The student will compose a brief essay comparing and contrasting scientific communication, including the role science plays in contemporary society distinguishing between science and pseudoscience, and identifying when science is misrepresented in the media . The scientific data must be from reputable source(s) and must be accurately interpreted and cited Additional reliable sources may be referred to, as needed or required. Assignment Requirements The journal includes the following processes and requirements: Read the scientific study all the way through. Then read the news report of that scientific study completely. Start with an engaging attention getter, identifying the observation/problem addressed by the media communication and in the scientific communication; Identify the media communication as a media communication/secondary source and the scientific communication as a scientific communication/primary source Write a valid hypothesis statement which is addressed by the research in the scientific article and explain if the hypothesis is presented correctly in the media source; Identify additional parts to the scientific method including research methods, results, and research conclusions comparing what is stated in the media source and the scientific source, and providing analysis on the quality of journalism; End the journal definitively, summarizing key points of the paper; Use paraphrased information, examples, and evidence to support all points; Properly organize information within and between paragraphs; Format layout, citations, and references in correct APA style. The use of AI chatbots (such as ChatGPT, Jasper, or Perplexity) is allowable for only the following tasks with proper documentation: Translating jargon heavy text from the scientific journal publication into understandable English, which then must be paraphrased in the student paper; NO COPY AND PASTE OF AI WRITING (chat interactions must be attached as an appendix, then cited both on the reference page and in-text following paraphrased information). Revision of paper writing to improve the overall quality, e.g. in the use of Advanced Grammarly (students must submit both the rough draft of their writing before run through AI software AND the final draft for grading). The use of AI for any other reason, including original text generation for the paper (e.g. copying and pasting the Chat GPT translation), is counter to the learning objectives of the assignment and is therefore not allowed. Any instance of AI use outside of the permitted tasks above will be treated as academic dishonesty. Assignment Instructions How to complete the assignment The first source listed at the bottom is a news article discussing the primary study listed below it. The best strategy is to first read and understand the abstract of the scientific study. Abstracts often contain summaries of all parts of the scientific method. Further details can be uncovered by reading the paper, so it is recommended that students attempt to read the entire scientific paper to understand the details of the study. There may be scientific jargon in the paper, so do your best to look up terms and notations that are commonly used to fully understand what the study is discussing. If further help is needed to understand the study, students are permitted to use an AI Large Language Model such as ChatGPT to translate the study into understandable English. That AI usage MUST be properly documented to avoid academic dishonesty. Once students have read and understood what the study says, they should then move on to reading the news article that is reporting the details of that study, specifically the methods, key results/data, and overall conclusions. Students should then be able to evaluate how effectively the information is communicated to the lay public in the news article. Students should look for any inaccuracies, omissions, misrepresentations, or obvious biases in the news article and point them out with specific examples. Incidents of well reported sections of the study should also be highlighted with examples where possible. Students should summarize their analysis on the quality of reporting in a single paragraph following the comparison of information between the two sources. Wherever possible, students should use the concepts described in the Communications Module on how proper scientific reporting should be conducted. Try to focus on examples of good scientific reporting while pointing out any areas of poor scientific reporting that deserve appropriate criticism. Bear in mind, a news article will never be as detailed as the original study, but they should relate the important information to their audience with sufficient detail and context without misleading the audience in any way. Students will use this information and analysis to write a compare and contrast essay as outlined below. The essay will compare the information communicated in each source and use that to write a critique on the quality of reporting in the news article. The essay will generally follow the flow of the scientific method. Evaluation For full details on evaluation, please refer to the grading rubric below. The journal includes the following processes and requirements: Introduction-1 paragraph Start with an engaging attention getter, and introduce the topic of the paper by identifying the scientific observations/problems addressed by the media communication and in the scientific communication; Briefly identify which source is the media or secondary source, and which source is the scientific or primary source by title, author, or publication; Write a valid hypothesis statement for the scientific study and explain if the hypothesis is presented correctly in the media source; End the introduction with a thesis statement that summarizes the student analysis on the quality of reporting in the media source (your thesis statement is what you will support with the body of your paper); Body-4-6 paragraphs Compare and contrast each of the remaining sections of the scientific method between each source. This includes: The research methods (experiment or methods & materials) summarized thoroughly from the scientific paper and then compared against the information communicated in the media source; The key results including data table/graph analysis (Note: I require one data graph or table at minimum from the scientific study to be included in the paper with citations followed by the student's interpretation of the data), summarized thoroughly from the scientific paper and then compared against the information communicated in the media source; and research conclusions by comparing what is stated in the media source against what is stated in the scientific source, and then noting how they're the same or different; Provide a brief summary of the quality of reporting based on the compare and contrast analysis (please refer to lecture materials on this subject presented in the communications module to aid in your analysis); students should look for any inaccuracies, omissions, misrepresentations, or obvious biases in the news article and point them out with specific examples. Conclusion-1 paragraph Move into a conclusion by providing a transition statement that indicates the paper is wrapping up. Briefly summarize the key points in your paper, focusing on the compare and contrast analysis as well as the summary of the quality of journalism Have a definitive closing statement that wraps up your paper in a meaningful way without making any new claims. Other Requirements Use paraphrased information, examples, and evidence to support all points. Do not use direct quotes unless the exact phrasing is necessary to make your point. Do not forget to cite paraphrased information with appropriate APA style citations in-text; Any use of AI must be documented in the following way: Use of AI to translate jargon heavy text: The chat interaction must be attached as an appendix to the paper and documented as a reference in APA style (see library APA page for details). Use of AI to revise writing: The original draft of the writing must be submitted along with the final AI revised draft to be considered for grading. Properly organize information within and between paragraphs, including proper transitions between paragraphs/sections and a clear flow of content in the paper; Format layout, citations, and references in correct APA style (12 point font); The final submission should be roughly between 4-6 pages double spaced (not including title and reference pages) while covering all parts of the grading rubric listed below. ***Very important, it is the best practice to use the author's last name when discussing their work. DO NOT refer to the articles by publication or by number. Referring to authors in the writing can also aid in forming in-text citations, i.e. Smith (2024) indicates in his article that... Original Study The serotonin theory of depression: a systematic umbrella review of the evidenceLinks to an external site. News Article Did we all believe a myth about depression?Links to an external site.
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