Category: Post 2: Sources of Scientific Information

Post 2: Sources of Scientific Information

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McPherson, Miller, Smith-Lovin, Lynn, and Cook, James M. 2001. Birds of a Feather: Homophily in Social Networks. Annual Review of Sociology 27: 415-444. http://www.leonidzhukov.net/hse/2017/networkscience/papers/McPherson_HomophilyInSocialNetworks.pdf.

The article is an academic, peer-reviewed review because the authors are subject matter experts, academics associated with several universities; the piece is printed in a peer reviewed journal based on information provided on the process for publication for authors in the Annual Review of Sociology’s website (https://www.annualreviews.org/page/authors/author-instructions/submitting/publication-timeline); and, it is a review as opposed to research because there is no methods or results section, the content of the piece does not seek to answer a research question.

Blog Post 2 – Sources of Scientific Information

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The ecological source is an Academic Article from the Thompson Rivers University Online Library (https://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=1&sid=689d59b7-b546-4192-b075-17f64281cdfe%40pdc-v-sessmgr02&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=edsjsr.10.1525.cond.2010.090045&db=edsjsr ).

The paper is written by experts in the field. Giancarlo Sadoti is an animal ecologist and physical geographer, Thomas J. Rodhouse is also an ecologist, and Kerri T. Vierling is a professor of wildlife recourses. The paper also has in-text citations and a full bibliography which means the paper is academic material.

The paper is published in the American Ornithological Societies Condor journal (http://www.americanornithology.org/content/auk-ornithological-advances ) which has an extensive peer review process before any paper is published, therefore suggesting this paper is academic peer reviewed material.

Finally, because the paper includes detailed methods, sampling and analysis sections the paper is considered academic, peer reviewed, research material.

Post 2: Sources of Scientific Information

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Genetic diversity of seagrass seeds influences seedling morphology and biomass, in the journal, Ecology, is a research article. Anne Randall Hughes and Torrance C. Hanley specialize in marine and environmental sciences. Forest Schenck specializes in marine biology. Also, Cynthia G. Hays, specializes in biology. All of the authors have expertise in this field, in-text citations were included, and there was a bibliography, which means the article is an academic source. The source was reviewed by two referees before publication, indicating it is peer-reviewed material. Finally, it contains a “Methods” and “Results” sections, which means it is a research article. Therefore, this article is academic, peer-reviewed, research material.

https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy.tru.ca/stable/44082215?seq=7#metadata_info_tab_contents

Blog Post 2: Sources of Scientific Information

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The article titled ‘Birds in New York State Have Altered Their Migration Timing and Are Experiencing Different Thermal Regimes While Breeding or on Stopover from 2010 to 2015’ was published in the International Journal of Zoology on September 19, 2017. The authors, from the biology department of Colgate University, were Natalie Pudalov, Sydney Ziatek and Ana Gabriela Jimenez.

This article is an academic piece because it is written by experts in the field (they represent Colgate University), it includes in text citations and a bibliography.

The article states that it was received on May 5, revised on June 26, accepted on July 11 and published on September 19 of that year. This suggests that the article is peer-reviewed as it went through a revision process.

The article lists a materials and methods section and a results section detailing the research that was conducted. This article is therefore a research piece.

As a result, this article constitutes an academic, peer-reviewed research material.

Reference:

Pudalov, N, Ziatek, S and Jimenez, A. (2017). Birds in New York State Have Altered Their Migration Timing and Are Experiencing Different Thermal Regimes While Breeding or on Stopover from 2010 to 2015. International Journal of Zoology, vol. 2017, Article ID 2142075. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/2142075

Post 2: Sources of Scientific Information

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Kevin Ostapowich

March 23, 2019

Article:
Comeau, P.G., and Heineman, J.L. 2003. Predicting understory light microclimate from stand parameters in young paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.) stands. Forest Ecology and Management 180(1–3): 303–315. Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/s0378-1127(02)00581-9.

This article is:  Academic, peer-reviewed research material.

  1. It is academic:
    1. The lead author (Comeau) is associated with the department of Earth Sciences at the University of Alberta so can be considered an expert.
    2. There are in-text citations.
    3. The article contains a bibliography.
  2. It is peer reviewed:
    1. The journal is Forest Ecology and Management which states that it uses: “A peer-review process ensures the quality and international interest of the manuscripts accepted for publication.”
    2. The article also notes when it was received and received again in revised form, indicating that it had been reviewed and re-submitted after revision.
  3. It is research material:
    1. The article contains results from a field study.
    2. It has “Methods” and “Results” sections.

Blog Post 2: Sources of Scientific Information

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This study looked at the relationship between ten native bird species and habitat features at two spatial scales relevant to urban residential environments in Arizona. The goal of the study was to explore the interaction between land ownership, presence of bird species, habitat features, and spatial scale.

The authors are both associated with the School of Natural Resources at the University of Arizona. The paper included both in-text citations, and a bibliography at the end of the paper making this an academic paper. There were three referees who reviewed and provided feedback on this paper, making it peer-reviewed literature. Finally, the paper included a methods and results sections making this paper research material.

 

McCaffrey, R.E. And Mannan, R.W. (2011). How scale influences birds’ responses to habitat features in urban residential areas. Landscape and Urban Planning, 105, 274-280.

Blog Post 2

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The source is “Controlling Cattail Invasion in Sedge/Grass Meadows” and can be found here: https://link-springer-com.ezproxy.tru.ca/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs13157-017-0971-8.pdf . This source is an academic, peer-reviewed research paper. Since the author is affiliated with a college in New York I know that the paper is written by an expert in the field. This along with the fact that the paper contains in-text citations and a bibliography I know that it is academic material. In the acknowledgments, two anonymous reviewers are thanked which makes this peer-reviewed academic material. And the paper reports results from a field or lab study completed by the authors (contains methods and results section) which overall, makes this academic, peer-reviewed research material.

Post 2: Sources of Scientific Information

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The source is Plant acclimation to long-term high nitrogen deposition in an N-rich tropical forest (https://www.pnas.org/content/115/20/5187). This source is an academic, peer-reviewed research material because it was written by an expert in the field as Xiankai Lu works for South China Botanical Garden and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. It also includes in-text citations, contains a bibliography, been reviewed by at least one referee and also contains reports of a lab study conducted (has methods and results section).

 

Reference:

Xiankai, L., Vitousek, P.M., Mao, Q., Gilliam, F.S., et al. 2018. Plant acclimation to long-term high nitrogen deposition in a N-rich tropical forest. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 115(20): 5187-5192.

 

 

Blog Post 2: Sources of Scientific Information

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Blog Post 2: Sources of Scientific Information

The article titled Using plant functional traits to understand the landscape distribution of multiple ecosystem services is academic, peer-reviewed research material.

 

It is academic material because:

It is authored by experts in the field who are specialised in the article’s topic.

The article includes in-text citations as well as an extensive reference list.


 

It is peer-reviewed because although the acknowledgements section does not explicitly state that the article was reviewed, the thanks given to those who gave insightful comments can be taken as such.

 

It is research material because it includes a Materials and Methods and a Results section.

Blog Post 2: Sources of Scientific Information

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I chose the following research article as my source of scientific information: Patch use as an Indicator of Habitat Preference, Predation Risk, and Competition. 

This article is classified as academic, peer-reviewed research material for the following reasons:  

  • Source is considered academic material because: 
    • It was written by experts in the field. The author of the article Joel Brown wrote the article to fulfill the requirements for a doctorate in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona.
    • It included in-text citations throughout the document.
    • There is a bibliography that lists all the sources.
  • It was peer-reviewed by several reviewers and three anonymous reviewers as described in the acknowledgements section.
  • It is research material as it contains both a “Methods” and “Results” section. 

Reference: 

Brown, J.S. 1988. Patch use as an indicator of habitat preference, predation risk and competition. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 22(1):37-44. https://ezproxy.tru.ca/login?url=https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.tru.ca/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsjsr&AN=edsjsr.4600116&site=eds-live.