Analysis Of Primary Literature Research Articles

Teaching the process of science with primary literature: Usingthe CREATE pedagogy in ecological courses.

There have been numerous calls for improved pedagogical practices in biological education, and there is a clear need for such improvements in ecology and related curricula. Most ecology-related texts lack pedagogy and are designed to be content-rich. National initiatives, such as Vision & Change, provide guidance on undergraduate biology education, including increasing use of evidence-based active learning, and taking a more conceptual and science practice skills approach. Biology education research is rich with evidence-based teaching practices, which reveal that active learning approaches implemented in thoughtful ways lead to strong learning gains relative to lecture-based course delivery. CREATE (Consider, Read, Elucidate the hypothesis, Analyze and interpret data, Think of the next Experiment) integrates evidence-based active pedagogical practices into one approach to STEM education that focuses heavily on the process of science and science practice skills rather than content delivery by replacing the textbook with selected journal articles. The approach focuses on deep reading and analysis of primary literature; immersing students in the literature is an advantage of the pedagogy. CREATE was developed and tested in other biological disciplines (genetics and molecular biology) that have long been at the forefront of pedagogical best practices in biology. We transformed two upper-level undergraduate ecological courses (Conservation Biology, and Biodiversity and Ecology) into CREATE courses. We provide examples of assignments, student work, and assessments of the approach, illustrating the various ways CREATE can be successfully implemented. The approach can be adopted in part, to ease into it and test it out, or in whole. We recommend that ecology teachers consider making their courses more active, if they have not already done so; adopting pedagogical practices embedded within CREATE can be a way to achieve active learning. The CREATE approach and other evidence-based pedagogical best practices lead to strong learning gains and more inclusive learning environments.

The amphibians of Pará, Brazil

Pará is the second largest state in Brazil, with all its territory within the Amazonian rainforest. The state has a wide variety of habitats and bioregions and is home to a large diversity of species. In the race to uncover this diversity and to provide support for future research, we have compiled the first list of amphibian species occurring in Pará, based on the identification of specimens deposited in scientific collections and analysis of primary literature. We recorded 195 species of amphibians, 30 of which are endemic to the state, and five represented new occurrence records. Despite its large territory, high number of endemic species and very intense levels of deforestation, only five species are officially considered threatened with extinction. We discuss reasons as to why so few species are threatened and why this number is likely to increase soon. We also discuss issues related to taxonomy, such as the occurrence of multiple unnamed species that have already been discovered in Pará. Finally, we highlight some opportunities and challenges for future research areas with amphibian diversity and taxonomy in the state of Pará.

Insights on biology student motivations and challenges when reading and analyzing primary literature.

Reading primary literature is a popular classroom practice that exposes students to the process of science. However, the analysis of primary literature can be taxing and time-consuming for students. For this reason, it is important to determine the source of student challenges and what motivates them to read primary literature. To better understand students’ challenges, preferences, and motivations towards analyzing primary literature, we held focus groups with biology undergraduates where we asked them about their thoughts and perceptions on this practice. Students felt they struggle with understanding the big picture of an article, certain aspects of scientific literacy like data interpretation and experimental setup, and lack of knowledge of terms and techniques. Further analysis of the data using the achievement goal and expectancy-value theories of motivation revealed that students: 1) demonstrate mastery and performance approach goal orientations, which are typically associated with positive learning outcomes, 2) value the usefulness of reading primary literature, and 3) feel most engaged in the process of reading an article when the topic interests them. We provide pedagogical recommendations based on our findings.

A Single, Narrowly Focused CREATE Primary Literature Module Evokes Gains in Genetics Students' Self-Efficacy and Understanding of the Research Process.

Exposure to primary literature using CREATE tools has been shown to have a positive impact on students’ self-efficacy and beliefs when incorporated into semester-long courses taught by extensively trained faculty. However, it is unknown whether similar benefits can occur with a brief exposure to CREATE in an otherwise traditionally taught course. We hypothesized that students who experienced a short-term CREATE module taught by faculty with minimal training in this pedagogy would make gains in scientific literacy and self-efficacy while also experiencing epistemological maturation. To test this hypothesis, we compared sections of students who experienced the CREATE module with sections of the same course taught without CREATE. Our hypothesis was partially supported by the data in that students in CREATE sections made significant gains in self-efficacy but did not gain transferable data analysis skills. Students in those sections also self-reported significantly enhanced understanding of the research process. Thus, this study suggests that analysis of primary literature using CREATE, even in short modules, can significantly and positively affect students’ self-efficacy and their views of science.

An anatomy of requirements engineering in software startups using multi-vocal literature and case survey

Context: Software startups aim to develop innovative products, grow rapidly, and thus become important in the development of economy and jobs. Requirements engineering (RE) is a key process area in software development, but its effects on software startups are unclear.Objective: The main objective of this study was to explore how RE (elicitation, documentation, prioritization and validation) is used in software startups.Method: A multi-vocal literature review (MLR) was used to find scientific and gray literature. In addition, a case survey was employed to gather empirical data to reach this study’s objective.Results: In the MLR, 36 primary articles were selected out of 28,643 articles. In the case survey, 80 respondents provided information about software startup cases across the globe. Data analysis revealed that during RE processes, internal sources (e.g., for source), analyses of similar products (e.g., elicitation), uses of informal notes (e.g., for documentation), values to customers, products and stakeholders (e.g., for prioritization) and internal reviews/prototypes (e.g., for validation) were the most used techniques.Conclusion: After an analysis of primary literature, it was concluded that research on this topic is still in early stages and more systematic research is needed. Furthermore, few topics were suggested for future research.

Alkaloid-Derived Thioureas in Asymmetric Organocatalysis: A Cooperative Learning Activity in a Project-Based Laboratory Course

An experiment carried out by advanced undergraduate students in a project-based laboratory course is described. Taking into account the positive effects of working in teams, which has been key for successful research in industry and academia, a cooperative learning experience in the laboratory was developed. Students working in teams of four synthesize two alkaloid-derived thioureas starting from a chiral pool (quinidine and quinine). The thioureas are used to catalyze an enantioselective Michael reaction between acetylacetone and trans-4-methyl-β-nitrostyrene, providing a platform for discussion of stereochemistry and chirality transfer events. Qualitative analysis of the reaction enantioselectivity is performed by polarimetry, which allows students to assign product optical rotations (+/−) with their absolute configurations (S/R). Students are exposed to an entire research process: analysis of primary literature, discussion with colleagues, planning laboratory schedules, and execution of experiments.

Fostering Critical Thinking Skills in a Master's‐Level Course via in‐Depth Analysis of Primary Literature

Critical thinking skills are crucial for success in the modern workforce, particularly for graduate students, who often aim to become physicians or researchers. Primary literature provides an excellent opportunity to practice these skills. We describe a course that includes a structured analysis of four recent papers from diverse fields of biology. To facilitate a critical approach to primary literature, we included a paper with questionable data interpretation and two papers investigating the same biological question, yet reaching opposite conclusions. We report a significant increase in students' self‐efficacy in analyzing data from research papers, evaluating authors' conclusions, and designing experiments. However, using our critical thinking skills test, we observed a statistically significant increase in students' performance in experimental design, but not in analysis or evaluation. Our analysis of students' responses to the question: “What aspects of reading and analyzing primary literature do you find most challenging?” revealed post‐instructional changes in students' perceptions. After instruction, we observed a shift in the cognitive level of challenges our students associated with primary literature, from Lower Order to Higher Order Cognitive Skills. These changes are also consistent with the transition from a novice to a competent reader.

English

The study made an attempt to carry out the citation analysis of primary literature archived in select Open Access Institutional repositories in the field of Health Science listed by Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR). A total of 99 articles harvested from three select Health Science repositories were tested in two primary literature indexing databases, viz., Web of Science and Google Scholar for citation analysis. Among these, Google Scholar could not retrieve three (10.34 per cent) articles while for Web of Science this number goes to 26 (89.66 per cent). The number of citations received by the deposited contents is higher in Google Scholar (59.57 per cent) as compared to Web of Science (40.42 per cent). However, the average citation per article is higher in Web of Science (3.24) in comparison to Google Scholar (2.53). There are 27 articles in the resource corpus which have not received any citation. Number of such articles in Google Scholar and Web of Sciences are 20 (20.83 per cent) and 7 (9.59 per cent), respectively.

Demystifying and humanizing research through intensive analysis of primary literature—Testing the C.R.E.A.T.E. approach in diverse student populations and topic areas

Demystifying and humanizing research through intensive analysis of primary literature—Testing the C.R.E.A.T.E. approach in diverse student populations and topic areas

Assessment of Student Skills for Critiquing Published Primary Scientific Literature Using a Primary Trait Analysis Scale

Instructor evaluation of progressive student skills in the analysis of primary literature is critical for the development of these skills in young scientists. Students in a senior or graduate-level one-semester course in Immunology at a Masters-level comprehensive university were assessed for abilities (primary traits) to recognize and evaluate the following elements of a scientific paper: Hypothesis and Rationale, Significance, Methods, Results, Critical Thinking and Analysis, and Conclusions. We tested the hypotheses that average recognition scores vary among elements and that scores change with time differently by trait. Recognition scores (scaled 1 to 5), and differences in scores were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA), regression, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) (n = 10 papers over 103 days). By multiple comparisons testing, we found that recognition scores statistically fell into two groups: high scores (for Hypothesis and Rationale, Significance, Methods, and Conclusions) and low scores (for Results and Critical Thinking and Analysis). Recognition scores only significantly changed with time (increased) for Hypothesis and Rationale and Results. ANCOVA showed that changes in recognition scores for these elements were not significantly different in slope (F1,16 = 0.254, P = 0.621) but the Results trait was significantly lower in elevation (F1,17 = 12.456, P = 0.003). Thus, students improved with similar trajectories, but starting and ending with lower Results scores. We conclude that students have greatest difficulty evaluating Results and critically evaluating scientific validity. Our findings show extant student skills, and the significant increase in some traits shows learning. This study demonstrates that students start with variable recognition skills and that student skills may be learned at differential rates. Faculty can use these findings or the primary trait analysis scoring scale to focus on specific paper elements for which they desire to improve recognition.