NSC 495: CAPSTONE IN HUMAN BIOLOGY: SPRING 2016

Instructors:
Dr. Renate Snider
Office: 22 Natural Science
E-mail: sniderr@msu.edu
Office hours: by appointment
Amy Michael: TA for section 001
E-mail: michae76@msu.edu
Office hours: by appointment
Josh Burbank: TA for section 002
E-mail: burbankj@msu.edu
Office hours: by appointment
Shannon Niceley: TA for section 003
E-mail: niceleys@msu.edu
Office hours: by appointment
Course objective: The main objectives are to give you an understanding of the principles and specifics
of research in the health sciences and the conventions of formal scientific writing. You will be asked to
write three review papers, in which you will discuss published scientific research. The TOPICS of your
papers are chosen by YOU.
Expectations:
Outline for Review 1: The main purpose of an outline is to organize your thoughts and place the facts
and ideas you want to discuss in logical order, keeping in mind what an interested and educated
audience might expect.
Review 1: Four pages minimum, based on at least three primary publications, about any topic that
inspires you. Include printouts of the primary papers you discussed in your text. Keep your instructorannotated copy of Review 1! It will be one of the components of your final portfolio.
Review 2: Six pages minimum, incorporating at least five primary publications, about a topic that differs
from that of Review 1. Again, printouts of the primary publications discussed in your text must be
submitted together with your Review 2. Keep your instructor-annotated copy of Review 2! It will be one
of the components of your final portfolio.
Review 3: Eight pages minimum, based on at least eight primary publications, about yet another topic of
your choice. The final Review should be presented in a Final Portfolio that contains: Reviews 1 and 2
with instructors annotations (do not include the primaries used for Reviews 1 and 2); Review 3; and
printouts of the primary publications you discussed in Review 3.
Presentation: In the second half of the semester, you will give a Powerpoint presentation to the class,
either about one of the topics you wrote about, or about something new that you find interesting. Use
visuals wisely. Tell a good, in-depth story!
Penalties for late submission of assignments: per day, 10% of points that can be earned.

REQUIRED FORMAT OF REVIEWS:

double-spaced text; exception: References page (single-space within each reference);
1- inch margins (check the default setting on your Word program! It is probably 1.25 inches);
Times New Roman font;
font size no more than 12 point;
pages numbered!
Grading:
Straight stick: 90-100% = 4.0; 85-89.9% = 3.5; 80-84.9% = 3.0; 75-79.9% = 2.5; 70-74.9% = 2.0;
65-69.9% = 1.5; 60-64.9% = 1.0
Outline for Review 1: 10 points
Review 1: 20 points
Review 2: 40 points
Review 3 (final portfolio): 60 points
Presentation: 30 points
Total points possible: 160
NOTE: Attendance during presentations (starting March 1) is mandatory (attendance sheet!);
5 points penalty for each class session missed without a good reason. If attendance signatures are forged,
both the forger and the forgee will get 10 points off per occurrence (this penalty represents a mild
interpretation of Student Regulation # 5.01). In addition, an Academic Dishonesty report form will be
filed with the Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education, as required by MSUs Integrity of
Scholarship and Grades policy.
Tentative schedule of events and deadlines.
Week 1
Jan 12, 14

Introduction to the course. Discussion of the syllabus and explanation

of what is expected of you: writing assignments, Powerpoint
presentations, and class attendance.
Examples of topics of review papers.
How to construct the sections of a review paper.

Week 2
Jan 19, 21

Why and how to OUTLINE a review paper.

Distinction between primary and secondary literature sources.
Jan 21: Guest lecturer (Dr. Susan Kendall), MSU Library Resources:
How to use databases and find primary and secondary publications.

Week 3
Jan 26, 28

[Distribute examples of short text portions for discussion on Jan 28;

READ them prior to Jan 28 and form an opinion about their quality!]
Examples of primary and secondary publications about a selected topic.
How to read and use them.
Jan 28: discuss the text examples distributed Jan 21.

Week 4
Feb 2, 4

Feb 2: Citation (references) formats required for reviews.

How to critique scientific writing.
[Distribute four complete manuscripts (bonus papers), which you
may critique for up to 8 bonus points (2 points per paper). Half a page
(single-spaced) of critique per manuscript; bring printouts of your
critiques to class on Feb 18].
Feb 4: deadline for Outline of Review1: Bring it to class.
Feb 4: Plagiarism: how it is defined, and how to avoid it.

Week 5
Feb 9, 11
Week 6
Feb 16, 18

Feb 9 and 11: Some principles and details of good scientific writing.
Feb 16: Powerpoint presentations: what to do and what not to do (a
Powerpoint presentation by Shannon Niceley).
Feb 18: Deadline for Review 1: Bring it to class. Remember to
include full printouts of the primary articles you discussed in your
text.
Feb 18: Deadline for bonus critiques of the texts distributed Feb 2
(bring your critiques [printed!] to class).
More about good writing.
Discussion of the bonus papers.

Week 7
Feb 23, 25

Feb 23: Finish discussion of bonus papers.

Feb 25: NO CLASS! Work on your presentations or start reading and
writing for Review 2!

Week 8
Mar 1, 3
Week 9
Mar 8, 10
Week 10
Mar 15, 17
Week 11
Mar 22, 24
Week 12
Mar 29, 31
Week 13
Apr 5, 7
Week 14
Apr 12, 14
Week 15
Apr 19, 21
Week 16
Apr 26, 28

Presentations begin March 1

SPRING BREAK!
Presentations
March 17: Deadline for Review 2. Bring it to class. Remember to
include full printouts of the primary articles
Presentations
.
Presentations
Presentations
Presentations
April 19: Presentations
April 21: Deadline for Review 3 (Final Portfolio): bring it to class.
NSC 495 DOES NOT MEET THIS WEEK!

Week 17
GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR FINALS!
EXAMPLES of topics you may want to read, think, and write about:
Environmental issues, as long as you relate them clearly to human health concerns
Tourette syndrome
Tay-Sachs disease
Parasitic diseases (lots of good stuff, from swimmers itch to malaria)
Depression, panic disorder, schizophrenia, other mental disorders
Autoimmune diseases
Rheumatoid arthritis
Cancer (choose a specific type!)
Gingivitis, other oral health issues
Cochlear implants
Infertility, abortion, menopause, hormonal treatments
Vascular and heart diseases
Acute childhood leukemia
Bodybuilding and steroid supplementation
Common sports injuries
Temporomandibular joint ankylosis
Acupuncture
Alternative medicine
Myasthenia gravis
Umbilical cord blood and stem cell transplants
Marijuana, heroin, cocaine
Ebola/Marburg hemorrhagic fever
Glaucoma, other diseases of the eye
High Altitude Pulmonary Edema
Autism, diabetes, obesity, Alzheimers, Parkinsons,....... alcohol hangovers,........
AVOID philosophical, or purely historical accounts (such as Ancient Greek Medicine or Principles of
Ayurvedic Medicine), or theological discussions (such as The Origin of Life as evidenced by the
Bible).
Choosing a topic is very important if you want to produce a good review. Your topic should be:
1. Interesting to you.
2. Not too broad (you are not writing a book on ALL aspects of the topic).
3. Not too narrow (may make it difficult to find enough recent research on the topic).
4. Within your level of knowledge, i.e., you should be reasonably comfortable with it (if you cannot
understand it, you will have trouble writing about it intelligently and making the reader understand it).