Guidelines for Paper

Topic: The premise is that you are proposing a paleontological research project. You are not expected to actual conduct this research (as you are unlikely to have access to either the specimens and/or the research equipment necessary to conduct this work).

For this paper, you need to:

• Identify a particular paleontological question to answer
• Review the history of previous research on this (or at least closely related topics)
• Identify the analytical techniques you would use to answer the question. (Where possible and appropriate, give the make and model of analytical equipment necessary)
• Identify a set of specimens you would analyze to conduct this research (including species names and specimen numbers)
• Present some different alternative possible results of applying your analytical techniques to the specimens suggested, and what those different results would mean in terms of evaluating your question of interest
• Summarize your work

Length: Body text approximately 8-10 pp., plus bibliography (necessary), figures, tables, appendices, etc. (if any). Paper must have a descriptive and/or creative title (i.e., don't just call it "Paper" or words to that effect) and must have an abstract (a short, 1-2 paragraph long synopsis of the main points covered in your paper).

Schedule of Paper-Related Assignments:

• Topic proposal (short write up explaining your initial plans for your paper topic): October 29
• Initial bibliography (short list of papers you've consulted about the topic, see details below): November 14
• Final paper: December 7

Grade: Out of 36 points, using the grading rubric at the bottom. Grade on paper incorporates completeness and timeliness of Topic proposal, Intial bibliography, and Abstract, as well as the quality of the final paper itself.

Details on Paper-Related Assignments

• Topic Proposal: Your initial plans for what you would like to write about. The proposal should be a couple of sentences long: enough to suggest that you've begun to think about the idea. Your proposal will be returned with comments (often suggesting references to explore related to that topic).
• Initial Bibliography: In order to keep you on track for the paper research throughout the semester, you will have to turn in an initial bibliography consisting of at least five (5) references germane to your subject that you have already found and consulted. The types of references have to conform to those allowed in the paper itself: see more information below.

References:
The key to research is the ability to document the evidence that support your ideas; if other people don't have a means of double-checking your facts, than they should be skeptical of your conclusions. This is one of the primary reasons for the use of references (the other is to give credit where credit is due).

Not all references are created equal! The emphasis for this (or any other serious college-level paper) should be on primary literature (original work by participants in that field of endeavor), with perhaps some use of secondary literature (reviews or summaries of works of primary literature).

Some forms of reference are entirely unacceptable for this research paper. These include:

• News reports (in print or online) from newspapers, wire services, and other mass media services (e.g., CNN, MSNBC, etc.). These organizations are important for initial reports of the news, and they may be helpful in finding out about new discoveries, but these do not represent scientific reports verified by outside reviewers.
• Dictionaries
• General textbooks: again, these can be useful when you are doing your initial search of information, but textbooks themselves are often simply simplified summaries of other peoples' work. It is better to go to the original sources and cut out the "middle man".
• MOST web-based sites. There are a few sites out there that represent new, original work or well-reviewed summaries of presently available work. However, beware: anyone with a personal computer, knowledge of web design, and an internet provider can post their own professional-looking site, even if the information in it is entirely wrong!! Web-based sites are most useful for hunting up useable references, but they should not be used as one of your cited references. IF YOU WISH TO USE A WEBSITE AS A REFERENCE, please double check with Drs. Holtz or Merck that it is useable prior to turning in the final version of the paper.
  • A special note: you MAY certainly use web-based version of print-journals, like these! However, in terms of citations and bibliography, reference these articles by their print version, not by the online version.

Check the bibliographies of the chapters in Introduction to Paleobiology and the Fossil Record for examples of primary literature. (Incidentally, the chapters in both the texts used for this course are perfectly acceptable secondary literature sources!!). Here are some examples of typical primary literature sources you might want to investigate.

Rubric:
FORMAT

• Exceptional (4 pts): All of the following are present: Name on paper; Signed Honor Pledge (at either beginning or end of paper); Clean printed manuscript; Abstract; Bibliography in proper format (if additional references are used); Clear organization of text.
• Good (3 pts): One of the items listed is not present or in correct format.
• Mediocre (2 pts): Two of the items listed are not present or in correct format.
• Poor (1 pt): Three of the items listed are present or in correct format.
• Atrocious (0 pts): Four or more of the items listed are present or in correct format.

TIMELINESS

• Exceptional (4 pts): All of the following occurred: Proposal handed in on time; Initial Bibliography handed in on time; Paper handed in on time.
• Mediocre (2 pts): One of the items listed not handed in on time.
• Poor (1 pts): Two of the items listed not handed in on time.
• Atrocious (0 pts): None of the items listed handed in on time.

BACKGROUND, CONTEXT, DEVELOPMENT, AND SUPPORT