Long-Term Project Introduction Format

Field Biology

I. Introduction:

a. In this section, state what your research question is. The first sentence should be a brief, concise description of your question (for example, "The objective of this study is to determine the relationship between the moisture of the soil on Crescent Valley’s campus and the ratio of native to non-native shrubs"). This should be followed with supporting sentences that add details (for example, "Our goals are to map out the existing distributions of native and non-native shrubs; we also intend to classify groups of shrubs as primarily native or primarily non-native. Our data will be correlated with data we collect that describes the soil water content in various areas on CV’s campus").

b. This section should also include background information – several paragraphs that answer the question “why is this study or project worthwhile”? Answer this question from a scientific point of view - what is the scientific importance of the topics you are covering and what is the scientific relevance of the data you expect to collect? Focus on questions that address important ecological aspects of the two factors you are studying such as:

a. Where are the factors located in the environment? Where are the factors located in the Noyes property? What type of habitat do the factors require?

b. What eats the factor? What does the factor eat?

c. How does the factor affect plants or animals?

Your background information should include citations from your research. You need to use proper APA citation format (information on citing print and electronic sources is available on the CV web site at: http://www2.corvallis.k12.or.us/cvhs/staff/westlaj/index4.htm). Your background information, if done well, should be 3-6 paragraphs long.

c. This section should include a detailed site description and site location. Give as much information about your site as possible, including types of plants present, human interactions and development, drawings, photographs, and diagrams. You should use the Benton County GIS website http://gis.co.benton.or.us/v09_10/Source/Container.htm to download aerial photographs and other information for your site (use the Noyes Project Location Information page on my website as a guide). Your site location should allow anyone to find your site and should include a map (printed or carefully hand-drawn). Your site description and location should be 2-4 paragraphs long.

d. Finally, this section should include a hypothesis. Your hypothesis should explain what you expect to see and why; for example, "…we expect that non-native shrubs will dominate along Jackson Creek due to human draining of the former wetlands areas along the creek. Non-native shrubs are generally known to outcompete native shrubs in recently drained areas of the Willamette Valley (Philips, 1997)". Your statements should be backed by citations from your research – your opinion is not important, it is the methods and opinions of previous researchers that matters. Here’s a tip for thinking about your hypothesis – do not come up with a hypothesis FIRST, then attempt to back it up with research. Instead, use your research to develop your hypothesis – as you conduct your research, think about how the information you are learning might lead you to make an educated prediction about what the likely answer to your question is.

References

Your Introduction should include a COMPLETE, properly formatted references section using APA format (see the CVHS library web site at http://www2.corvallis.k12.or.us/cvhs/staff/westlaj/index4.htm for details). All cited references – whether you used a direct quotation or not – should be included.

Note - In-Text Citation Format

If you know the author of the web site, your citaton should look like this:

(Bregar 2003)

If you don’t know the author, use the title in quotation marks (just use a little bit with an ellipsis if it’s long):

(“Arsenic and environmental…” 2001)

If you don’t know the year, leave it off:

(“Health effects of…”)

Here is an example of how an in-text citation would be used in a paper:

Arsenic is sometimes found in soils that developed through volcanic activity (“Arsenic and environmental” 2001).

In-text citations are required in your research, but they do not replace a full list of references – each paragraph should be followed by a list of references in proper format as shown on the CVHS library web site.