Information Cycle
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The document compares scholarly journals and popular magazines. Scholarly journals are written by researchers, have abstracts and references, follow specialized formats, and use discipline-specific language. Popular magazines are written by journalists, rarely have abstracts or references, do not follow specialized formats, and use understandable language for general audiences. Examples of each type of publication are provided.
Information Cycle
- 1. The Science Information Cycle Researcher has an idea Researcher articulates idea in a thesis Researcher designs experiment to test thesis Researcher conducts experiment and collects data Researcher publishes a paper on results The popular media summarizes results Someone reads it (and quotes it)
- 2. The Science Information Cycle Researcher has an idea Does hormone replacement therapy increase the risk for breast cancer? Women’s Health Initiative designs study WHI conducts study on trial group of over 16,000 women Paper published in Journal of the American Medical Association Results reported on news, Internet, magazines. CQ Researcher article discusses it. Someone reads it (and quotes it)
- 3. Articles in scholarly journals Are written by professors or researchers (look for a university or laboratory affiliation in the article) Have abstracts and reference lists Have a specialized format (often consisting of an introduction, methodology, results, discussion, and conclusions) Use discipline-specific language Examples: Nature , American Arachnology , Bulletin of Entomological Research Articles in popular magazines Are written by journalists Rarely have abstracts and reference lists Don't follow a specialized format Use language understandable by the general public Examples: Time, Smithsonian , Science News Scholarly Journals vs Popular Magazines Biology tutorial Retrieved 8/18/2009, from http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/tutorials/biology/ North Carolina State University