To apply concepts from this class to “the real world”, as described in a journal article.
BIO 251 Article Review Assignment
Assignment instructions: Review and evaluate an article from the primary literature on a topic relevant to the course
Purpose: To apply concepts from this class to “the real world”, as described
in a journal article.
Due Date: TBA. Directions for length, format, etc are described later in this document.
Rubric: Please see the rubric on how this assignment will be graded (separate document). There are six main criteria used to grade your assignment (described in more detail on the rubric itself):
Style (How organized is your paper?)
Amount of Information (How well summarized is the article?)
Quality of Information /Accuracy of Facts (Is the article on a subject relevant to class? Is your paper supported by accurate facts? Have you plugged this paper’s topic into a bigger picture?)
Source (Is the source for the article you’re reviewing an appropriate one? Is it recent?)
Citation (Is your paper in proper APA format)
Grammar/Spelling (Are there any spelling/grammatical errors?)
What you do:
· Select a research article. A few journals are listed as suggestions (listed below). You don’t have to just used these journals however. Nursing journals are acceptable. If you are unsure whether or not an article is acceptable, show it to your instructor for confirmation. Some hints about finding an article are given below. Pick an article that is not being used by another student, to the best of your knowledge.
· Read and understand the article.
· Write a 3 to 4 page (double-spaced) review and evaluation of the article, explaining
o the background and reasons for the research
o the research question (if there is one)
o additional observations, suggestions for further research, possible implications, and so on.
· The paper must properly cite the article and any others you used for background.
· The paper must have a bibliography that lists the main article and any others cited in
your review
How to search for an article: Please see, under Course Documents, “HO BIO 251 Peer Reviewed Journals and Articles.” This will walk you through the process of doing a CINAHL search for a peer reviewed journal, using the Hondros Online Library. Note that a Google search will not generate the right kind of results, and will likely end up wasting your time.
The date of the article: Please use an article published within the last 5 years (2008 or later).
Wikipedia and other online sources: Wikipedia is useful for background information
and orienting yourself, getting ideas, and finding other sources, but it and similar sites are
not acceptable sources themselves, because you cannot be confident that the information
in them is correct (it is not a peer-reviewed journal, so anyone can edit information). If you find a useful fact on Wikipedia, track down a reliable source
that confirms it, and cite that source. Never cite Wikipedia or similar websites.
Format or style: The paper must be in standard APA format. The article must
be correctly cited in your paper, as must any additional sources of
information that you use. There must also be a “Literature Cited” page, and all of the sources on this page must appear in your paper.
Student: Score: / 300
| Category | 60 | 45 | 30 | 0 |
| Amount of Information | Article is properly summarized- at least 3 whole pages. | Article is summarized, 2 to not quite 3 pages. | Article is summarized, 1 to not quite 2 pages. | Summary is only 1 page. |
| Quality of Information/
Accuracy of Facts |
1) The paper explains in detail how this article relates back to a lecture topic.
2) Article summary is accurate and includes supporting details and/or examples from lecture material. 3) The bigger picture question “why does this matter?” has been addressed. |
One of the criteria is missing. | Two of the criteria are missing. | None of the “quality” criteria have been met. |
| Source (topic per course outline) | 1) The article was published within the last 5 years from a peer reviewed journal.
2) The article is from a peer-reviewed journal and is a primary research article. 3) The article is included with the review. |
One of the criteria is missing. | Two of the criteria are missing. | None of the ‘source’ criteria have been met. |
| Citation | 1) Sources were accurately cited in the reference page in APA format.
2) In-text citations are included in the paper. 3) No evidence of unintentional plagiarism. |
One of the criteria is missing. | Two of the criteria are missing. | Sources were not cited, there are no in-text citations, and/or there is evidence of plagiarism. |
| Grammar/ spelling | There are none or minimal errors in grammar or spelling. | There are a few grammar or spelling errors (up to 3). | There are several grammar or spelling errors (4 to 7). | There are numerous grammar or spelling errors (8 or more). |