Goal 2.3 states that “students will be able to evaluate and interpret data in scientific literature and other sources.”
In many classes since my sophomore year, a literature review has been one of the big assignments of the semester. I learned what a literature review is and wrote my first one in BIOL 288. Switching from writing research and lab papers to writing a literature review was a weird transition for me, but I think that I was able to do it successfully. In BIOL 288, we read a lot of scientific papers and discussed them in class, and I think that learning to read and interpret the papers in a timely manner is one of the most useful skills I develop in this class.
In BIOL 341 and 342, I wrote literature reviews about different ecological topics. I used all of the same skills that I developed in BIOL 288 and was able to improve my synthesis in these papers. In all three of these literature reviews, I came up with a thesis and found research from recent years to back up my ideas. I enjoyed getting to compile evidence from so many different sources into one paper, and it gave me a new appreciation for scientific research.
In the future, the skills I learned from writing literature reviews will be useful in many ways. As a dentist, i will be able to keep up with current literature about treatment options, as well as relay information to my patients in a clear way.
BIOL 288 Literature Review https://docs.google.com/document/d/10iP7H4BJr-bqnxz8-wUG0NTb6FWw7_uqFvkAXadsJWM/edit?usp=sharing
BIOL 342 Literature Review https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BkAB6_MatRljaj82JzioURPGCUqHBcuGAQqWUlQqenQ/edit?usp=sharing
BIOL 341 Literature Review https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cL-IAnfu0R48tQ4rfI0TwdfDErDlUMN4JKIHXAdSaoo/edit?usp=sharing