Biology 440: Ecological
Research in Temperate Zones (Fall 2000)
Format
for Written Research Papers or Research Proposals
All reports can be turned in electronically (i.e., via e-mail) or on diskette
(preferably Word Perfect or Word IBM-compatible software) or as a clean
hard copy.Final versions
of reports must be provided electronically or on diskette.Reports
should have a minimum of 1" (2.5 cm) margins on top/bottom and left/right
side.Do not use full (or right)
justification; use left justification (i.e., text should not line
up on the right side of the page as it does in newspaper articles).Unless
noted, I must receive all revised versions of reports by two weeks after
I return them to you.Final deadline
for all reports is December 14.
I.Written
Research Papers
Title of Report, Centered and in Capital Letters (see following
example)
Distribution of Birds Along Successional Gradients
in Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
Principal
Investigator:Your Name
Participants:
Other members of the research group in alphabetical order
Key Words: italicize
key words in alphabetical order, scientific names (in key words only) not
be italized
Abstract
Abstract should be written in the third person and not exceed 200-250 words
in total length.
Introduction
Your introduction should introduce us to the research question and the
theoretical basis for asking this (these) particular research questions/hypotheses.Clearly
state your questions/hypotheses in this section; reader should know what
your major objectives for the study are and be encouraged to read on.
Methods
This section should include a description (brief) of the study site, methods
used to address your research question, and description of data analysis
used.These can be done as separate
subsections or not as you prefer, but if done that way follow format of
subheaders as given below.
Study Site.--Begin
text here.
Field Methods.--Begin
text here and continue with your description of field methods employed
by you and your colleagues.
Data Analysis.--Begin
text here.
Results
Use subheaders or not as appropriate; follow guidelines above.Try
and avoid sentences like: Table 1 shows results of the number of bird species
found within different successional zones.Instead
rewrite this sentence to give us results: More individual birds and bird
species were recorded in beech-maple forest than in early successional
sand dunes (Table 1).
Discussion
This is the place to tell us what your results mean and to speculate some.Do
not use this section to simply repeat your results, rather interpret
them!Does your data support your
research hypotheses?How does your
data fit with previous studies reported in the literature???
Acknowledgments
Optional.
Literature Cited
Follow format used in the journal Ecology (available in TJL library, or
in my laboratory).
I'll
give you some latitude on format of Tables and Figures, but you must provide
full sentence headers to these Tables, Figures, and any Appendices.You
might want to examine Ecology articles to give you some idea of what I
mean.Figures can be hand-drawn if
you prefer, but use black ink (no colors as these will not be distinguishable
in a xerox) and provide adequate margins.Be
sure to label all axes clearly and completely.If
in doubt, don't hesitate to ask me!
II.
Research Proposal
Title of Proposed Research Project
Principal Investigator:
Your Name
Site:
Full Name of Proposed Research Site
Abstract
Abstract of proposed research should be written in the third person and
not exceed 250 words.
Research Objectives
Provide a brief description of the overall research objectives including
major hypotheses or research questions.
Background Information
Use this section to develop the theoretical basis for the proposed project
citing relevant literature as appropriate.You
could use this section to also present any preliminary data or observations
you might have collected.
Project Description
You this section to state specific hypotheses/questions and the methods
and data analysis you will employ to complete your study.Provide
a brief description of study site here.Be
as specific as you can in your methods (e.g., sample size, statement of
what dependent variables will be measured, etc.) and data analysis.You
should also give us an idea of what you might expect to find if your hypotheses
are supported (present this graphically as well if appropriate).You
might follow the headers below (optional).
Hypothesis/Research Questions: State
hypothesis/questions here and follow with a paragraph providing basis for
hypothesis/question.
Expected Results.--State
here in text format, accompanied by graphs/tables as appropriate.
Methods.--Present
description of methods/experimental design here.
Data Analysis.--Describe
statistical tests here.Be sure
to identify the important dependent (response) and independent (predictor)
variables.
Significance
of Proposed Research
Put your proposed research in some larger theoretical or applied framework.Why
should we want to fund this project?Why
should we be interested in your results?