists within established websites on biology. There are many different categories of websites on biology, the three primary ones consist of university hosted websites, organization websites, and perspectives websites. University websites are hosted through universities; they include websites such as the MIT Biology Hypertextbook. This website is sponsored by MIT, and it is filled with detailed information about every discipline of biology, with collections of articles, references, research journals from a variety of highly credible sources. The second category consists of organization websites, these websites are sponsored by larger organizations focused in biology.

The American Society of Cell Biology is one example of such a resource; this website is hosted by the ASCB, which has annual publications as well as its online website. These websites contain a republication of their printed material and also supplementary research and additional articles that were not available within their general issue. The final source of websites is perspective websites, this website focus primarily on a multitude of perspectives within biology. They are much less objective and focuses on defending a particular issue, they are often also called position websites. An example is the website "Understanding Stem Cell Research," this website provides a portal for information on stem cell research, but all of it is focused on the benefits of stem cell research, making a strong stance on their opinion of such research.

There are many different methods to conduct research on the broad topic of biology. Many times there is no right or wrong answer regarding where to look for such sources. When discussing an in-depth topic that is on the cutting edge of biology… READ MORE

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Quoted Instructions for "Discipline of Biology" Assignment:

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this is a reasearch paper for english..... my major is bilogy. so choose the biology field and write this paper please... and for references and citation make sure to choose the citation that is used for bilogy discipline.please make sure to follow all the information below. i need the paper by *****row 02-26-07 at no later than 10:00am.

Ways of Knowing & Report on Authority in Your Discipline

Objective: To explore and become familiar with your discipline

Purpose: To inform

Format: Five essay, double-spaced, hardcopy

Audience: Undergraduate students in your major

Example: Click here (reproduced with the permission of the author)

Your purpose in this document is twofold: (1) to inform readers (your peers and others who are not in your major) how people in your discipline go about describing, analyzing, and evaluating processes, programs, and/or research; and (2) to prepare you for research in your field of study by emphasizing the process of discovery. When this assignment is finished, you should be acquainted with the significant sources in your field. The sources you review for this paper should therefore give you a solid background for future research in the field of your choice. For the present, you will delve into your discipline, not into one particular topic.

Look through the resources specifically for your discipline, and be sure to look at Library & Research Resources.

What kinds of "problems" and research questions is your discipline concerned with? What kinds of data do you gather and how do you gather it? Once you have gathered your research, how do you present it? (Please be familiar with the following terms as you consider my questions: epistemology; empirical evidence; quantitative and qualitative research; and primary and secondary data.) How are the methods of your discipline and the written products of research used in the workplace of your discipline? Given the concerns, questions, and processes of your chosen discipline, explain why you are attracted to the discipline and some of the issues that particularly interest you. Your thesis might read something like the following:

I'm drawn to ___________ (your major) because I'm interested in the kinds of problems the discipline of _________ tries to solve (or the kinds of questions the discipline of __________ poses) and the kinds of data that are gathered to answer these questions.

You might choose to tell something about your personal background and experience that draws you to the major and then go on to talk about the major itself.

Here are some questions to consider:

What are the discipline's fundamental assumptions or driving questions?

Are they stable or in a state of change?

What would you say constitutes a "fact" in this discipline?

What do you consider objective and subjective data?

Does the discipline use experience and/or observation as evidence? If so, how?

What are the discipline's fundamental methods of inquiry?

What kinds of careers are typically open to students with this major?

What kinds of writing and research might they do in those careers?

Then, you need to become familiar with the following:

the criteria by which scholars and/or professionals in your field judge the productions of others

the names and specialties of the leading scholars, professionals, and GMU ***** in your field

the major periodicals in your field of study, both print and electronic, academic journals as well as commercial magazines and newsletters

the reference works (bibliographies, abstracts, encyclopedias, etc.) serving researchers in your field

conferences, online journals, bulletin boards, web sites, or other electronic sources if recognized as reliable sources in your field

PREPARATION

Before beginning this paper, select a field of study that interests you within a major discipline.

You may want to interview professor(s) who teach in the general area or other experienced professionals who are knowledgeable on the subject. Contact the professor(s) first to see if s/he would have the time to talk to you.

Ask these questions, among others:

- What constitutes an important resource in the field (for example, conferences vs. journals)?

- What are the important reporting structures and what makes them authoritative?

- What criteria are used in the field to determine authority?

- Which types of sources does the department regard as inappropriate or unreliable?

Be sure to attend the library research class meeting and consult the handout material provided

Try to find out which, if any, popular periodicals are also read by professionals

Find out what, if any, journals in your field are solely published electronically (e-zines). Are there good web sites--personal, institutional, organizational, library or university sponsored? Any reputable newsgroups or bulletin boards?

CONTENT

Prepare a paper in paragraph form which surveys the sources you have gathered that are appropriate for the field of study. Sources may include humans, reference works, electronic sources, databases, journals, associations, popular magazines, and any other valuable resources you discover.

Discuss the library resources available to you, including librarians, print and electronic sources, partnerships with other libraries and document delivery.

Indicate which sources might be considered as inappropriate or unreliable. Are some magazines considered too "popular" or oversimplified? Too political or narrow-minded? Are cybersources acceptable at all? Why?

Conversely, discuss the sources which are highly regarded professionally. .Describe the reasoning behind the rating process, clearly explaining the qualities of thought and habits of work which are respected by scholars or other professionals. As you are writing this section, the goal is to internalize these standards so that you can begin to take a professional attitude toward new data sources when you meet them.

As you identify the resources, indicate the availability or ease of access of each.

Grades will be based on the following criteria:

Format: The essay is word processed in 12 point type, using standard US spelling, sentence structure and punctuation. It is written in paragraph form, NOT a series of bulleted lists. In an upper corner of the first page, it lists your name, date and class section.

Content includes a complete review of a variety of resources, including but not limited to

academic journals

professional conferences

authority figures (people)

reference works

popular newsstand magazines

databases

electronic journals

internet sources such as web sites, bulletin boards and listservs

any other valuable resources, such as newsletter

Source Evaluation: each type of sources has been evaluated adequately and effectively according to the accepted criteria for your chosen field of study and for its acceptability in student papers

Criteria for such an evaluation have been specified.

my major is biology so yhe paper should be written based on biology field disceplen., make sure to look at the sample paper that i'm sending u, the apper should have a format close to this,,, look the way they did citation and work cited references,,, u can have more references but not less than 15. the paper should be cited based on biology disciplen.

oh please make sure to changed the tittle based on what u r going to write. and just follow everything that i send u in original paper ... thanks

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SAMPLE OF PAPER EXPLORING A DISCIPLINE*****S RESOURCES

Reproduced with permission from the student author

Resources Relating to the Field of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence, a sub-discipline of computer science, is an active and maturing

field which is producing many great resources for consumers, researchers, and students alike.

This paper will attempt to address many of the resources, especially those of an academic nature,

which are dedicated to this field. Throughout this paper, informative sources of information are

mentioned, and these and other sources have been complied into the Appendix for your

convenience.

One of the most important factors when considering a source, especially for an academic

paper, is the source*****s reliability. According to Dr. Tamara Maddox, George Mason University*****s

Computer Science Department*****s Assistant Chair, reliable sources are those sources which are

written by creditable and unbiased authors, are appropriately recent for the material being

presented, and are published through stable outlets (Maddox). Such resources may include

academic journals, professional conferences, authority figures, reference works, magazines,

databases, electronic journals, Web sites, bulletin boards (both physical and virtual), newsletters,

and e-mail discussion lists.

Educational institutes such as MIT, Stanford University, and Carnegie Mellon University

are great sources of reliable information for the field of artificial intelligence. Not only are such

institutes highly credible, they are also pushing the boundaries on what we know (researching)

and how we know it (improving research procedures). Although all sources may be biased in

that they aim to be recognized for their achievements, the main goal of educational institutes is to

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educate, and as long as one takes into consideration the motive behind the institute*****s research

(Are they attempting to further a cause, gain reputability, or educate the general public? Are

they affiliated with a political party, special interest group, or religious doctrine?), such institutes

may be considered to be reliable.

Professional organizations which are dedicated to the field of artificial intelligence are

also excellent sources of information. Such associations include the American Association of

Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), the Association for Computer Machinery*****s (ACM) Special

Interest Group Artificial Intelligence (SIGART), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics

Engineers, Inc.*****s (IEEE) Intelligent Systems, and the Society for the Study of Artificial

Intelligence and the Simulation of Behaviour (sic, AISB). These sources are generally very

stable, up-to-date, and highly credible. One just needs to be careful of any potential biases which

the sources may have due to their membership base and sponsors.

Both educational and professional organizations often publish their own journals both in

print and electronic formats. Such publications are often peer reviewed and may be considered

highly reliable due to the reputable nature of educational and professional organizations.

SIGART and IEEE Intelligent Systems both publish widely read journals. Other reliable

magazines include AAAI*****s AI Magazine, and Artificial Intelligence Review by Kluwer Academic

Publishers. The field of artificial intelligence is sufficiently focused and technical to the point

where overly generalized magazines for the public are not common place. Although magazines

such as Scientific American may contain articles concerning artificial intelligence, those

magazines which are focused on the topic specifically are generally not written for the public and

therefore are generally sufficiently informative for academic papers. As usual, there are

exceptions to this rule, such as magazines focused on artificial intelligence from a marketing

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perspective (those trying to sell the idea).

Other highly useful print sources include abstracts, and from an academic standpoint,

PhD dissertation abstracts in particular. Such abstracts point to highly credible resources written

by academic researchers, and although they are occasionally biased, they often contain the most

recent findings in a specialized field. Often located in highly accessible print and electronic

databases, they are a great resource finding resource. One abstract database which is dedicated

to the field of computer science is the Computer and Information Systems Abstract, while an

excellent source for general PhD abstracts is Dissertation Abstracts Online. Both may be

accessed through George Mason University*****s library system.

Reliable print and electronic sources are written by reliable people, and an excellent

source of information concerning the current forerunners in the artificial intelligence field has

been complied by the AAAI. The AAAI maintains an international listing of those people which

the association has recognized as *****[making] significant, sustained contributions [*****¦] to the field

of artificial intelligence,***** and includes such people as Professor Lotfi A. Zadeh of the University

of California at Berkeley (the founder of fuzzy logic, AAAI). These and other people (such as

George Mason University*****s own Dr. ***** Luke) may be utilized through the works they write,

personal interviews, conferences (such as the biennial ECAI and IJCAI conferences, or the

AAAI conference) and occasionally, even through participation in one of their classrooms.

Outside of print and face-to-face sources, a conglomeration of electronic sources is also

available. Such electronic resources include databases, Web sites, newsgroups, electronic

newsletters, electronic bulletin boards, chat rooms, and so on. Some of these sources are very

reliable, while others are more useful for general information gathering as opposed to reliable

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sources of official information.

Reliable Web sites include those maintained by the highly reputable educational and

professional organizations previously mentioned. Other useful Web sites include those which

function as directory listings. Such Web sites contain universal resource locaters, comparable to

phone listings in a phone book. These Web sites can vary in their reliability however, as they do

sometimes get outdated and contain addresses which are no longer valid. There are some,

however, which may be very useful for gathering general information, and these include the

Neuron AI Directory and Google*****s Artificial Intelligence directory.

Information sources which should, as a general rule, not be considered reliable include

those resources with global write permissions such as publicly assessable chat rooms, bulletin

boards, and newsgroups. These sources, and others which are editable by the public, are not

reliable because this information does not necessarily go through creditable channels, is quite

often biased, and may or may not contain information which is appropriately recent. Although

not generally accepted as reliable for the aforementioned reasons, newsgroups are, however, an

excellent source of information concerning general ideas and opinions in the artificial

intelligence field, and for this reason, some related newsgroups have been mentioned in the

Appendix.

By browsing through the information contained within the body of this paper and within

the Appendix, we may find that although artificial intelligence is a relatively new field, it yields a

wealth of resources available to those who are interested. From traditional academic journals

and professional conferences to electronic newsgroups and international organizations, artificial

intelligence has captivated the focus of numerous researchers, and through this focus, we may

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find a wealth of information.

Works Cited

AAAI. (n.d.). Elected AAAI Fellows. AAAI. Retrieved February 18, 2004, from the World

Wide Web: http://www.aaai.org/Awards/fellows-list.html

Maddox, T. (n.d.). Reliable Source Criteria. CS 305. Retrieved February 18, 2004, from

George Mason University, Department of Computer Science Web site:

http://cs.gmu.edu/~tmaddox/cs305/Reliable_Source_Crit.html

Work Consulted

Russell, S. (n.d.). AI on the Web. Retrieved February 18, 2004, from University of California

at Berkeley, Department of Computer Science Web site:

http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~russell/ai.html

Appendix

Abstracts:

ô€‚ƒ Computer and Information Systems Abstracts. Although not dedicated to artificial

intelligence, this general computer technology abstracts source does contain information

regarding artificial intelligence and may be accessed through George Mason University*****s

library system.

ô€‚ƒ Dissertation Abstracts Online. This resource contains summaries of numerous PhD

dissertation papers. Like Computer and Information Systems Abstracts, it is not

dedicated to the field of artificial intelligence, but it does contain many (thousands) of

abstracts related to the field.

Academic Journals:

ô€‚ƒ Artificial Intelligence.
505601/description#description>. This journal, published by Elseiver B.D., is a leading

journal in artificial intelligence research. This journal is available in full text through

George Mason University*****s Library*****s Database Gateway.

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ô€‚ƒ Artificial Intelligence and Law. Published by Kluwer Academic Publishers, this journal

is available in full text through George Mason University*****s Library*****s Database Gateway.

ô€‚ƒ Artificial Intelligence in Engineering. Another journal by Elsevier B.D., this journal is

available in full text through George Mason University*****s Library*****s Database Gateway.

ô€‚ƒ Artificial Intelligence for Engineering Design, Analysis and Manufacturing (AI EDAM).

Published by Cambridge Journals Online, this journal is available in full text through

George Mason University*****s Library*****s Database Gateway. Artificial Intelligence in

Medicine. Another journal by Elsevier B.D., this journal is available in full text through

George Mason University*****s Library*****s Database Gateway.

ô€‚ƒ Artificial Intelligence Research. Published by Kluwer Academic Publishers, this journal

is available in full text through George Mason University*****s Library*****s Database Gateway.

ô€‚ƒ JAIR: Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research.

. Published by George

Washington University, one of the top electronic and print AI journals.

Professional Conferences:

ô€‚ƒ AAAI Conferences. . Conferences

for members of the organization.

ô€‚ƒ European Conference on AI. . Organized by the

ECCAI, this conference meets biennially in even-numbered years.

ô€‚ƒ International Joint Conferences on Artificial Intelligence. .

Hosted by AT&T Labs *****“ Research. This conference meets *****biennially in odd-numbered

years.*****

Authority Figures:

ô€‚ƒ American Association of Artificial Intelligence Fellowship.

. A long listing of people which this

association has voted into their fellowship for their contributions to the field of artificial

intelligence.

ô€‚ƒ Luke, *****. . Assistant professor at George Mason

University (GMU) in the Department of Computer Science. Dr. Luke teaches artificial

intelligence and aids the robotics club at George Mason University.

ô€‚ƒ Turing, Alen. . Alen Turing was one of computer

science and artificial intelligence*****s founding fathers. This Web site is dedicated to him.

ô€‚ƒ Zadeh, Lotfi A. . Professor at the University of

California at Berkeley in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences Department.

Responsible for managing the Berkeley Initiative in Soft Computing, and is the founder

of fuzzy logic.

Electronic Journals:

ô€‚ƒ Electronic Transactions on Artificial Intelligence (ETAI). . An

electronic as well as print scientific journal concerning artificial intelligence.

ô€‚ƒ IEEE Intelligent Systems. .

ô€‚ƒ JAIR: Journal of Artificial Intelligence Research.

. Published by George

Washington University, one of the top electronic and print AI journals.

Newsgroups:

ô€‚ƒ Comp.ai.ailife

ô€‚ƒ comp.ai.edu

ô€‚ƒ comp.ai.jair.announce

Magazines:

ô€‚ƒ AAAI*****s AI Magazine. .

ô€‚ƒ Canadian AI/IA au Canada. . Magazine for members of

the Canadian Society for Computational Studies of Intelligence (CSCSI).

Organizations:

ô€‚ƒ ACM Special Interest Group Artificial Intelligence . .

ô€‚ƒ The American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI). .

This association has both a publication and an on-line library for its members.

ô€‚ƒ The European Coordinating Committee for Artificial Intelligence (ECCAI).

. This society *****was established in July 1982 as a representative

body for the European Artificial Intelligence community. Its aim is to promote the study,

research and application of Artificial Intelligence in Europe.*****

ô€‚ƒ The Society for the Study of Artificial Intelligence and the Simulation of Behaviour (sic,

SSAISB). .

Web Sites:

ô€‚ƒ Center for Automated Learning and Discovery at Carnegie Mellon University.

.

ô€‚ƒ MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.

.

ô€‚ƒ Neuron AI Directory. . A directory listing Web site. They

are in association with Amazon.com.uk.

ô€‚ƒ Russell, S. . Maintained by University of

California at Berkeley professor Stuart Russell. This Web site contains a large directory

listing of useful sites related to the artificial intelligence field. Although this site is

useful, let the reader beware as many of the URL*****s are outdated (the good news,

however, is that these sources are very good and may be found through basic search

engines once one knows of their existence).

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ô€‚ƒ Zomd :: Computers :: Artificial Intelligence. . Another

large directory listing for the field of artificial intelligence. Although not academic in

nature, this Web site does point to some very useful Web sites which may help students

just starting out in the field.

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