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BIOL 483: Senior Thesis

The Work

Now that you've found your sources, it's time for the real work to begin: reading the content, analyzing the information, synthesizing material and formulating your paper. Here are a few tips to help you along:

  • Time -- Dedicate more time than you think it will take to read each article.
  • Vocabulary- Take time to look up words and acronyms you don't know.
  • Annotate - Write your thoughts while reading -- summarize sections, ask questions either for clarification or points to discuss, connections to other texts. This will help when you go to write your paper.
  • Tables and Graphs - If you learn best via visuals, then dive in. If you learn best by reading, you might want to skim these. 

Additional sources
Ten Simple Rules to Reading a Scientific Paper PLoS
How to Read and Understand a Scientific Paper Dr. Jennifer Raff
Anatomy of a Scholarly Source NSCU Libraries
Close Read of a Scholarly Source Dr. Cary Moscovitz

There's a Dictionary for That!

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A Dictionary of Ecology

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Plant Science Dictionary

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Dictionary of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

A comprehensive survey of modern biochemistry and molecular biology including definitions of terms from the fields of Bioinformatics, Biophysics, Cell Biology, Chemistry, Genetics, Immunology, Microbiology among others.