2.3 Students will be able to evaluate and interpret data in scientific literature and other sources
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Goal 2.3 Reflection
Throughout my past four years being able to evaluate and interpret data in scientific literature has been one of the largest and most used objectives I’ve had to do. Since my first class at Longwood, I have been evaluating scientific literature for everything. All of my classes have required me, whether biology or not, to be able to find scientific literature to back up my findings or research. This objective has been used so much in order to understand the importance of previous studies, use the data to back up your findings, and create new research ideas.
The first class that used this skill throughout the entirety of the semester was my Senior Capstone class. We were asked to find the effects of plastic on the environment. This experiment was an experiment solely based on other scientists’ data and scientific literature. We were not preforming an experiment ourselves, but instead we were collecting data and articles that supported our argument that plastic is damaging the environment. This paper was a new way for me to analyze previous data. I am not used to solely collecting other scientists’ data and not preforming my own experiment. This class allowed me to filter out good and bad data, as well as interpret what factual evidence was needed for my hypothesis.
The second class that I used this skill in in an informative way was my Ichthyology class. This class required us to collect scientific literature on the Death Valley Pupfish. Like my Capstone class I did not have to perform any of my own experiments, but I did have to use the literature in a new way. This paper was used to inform the general public of the severity of the endangerment of these pupfishes. It was also used to show the public how our actions consequently effect animals and extinctions. This was one of my favorite papers to write and collect literature on because it was very factual and informative for more than just the scientific community.
The last class that I adequately used this skill in was Anatomy and Physiology. We were asked to find the effects of the smoking on lung volumes and capacities. In order to effectively write a research proposal and form a reputable hypothesis we had to relate other scientific literature to our experiment. In doing so, we had to analyze other researchers’ data, find correlations to our experiment, and interpret the data into our research.
This skill is very important for a scientist. It allows the scientist to back up their data with previous data as well as write papers that are not solely primary literature. It is also a great skill to have when you want to relate information to the general public. It allows you to show them hard evidence from multiple studies as well as dull down some of the scientific jargon so that it is easier to read. This skill will help me if I decide to work in a field that requires me to collect data from previous studies or relay information to the general public or other communities.