SCIE1103 TUTORIAL 3 (WEEK 4)

Writing a scientific paper on Food Security

Student Guide
Assignments for future
MS Word 2 (Due at next tutorial session)
SCoReS Collecting Scientific Evidence (Due before next tutorial session)
Topics for the 1000-word Food Security essay will be released on Friday (essay due at
tutorial session in week 9, week of 29 April)

Tutorial 3
Goal: By examining a selection of Primary and Review literature, gain an understanding of
the form, content and intent of each type of literature, with emphasis on the differences in
organisation and content of papers targeting different outcomes, namely papers that present
new information and those that summarise the findings in a research field.

Task 1: Examine research papers from LMS

When reading the research paper in preparation for the tutorial, keep in mind the following:
The title: Is it a good title that sounds like it summarises the main finding of the paper? Or is
it a poor title that sounds like the authors are telling the reader what they did?
The abstract: Can the four components of a good abstract be identified? These are the aim,
the approach, the results and the conclusions.
Introduction: Can you identify the hypothesis being tested by the research? How much of the
introduction can you understand? Dont worry!! Understanding comes with more knowledge
and practice!!
Materials and Methods: How does this section differ from the Introduction? What do you
notice?
Results: Does the text simply repeat what is shown in the figures and tables? Notice that the
figures are referred to parenthetically (Figure 1). Notice the style of the figures, graphs and
tables. Do they follow the conventions highlighted in lecture and in SCoReS?
Discussion: How does this section differ from the Results section? Does this section refer to
the Figures or Tables?
Conclusion: Can you find it?

References: Notice the format. Is the format the same for all the references? Is the format the
same for all research papers in the same journal? Is this format the same for all journals?
Are all the sections set out in lecture present in the paper you read?
Are all the sections set out in lecture in the order set out in lecture? Why not, do you think?

Task 2: Examine review papers on LMS.

When reading the review paper in preparation for the tutorial, keep in mind the following:
Title: How does the title differ from the title of a research paper?
Abstract: How does the abstract differ from a research paper? Focuses on an overview of a
topic, rather than describing aim, methodology, results and conclusion.
Introduction: What does the Introduction do that is different from the Introduction of a
research paper?
What about other sections? What do they do? Can you find a suggestion for further research
in the review paper?
Conclusion: Is there one? How does it differ from the conclusion of a research paper?
References: What is the difference in the reference list compared to that in a research paper?