Term Paper Outline

Title

Should be informative and brief, so that reader can anticipate both the research problem and the study system. The researcher's name and affiliation will be included here.

Abstract

This is a one-paragraph synopsis of your research problem/question, how you tested it, a summary of results, and the conclusion of your research. It has a maximum length of 250 words and you should update the version you submitted in March.

Introduction

The Introduction sets the stage for the paper, but MUST be concise.

Start with the general topic or problem (global or regional sense, and include references to similar research in other systems) and tell us why it is important and interesting. This provides the broad context for your research.

Then, focus in on the specific question you are addressing and make the case for why research is needed (incl. what information is lacking). Here is where you summarize what is known about the problem (with plenty of references), and why your system/case provides an appropriate test of the problem. This includes a cursory introduction to the study site/stakeholders/organisms/etc., and briefly explain the approach you will take in addressing the research question.

Follow with a CONCISE statement of the hypothesis(ses) you are testing.

This all should require no more than 2 or 3 published pages. Avoid including material that is more suited to the Discussion.

Do NOT retain the section headings you may have used in your Introduction last semester ('Potential problems' etc.)

Methods

Description of Study Subjects - If you have a study site, study organisms or stakeholders to describe then you may do so in a subsection at the beginning of your methods section. Hold back on analysis/discussion; just give the details on climatic factors, longitude-latitude or location, soil chemistry, monitoring programs, socio-political organization. This subsection is optional and if you find it is only a sentence or two long then the information may be included in the Introduction or Methods as appropriate. In the main Methods section give a detailed but brief description of the approaches you used to address your research question, the precise tools (sampling equipment, preservatives, survey tactics, etc.) that you used, details on samples sizes, replication, experimental manipulations, etc. and what form of quantitative information you collected. Include description of the statistical methods you used. Give references where appropriate. Your Methods should be sufficiently detailed that someone could repeat your work.

Results

This is another descriptive section in which you again just state the facts, and leave the discussion of 'what it all means' until later. In most cases all of your tables and graphs will be in this section. All the figures and tables you present should be referred to at some point. Quantitative or qualitative information will be simply described, describing patterns, results of statistical analyses, and other direct information explanation. The data should be processed via descriptive statistics, etc. while raw data are generally inappropriate; if necessary (and it rarely is), include raw data in an Appendix at the end of the paper.

Discussion

Here's where you get to do your interpretations. First, briefly summarize the quantitative/qualitative findings of your research, and then use them to interpret and evaluate your results and their implications for study problem/question. Discuss biases in your data, and alternative explanations for your findings. Your results and conclusions MUST be integrated with other information in this field, in the contexts of both your study system and the field as a whole. Some speculative discussion and insights are suitable here, but must be warranted by the data you have acquired and other existing information - unjustified speculation or opinionizing should be assiduously avoided, as it is inappropriate in a 'scientific' study, and tends to detract from your other conclusions that ARE justifiable. In the last paragraph, give a summary conclusion of what your research has shown, and it is also acceptable, but not necessary, to briefly suggest future research directions.

Acknowledgements

This is a one- to two-sentence thanking of people who assisted you in your work, provided information or access critical to your study, or helped critique your