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Away from home: Hard work knows no boundaries

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Scientific presentations: A cheat sheet : Naturejobs Blog

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This interactive visual tool lets you see how accessible your color palettes are to viewers who are colorblind.

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5 Classic Presentation Fonts | The Presentation Designer

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Here are 5 professional-looking classic presentation fonts that will sharpen up your typography in PowerPoint and Apple Keynote.

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2023 Week 6: Presentation skills workshop

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2023 Week 6: Presentation skills workshop

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2023 Week 5: How to make an academic poster

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2023 Week 5: How to make an academic poster

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If you cannot identify a key focus or central question, then you don't yet understand what you're trying to write about it. Take a step back and figure that out before moving to the next step.

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2023 Week 3: Plagiarism & Citing Correctly 

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2023 Week 3: Plagiarism & Citing Correctly 

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As a Curtin student you are part of an academic community and you are asked to uphold the University's Code of Conduct, principles of academic integrity, and Curtin's five core values of integrity, respect, courage, excellence and impact during your studies.

Learn about Curtin's Academic Integrity Program

Curtin recognises that students who are unfamiliar with the conventions of academic writing can sometimes unintentionally plagiarise or collude on assessments. This may happen if you inadequately acknowledge resources or collaborate with other students when an assessment should be done individually.

An academic integrity warning is used to assign you an educative action in these situations so you can learn from your mistakes. More serious academic breaches such as cheating are managed as misconduct.

Academic misconduct refers to conduct by a student that is dishonest or unfair in connection with any academic work.

Academic work means

1. During any exam, test or other supervised assessment activity;

2. In relation to the preparation or presentation of any assessed item or work; and/or

3. In relation to the conduct of research or any other similar academic activity.

Allegations of misconduct are managed in accordance with Statute 10: Student Discipline. The student conduct guide [.pdf 1.46MB] helps explain the process if you receive an allegation of misconduct.

You can confidentially report academic dishonesty through the Dixon Webform.

Poor academic practice is academic misconduct that is not dishonest and the advantage gained is only moderate. Examples of poor academic practice are inadequate paraphrasing or incorrect referencing.

This type of misconduct has more severe penalties than an academic integrity warning (educative action only) but has less severe penalties than plagiarism.

Presenting the work or property of another as your own without appropriate acknowledgement or referencing.

Copying of sentences, paragraphs or creative products (in whole or in part) which are the work of another without due acknowledgment. Creative products include Gen-AI output, webpages, books, articles, theses, unpublished works, working papers, seminar and conference papers, internal reports, lecture notes or recordings, computer files, images or video

Too closely paraphrasing sentences, paragraphs or themes without due acknowledgment

Using another's work (including words, Gen-AI output, music, creative or visual artefacts, computer source code, designs, problem solutions or ideas)

In the case of collaborative group projects, falsely representing the individual contributions of the collaborating partners

Submitting work which has been produced by another - including friends, family, Gen-AI, or a paid contracting service (This is known as contract cheating, assessment outsourcing or ghost writing.)

Submitting one's own previously assessed or published work for assessment or publication elsewhere, without appropriate acknowledgement (self-plagiarism)

Using language translation, Gen-AI, or paraphrasing services (either online or contracted) to disguise original source text (cross-lingual or back translation plagiarism, and spinning)

Acting dishonestly or unfairly in order to gain an advantage. Examples include:

Cheating in an exam, test or supervised assessment activity.

Considered Academic Misconduct:

Being in possession of unauthorised materials

Having a mobile phone or other electronic device in an examination or testing environment

Copying answers from another person or permitting another student to copy answers

Exchanging notes, talking or communicating with another student in an examination or test

Improperly obtaining prior knowledge of an examination or test paper and using that knowledge in the examination or test or providing that information to a student(s) who are yet to undertake the examination or test

Using assignment help websites or Gen-AI software to answer an exam question

Considered General Misconduct:

Removing an examination paper from an examination room when it is specified that the paper is not to be retained by the student; storing or sharing an examination paper that was illegally obtained

Disrupting an examination or assessment activity in any way

Impersonating a student in an examination or arranging for another to impersonate, take or complete the assessment on your behalf.

Cheating in an assessment or other assessable work:

Submitting written or creative work which has been drafted or produced by another - including friends, family, Gen-AI, or a paid contracting service (this is known as contract cheating, assessment outsourcing or ghost writing) and claiming authorship for it. This includes:

Allowing someone or an organisation to draft or complete an assessment task on your behalf

Contracting another person to do the work for you

Purchasing work from another source

Allowing or contracting another to edit and substantially change your work

Unapproved, inappropriate, or undisclosed use of Gen-AI software

Where students act together in relation to the preparation or presentation of any assessed item of work in a manner that is dishonest or unfair. Examples include:

Working with another person (colluding) when the assessment should be completed individually;

In the case of collaborative group projects, falsely representing the individual contributions of the collaborating group members.

Misrepresenting data within an assessment or within research. Examples include:

Fabrication is making up results and reporting them

Falsification is altering results so that the research is not accurately represented
This includes submitting inaccurate or unsubstantiated quotes, references, or other information from the output of Gen-AI software as part of an assessment.

Academic dishonesty that does not fall into the other misconduct categories.

Falsifying medical certificates for assessment extension.

The AIP is an online program that will help you better understand academic integrity at Curtin. It's compulsory for all students beginning a new course. Learn more about the AIP.

It is important to learn the appropriate referencing style used within your course.

Referencing provides readers with information to determine where you have taken your ideas from, how widely you have read about the topic, and to decide how well you have understood the material and incorporated ideas into your own understanding. The Curtin library has a wide range of resources and workshops available to support you with writing, referencing, and other study skills.

EndNote is free software for students that can help you manage your references, automatically insert citations into your work, and generate a reference list.

See these resources for more detailed definitions of plagiarism, examples, and guidelines on how to avoid it:

Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen-AI) technology like Chat GPT, Bard, Midjourney, and GitHub Copilot is software focused on creating new content such as text, images, code or audio. This technology is rapidly improving and becoming available for mainstream use.

Curtin supports the philosophy of teaching students to appropriately use Gen-AI software in an ethical and responsible way to prepare them for future professional working environments. Visit the library website on Gen-AI for more information.
General information:

Gen-AI technologies can assist with some approved activities, but it should never replace your ability to think and critically analyse information.

Gen-AI systems contain bias

Training data (that teaches the system) often lacks diversity so the output replicates those biases.

It is unclear how Gen-AI systems produce outputs so transparency and accountability for the 'thinking' process is lacking.

Using Gen-AI software within assessment tasks:

Check your assessment instructions carefully before using any Gen-AI software.

You are not permitted to use Gen-AI software in any assessment task unless written permission is explicitly granted by the Unit Coordinator (e.g. within Blackboard or the assessment specifications).

If the use of Gen-AI software has been approved, you must:

1. Document its use
Screenshot/save all work such as prompts used, answers produced, how you edited the output, purpose of using it, etc.

2. Verify the accuracy of all output you use
Some Gen-AI software makes up information. If you submit that false output as part of your assessment task, it may be considered falsification or fabrication, which is considered misconduct.

3. Apply appropriate acknowledgement and attribution rules. This means:

Use in-text citations
Where you have quoted or paraphrased Gen-AI text, you must include an in-text reference acknowledging the tool you have used.

Include a declaration of use
A declaration must be included in your assignment after your reference list. It should detail which tools you have used to generate content in the process of completing your assignment and how they have been employed. The declaration must include the prompts you have used to generate information.

For specific details on how to cite and declare your use of Gen-AI outputs, follow the advice for the referencing style used within your faculty:

Unapproved, inappropriate, or undisclosed use may be dishonest or unfair behaviour, and therefore considered misconduct.

Gen-AI detectors are available and improving so your submissions may be checked for undisclosed use (even retrospectively).
This means that you must be transparent and honest about your use of Gen-AI software within your assessments to avoid misconduct.

The takeaway point: when submitting any assessment, the final product must be your own work, not just output copied from Gen-AI software.

Copyright is a legal concept which gives the creator of intellectual property a set of specific rights associated with their works. This means that you usually need their permission to copy, publish, communicate, adapt or publicly perform their works.

Also note that if you are using Gen-AI software, you are not permitted to upload work that does not belong to you. This includes, lecture slides, assessment questions, and tutorial content in which Curtin owns the copyright.

The library has created an information sheet [.pdf 189kB] for students. For more detailed definitions of copyright, examples, and guidelines on how to adhere to it see Curtin's copyright website.

Curtin subscribes to an electronic text matching service called Turnitin, which compares text in submitted students' work with text from a database of sources. The database contains copies of text from websites, in published works, in commercial databases and in assignments previously submitted to Turnitin by students from Curtin and other universities all over the world, including assignments from websites that sell student papers. Turitin also detects content written by Gen-AI software therefore you must be transparent about your use of these tools as part of any assessment task.

Academic integrity cartoons

Conversations

Managing your time Preparing for exams Note making for assignments Referencing Avoiding academic integrity breaches

1. Study the academic integrity guide for students booklet.

2. Read your unit outline carefully or clarify with your unit coordinator whether you need to work individually or if you can work with someone else on an assessment.

3. Don't use the copy and paste function.

4. When taking notes: first read an important passage, close your book or webpage, write down your understanding of what you have read in your own words, then go back and check to make sure you have understood the information correctly. Put the citation next to your notes.

5. Make sure you keep track of all resources used as you go, and use reference management software such as Endnote to help keep track of them as you write.

6. Don't contract cheat, user Gen-AI software when not allowed, or use so called 'assignment help' websites like Chegg.com.

7. Always acknowledge the ideas and words of others who influenced your thinking.

8. If you have worked with someone else on an assessment - give them credit.

9. Don't forget to reference images and diagrams.

10. Use the plagiarism checklist before submitting your assessment.

Academic integrity comics

Policies, rules and resources

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Academic integrity at its core is about honesty and responsibility and is fundamental to Curtin's expectations of you. This means that all of your work ...

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Students, academics, authors, and researchers generally have to do a lot of online research. With so many different databases, online journals, and websites, it can be overwhelming to manage and organize so many references-especially if you're doing it manually.

Did you know that there are programs that can actually manage and keep track of your references for you? If not, then you are in for a treat!

Many reference management software programs make the process of managing your references nearly effortless. Here are the top 6, as determined by Scribendi's research.

Up Close: The 6 Best Reference Management Software Programs

Managing your references online doesn't have to be hard, e specially when citation programs exist that let you easily organize and cite your references.
Reference managers take the effort out of storing references, categorizing them, and including the right ones in your work.
Without reference managers, it's too easy to lose an important source, or worse, cite it incorrectly.

Below, we're expanding on the top reference management software programs out there, including:

If you're in a technical or scientific field, is an excellent option for you. This reference management software allows users to generate citations and bibliographies in Microsoft Word, LibreOffice, and LaTeX.

Mendeley is great for collaborative work because it allows you to connect with colleagues and share your papers, notes, and annotations. It can be used on your computer via the web or through your iPhone or iPad, which makes it easy to do your work wherever you go.

Mendeley Review

Mendeley is especially useful for gathering data from PDFs you find in your research process. It automatically extracts metadata and adds it to your library entry. The software also has a built-in PDF viewer for easy reading.

With both free and paid options, Mendeley is one of the best reference managers and is easily accessible across all devices. For easy organization, it gives you the option of categorizing sources as recently read or recently added.

As an additional way to keep all of your notes from sources on a single platform, Mendeley has its own proprietary system for annotating PDFs. This means you don't need to leave the platform to take notes as you go!

Endnote versus Mendeley

If you're like most researchers and authors, you might be considering Endnote versus Mendeley. If so, here are a few things that might sway your decision.

Mendeley offers the bulk of its platform features for free. It gives you the option to sync your references on all of your devices, and it makes reference categorization simple.

EndNote, on the other hand, is a pricier Mendeley alternative. The majority of its features can only be accessed with a paid subscription. However, EndNote is more of a complete tool, with a heavy focus on academic journals. You can search databases, such as PubMed, right inside the tool, and it makes citation formatting a breeze with its Cite While You Write integration.

Both platforms have great features; the choice just depends on how much you're able to spend per month and your specific discipline.

helps researchers manage every aspect of academic writing, including research, reference management, collaborative writing, annotating, editing, and publishing. It brings together all of the most requested services for creating a research paper from start to finish.

Besides free core features, such as a knowledge library of almost 25 million sources, a reference manager, LaTeX and rich text editors, and a collaborative PDF viewer, Flowcite offers a number of top-notch services for editing and proofreading (by !), similarity checking, and publishing from leading service providers.

Get Academic Proofreading by Scribendi to get your work ready for journal publication.

Flowcite Review

Like other reference management tools, Flowcite has free and paid options. Their free option gives you 3 GB of storage and collaboration features for up to three people. However, at $9 a month, Flowcite's paid subscription isn't too steep.

With their paid option, you can enjoy the following features:

A PDF viewer in which you can collaborate with colleagues on annotations

The ability to access free journal articles within the platform

Up to 30 GB of storage for important references

Collaboration features for up to 10 people

The ability to purchase or rent e-books from Flowcite's online bookstore

A browser extension for saving references on the go

If you're searching for an all-in-one platform to help you not only research your paper but also write, format, and spell-check it, Flowcite is your best bet.

is an exceptional reference management software program. Although it is not free, many colleges and universities have subscriptions to RefWorks, which means that you may already have it available to you through your school. Score!

RefWorks is great because it allows users to generate and format bibliographies and manuscripts in hundreds of output styles, including some of the most common (e.g., , , or ). It also allows users to manage more than just bibliographical data, which is why it's great for academics and researchers alike.

Refworks Review

RefWorks is an ideal reference manager for students and undergraduates, given that most universities subscribe to it.

With RefWorks, you can create bibliographies in multiple formats, and it has a simple user interface, which can be either a benefit or a disadvantage, depending on the complexity of your research needs.

It also has helpful features, such as reference organization, a built-in PDF reader, and the ability to sync your data to Dropbox so you can access it offline.

Mendeley versus Refworks

Both RefWorks and Mendeley have great options for saving and organizing your references, but choosing between them will depend on your specific needs and situation.

Mendeley is a more user-friendly and stable platform. Many enjoy the tool's robust collaboration features and the ability to view full-text PDFs from within it, making it a top contender in the reference and bibliography software space.

If your university uses RefWorks, they most likely have a subscription that allows you to cite sources, record data from articles or books, and share your database with multiple people at no cost.

is both free and open source, which means that you don't have to pay for it and that its design is publicly accessible. Zotero is a great choice for a reference manager, especially for students, because it runs as both a web service and an offline service on your personal device (laptop, iPad, cell phone, etc.).

Zotero not only stores and formats your bibliographic information but also allows you to organize, tag, and search this information. It automatically and seamlessly extracts information from books, journal articles, and other online sources, making the process of creating a reference list effortless.

Zotero Review

Zotero is an open-source reference manager with free and paid options that allow you to save web-based sources. With its browser extension (Connector), you can easily save and organize the sources you find while researching.

As one of the more popular reference managers, Zotero offers up to 300 MB of free file storage and has a clean and minimal interface for reference organization. Its Microsoft Word plug-in allows for easy citation formatting, and its annotation feature gives you the option to add notes to your research from within the platform.

Zotero versus Mendeley

When considering Zotero versus Mendeley, it's easy to see that both reference managers give you the ability to organize your references effectively.

One benefit of Mendeley is that it offers more free cloud storage than other platforms-up to 2 GB. This gives you space for about 700-800 articles. If you plan to collect a lot of references, this might be the better option.

However, Zotero is known to be better for non-journal articles and for having a dedicated user community for support, given that it is an open-source project.

Both platforms allow you to save citations while you browse and have free plug-ins for Word and LibreOffice for creating in-text citations, footnotes, and bibliographies.

is great if you're collaborating on a research paper. It lets you share sources with up to 14 colleagues anywhere in the world, so it's definitely the top choice for collaborations.

One of the highlights of this reference manager is that it includes reference types such as interviews, podcasts, conference papers, and press releases. It also lets you add citations to Microsoft PowerPoint slides, which is especially helpful if you're creating a presentation with a group.

EndNote has a huge catalog of format options with over 6,000 reference styles, so regardless of your discipline, you're bound to find one that fits your needs. Although EndNote isn't free, it is certainly high quality.

EndNote Review

EndNote has a reputation for being one of the most complete reference manager software packages in the industry. It's been around a lot longer than most other similar tools and contains robust features for researchers and students in its paid version ($299, one-time purchase).

Within EndNote, you can create rules that let you organize your references and effectively format citations in multiple areas within your text using its Cite While You Write integration.

The latest version of EndNote also makes collaboration easier, offering support for up to 200 users to share references. Additionally, EndNote has a search function that makes it easy to search databases, such as PubMed, without leaving the platform.

Endnote versus Zotero

Depending on the kind of citation manager software you need, both EndNote and Zotero offer helpful features for researchers and students.

While Zotero offers more features for free and has one of the best support communities, EndNote is a pricier but more robust option. However, both tools are effective at helping you to organize and categorize your references.

Both tools allow you to download references easily from a PubMed search, find and remove duplicate citations, and insert citations that are automatically formatted to your style preference into your text.

Additionally, Zotero seems to be a better fit for non-journal articles, while EndNote is often the best choice for STEM disciplines.

6. Citationsy

Citationsy is a great choice because it's so adaptable. You can access it as a page within your browser or download it as a Chrome extension or mobile app, which means that you can access your library from any device with an internet connection.

Like the other reference managers, it automatically extracts citation details so that you don't have to type them in yourself. You can even use its mobile app to cite your books by scanning their barcodes.

Citationsy Review

With its intuitive and easy-to-use user interface, Citationsy is a welcoming reference manager for students and professionals alike.

It boasts 300,000+ users and has features that help you add bibliographic references from your phone and scan physical books to save as future references. Currently, Citationsy supports over 8,000 citation formats, and references can be exported in BibTeX/LaTeX format.

In terms of price, Citationsy has a free 3-day trial with a $4.99/month subscription for students and a $9.99/month subscription for non-students.

The one thing to keep in mind with Citationsy is that some of its features are more limited in comparison with EndNote and Mendeley, so be sure it has exactly what you're looking for!

Conclusion

Do you see the common trend with these reference management software programs? They make creating a bibliography easy! Be sure to take advantage of the features offered by these programs to make your research just a little bit easier.

If you would rather have an expert editor format your references correctly according to any style guide, check out Scribendi's fast, affordable, and professional academic proofreading services .

1-Page Guide to Reference Management Software

What Is a Reference Manager?

A reference manager, also called a citation manager, is a tool that makes it easy to collect and organize references during the research process. It allows you to store references from your browser so you do not overlook any references you've used. Many reference managers have plug-ins that make it easy to cite sources within your paper, usually with a single click.

Which Is the Best Citation Manager?

The best citation manager will depend on your needs as a student, researcher, or author. You'll need to ask: Do I want a paid or a free option? How much storage do I need?

If you're looking for free options with the flexibility to be used from anywhere, try experimenting with EndNote Basic, Zotero, or Mendeley. However, if your university pays for your citation manager, RefWorks might be a better fit.

In terms of storage, Mendeley wins the race for large free storage options, but you may want to experiment with a few different tools to see what works for you.

How Long Does a Mendeley Data Review Take?

Each shared dataset in Mendeley Data can take 1-2 business days to approve from the time of submission to be sure it complies with Mendeley's dataset requirements. You should receive an email informing you whether your dataset has been accepted.

To ensure dataset acceptance, double-check that your datasets are scientific in nature, have not already been published, and do not contain sensitive or copyrighted content.

About the Author

Scribendi's in-house editors work with writers from all over the globe to perfect their writing. They know that no piece of writing is complete without a professional edit, and they love to see a good piece of writing turn into a great one after the editing process. Scribendi's in-house editors are unrivaled in both experience and education, having collectively edited millions of words and obtained nearly 20 degrees collectively. They love consuming caffeinated beverages, reading books of various genres, and relaxing in quiet, dimly lit spaces.

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Speedy Citations: 6 Reference Management Software Solutions for Your Research | Scribendi

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Here is Scribendi's review of reference management software to help you collect, organize, and cite your sources. Learn more tips at Scribendi.com.

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How to Read Scientific Papers feedback form

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How to Read Scientific Papers feedback form

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This feedback form is for the Introduction and Planning session. We would appreciate you filling this out so we can find ways to improve our workshops for you!

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2023 Week 2: How to Read Scientific Papers

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2023 Week 2: How to Read Scientific Papers

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2023 Week 2: Reading Scientific Paper Practical

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2023 Week 2: Reading Scientific Paper Practical

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Paper 1 (conservation & ecology): COVID-19 lockdown improved the health of coastal environment and enhanced the population of reef-fish

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Paper 1 (conservation & ecology): COVID-19 lockdown improved the health of coastal environment and enhanced the population of reef-fish

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112124.

Affiliations

¹ Suganthi Devadason Marine Research Institute, Tuticorin, India. Electronic address: edwardjkpatterson@sdmri.in.

² Department of Environment, Government of Tamil Nadu, Saidapet, Chennai, India.

³ State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority-TN, Saidapet, Chennai, India.

⁴ Suganthi Devadason Marine Research Institute, Tuticorin, India.

⁵ Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park, Ramanathapuram, India.

⁶ UN Environment, PO Box 67578, Nairobi, Kenya.

Free PMC article

J K Patterson Edward et al. Mar Pollut Bull.

Free PMC article

doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112124.

Affiliations

¹ Suganthi Devadason Marine Research Institute, Tuticorin, India. Electronic address: edwardjkpatterson@sdmri.in.

² Department of Environment, Government of Tamil Nadu, Saidapet, Chennai, India.

³ State Environmental Impact Assessment Authority-TN, Saidapet, Chennai, India.

⁴ Suganthi Devadason Marine Research Institute, Tuticorin, India.

⁵ Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park, Ramanathapuram, India.

⁶ UN Environment, PO Box 67578, Nairobi, Kenya.

Abstract

Reduction in the impact of human-induced factors is capable of enhancing the environmental health. In view of COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns were imposed in India. Travel, fishing, tourism and religious activities were halted, while domestic and industrial activities were restricted. Comparison of the pre- and post-lockdown data shows that water parameters such as turbidity, nutrient concentration and microbial levels have come down from pre- to post-lockdown period, and parameters such as dissolved oxygen levels, phytoplankton and fish densities have improved. The concentration of macroplastics has also dropped from the range of 138 ± 4.12 and 616 ± 12.48 items/100 m ² to 63 ± 3.92 and 347 ± 8.06 items/100 m ². Fish density in the reef areas has increased from 406 no. 250 m⁻² to 510 no. 250 m⁻². The study allows an insight into the benefits of effective enforcement of various eco-protection regulations and proper management of the marine ecosystems to revive their health for biodiversity conservation and sustainable utilization.

Keywords: COVID-19; Environmental health; Gulf of Mannar; Lockdown; Plastic pollution; Reef fish.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

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References

Alkalay R., Pasternak G., Zask A. Clean-coast index-a new approach for beach cleanliness assessment. Ocean Coast. Manag. 2007;50:352-362.

American Public Health Association (APHA) 16th edn. 1995. American Water Works Association (AWWA), Water Pollution Control Federation (1995) Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Waste Water; p. 1268. (Washington, DC)

Anand D.J.B., Kala S.M.J. Seasonal distribution of heavy metals in the coastal waters and sediments along the major zones of South East Coast of India. Int. Res. J. Environ. Sci. 2015;4(2):22-31.

Aneja K.R. New Age International; 2003. Experiments in Microbiology, Plant Pathology and Biotechnology; pp. 1-604.

Ankita M., Prosenjit P., Sufia Z., Abhijit M. Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on the Ichthyoplankton community in and around Haldia Port-cum-Industrial complex. NUJS J. Regul. Stud. 2020:57-61. Special Edition.

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national center for biotechnology information

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COVID-19 lockdown improved the health of coastal environment and enhanced the population of reef-fish - PubMed

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Reduction in the impact of human-induced factors is capable of enhancing the environmental health. In view of COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns were imposed in India. Travel, fishing, tourism and religious activities were halted, while domestic and industrial activities were restricted. Comparison of the ...

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Paper 2 (Education & Literature): Transforming narratives into educational tools: the collaborative development of a transformative learning tool based on Nicaraguan adolescents’ creative writing about intimate partner violence

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Paper 2 (Education & Literature): Transforming narratives into educational tools: the collaborative development of a transformative learning tool based on Nicaraguan adolescents’ creative writing about intimate partner violence

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

doi: 10.1177/1757975916679553.

Affiliations

¹ 1 Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, USA.

² 2 Grupo Venancia, Matagalpa, Nicaragua.

³ 3 Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, USA.

doi: 10.1177/1757975916679553.

Affiliations

¹ 1 Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, USA.

² 2 Grupo Venancia, Matagalpa, Nicaragua.

³ 3 Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, USA.

Abstract

The use of narrative has become increasingly popular in the public health, community development, and education fields. Via emotionally engaging plotlines with authentic, captivating characters, stories provide an opportunity for participants to be carried away imaginatively into the characters' world while connecting the story with their own lived experiences. Stories have been highlighted as valuable tools in transformative learning. However, little published literature exists demonstrating applications of stories in group-based transformative learning curricula. This paper describes the creation of a narrative-based transformative learning tool based on an analysis of Nicaraguan adolescents' meaning-making around intimate partner violence (IPV) in their creative narratives. In collaboration with a Nicaraguan organization, US researchers analyzed a sample of narratives ( n = 55; 16 male-authored, 39 female-authored) on IPV submitted to a 2014 scriptwriting competition by adolescents aged 15-19. The data were particularly timely in that they responded to a new law protecting victims of gender-based violence, Law 779, and contradicted social-conservative claims that the Law 779 destroys family unity. We incorporated results from this analysis into the creation of the transformative learning tool, separated into thematic sections. The tool's sections (which comprise one story and three corresponding activities) aim to facilitate critical reflection, interpersonal dialogue, and self- and collective efficacy for social action around the following themes derived from the analysis: IPV and social support; IPV and romantic love; masculinity; warning signs of IPV; and sexual abuse. As a collaboration between a public health research team based at a US university and a Nicaraguan community-based organization, it demonstrates the potential in the age of increasingly smooth electronic communication for novel community-university partnerships to facilitate the development of narrative-based tools to support transformative learning.

Keywords: Latin America; adolescents & youth; community-based/participatory research; education; qualitative; violence prevention.

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Unlocking stories: Older women's experiences of intimate partner violence told through creative expression.

McGarry J, Bowden D. McGarry J, et al. J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs. 2017 Oct;24(8):629-637. doi: 10.1111/jpm.12411. Epub 2017 Aug 24. J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs. 2017. PMID: 28681485

Norms of Masculinity and the Cultural Narrative of Intimate Partner Violence Among Men in Vietnam.

James-Hawkins L, Salazar K, Hennink MM, Ha VS, Yount KM. James-Hawkins L, et al. J Interpers Violence. 2019 Nov;34(21-22):4421-4442. doi: 10.1177/0886260516674941. Epub 2016 Oct 25. J Interpers Violence. 2019. PMID: 29294621

Lights4Violence: a quasi-experimental educational intervention in six European countries to promote positive relationships among adolescents.

Vives-Cases C, Davo-Blanes MC, Ferrer-Cascales R, Sanz-Barbero B, Albaladejo-Blázquez N, Sánchez-San Segundo M, Lillo-Crespo M, Bowes N, Neves S, Mocanu V, Carausu EM, Pyżalski J, Forjaz MJ, Chmura-Rutkowska I, Vieira CP, Corradi C. Vives-Cases C, et al. BMC Public Health. 2019 Apr 8;19(1):389. doi: 10.1186/s12889-019-6726-0. BMC Public Health. 2019. PMID: 30961558 Free PMC article.

Discourse After a Batterer Intervention Program: A Qualitative Analysis of "Letters From the Future".

Kilgore CD, Lehmann P, Voth Schrag R. Kilgore CD, et al. Violence Against Women. 2019 Apr;25(5):593-613. doi: 10.1177/1077801218794296. Epub 2018 Aug 21. Violence Against Women. 2019. PMID: 30129385 Review.

College Campus Community Readiness to Address Intimate Partner Violence Among LGBTQ+ Young Adults: A Conceptual and Empirical Examination.

Edwards KM, Littleton HL, Sylaska KM, Crossman AL, Craig M. Edwards KM, et al. Am J Community Psychol. 2016 Sep;58(1-2):16-26. doi: 10.1002/ajcp.12068. Epub 2016 Jul 21. Am J Community Psychol. 2016. PMID: 27439891 Review.

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intimate partner violence / prevention & control*

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national center for biotechnology information

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Transforming narratives into educational tools: the collaborative development of a transformative learning tool based on Nicaraguan adolescents' creative writing about intimate partner violence - PubMed

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The use of narrative has become increasingly popular in the public health, community development, and education fields. Via emotionally engaging plotlines with authentic, captivating characters, stories provide an opportunity for participants to be carried away imaginatively into the characters' wor ...

# data[].attributes.headline
Paper 3 (Machine learning & Epidemiology): Zoonotic Source Attribution of Salmonella enterica Serotype Typhimurium Using Genomic Surveillance Data, United States

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Paper 3 (Machine learning & Epidemiology): Zoonotic Source Attribution of Salmonella enterica Serotype Typhimurium Using Genomic Surveillance Data, United States

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salmonella typhimurium / isolation & purification

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
national center for biotechnology information

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Zoonotic Source Attribution of Salmonella enterica Serotype Typhimurium Using Genomic Surveillance Data, United States - PubMed

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Increasingly, routine surveillance and monitoring of foodborne pathogens using whole-genome sequencing is creating opportunities to study foodborne illness epidemiology beyond routine outbreak investigations and case-control studies. Using a global phylogeny of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimuri ...

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Paper 4 (Economics & Farming): Assessing actors in rural markets of sheep and goats in the Nyando Basin of Western Kenya: a key to improving productivity from smallholder farms

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Paper 4 (Economics & Farming): Assessing actors in rural markets of sheep and goats in the Nyando Basin of Western Kenya: a key to improving productivity from smallholder farms

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The .gov means it's official.
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Affiliations

¹ International Livestock Research Institute, P.O. Box 30709, Nairobi, 00100, Kenya. j.ojango@cgiar.org.

² International Livestock Research Institute, P.O. Box 30709, Nairobi, 00100, Kenya.

³ CGIAR Program on Climate Change Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) East Africa, P.O. Box 30709, Nairobi, 00100, Kenya.

⁴ Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, P. O. Box 62000, Nairobi, 00200, Kenya.

Affiliations

¹ International Livestock Research Institute, P.O. Box 30709, Nairobi, 00100, Kenya. j.ojango@cgiar.org.

² International Livestock Research Institute, P.O. Box 30709, Nairobi, 00100, Kenya.

³ CGIAR Program on Climate Change Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) East Africa, P.O. Box 30709, Nairobi, 00100, Kenya.

⁴ Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, P. O. Box 62000, Nairobi, 00200, Kenya.

Abstract

Livestock traders are a key conduit for incentives in livestock production systems. Their actions affect producer prices, investment decisions, and their livelihoods. However, smallholder farmers in rural communities of eastern Africa often have limited understanding of the marketing process and the interactions among market actors. This study was undertaken following the introduction of improved indigenous goat and sheep breeds in Climate Smart Villages of Nyando in western Kenya. We sought to understand the marketing of sheep and goats in five key rural markets used by the smallholder farmers of Nyando, to generate information on key market actors, their functions in the value chain, and their preferences for attributes in sheep and goats. Most traders (65%) in all the markets were men. Four different types of traders operated in the markets, producers, retailers, wholesalers, and brokers, each making a profit. Preference for selling sheep or goats and the animal attributes desired by the traders differed depending on the surrounding community. Markets in Kericho County of Nyando traded more goats than sheep while those in Kisumu County of Nyando traded more sheep than goats. There were no clear policies guiding pricing of animals. Prices offered to producers depended on previous days, and the number of animals available for sale at the marketing point. The collaborative group actions of the producers in the Climate Smart Villages did not extend beyond the level of production to the marketing of their livestock. A critical change is required for the smallholder farmers to derive better incomes from improved quality of animals following adoption of improved breeding and management practices. The results illustrate the need to engage rural market actors when implementing livestock improvement programs for smallholder farmers for better farm gate prices of animals, and thus achieve the improved incomes envisioned.

Keywords: Livestock traders; Rural markets; Sheep and goats; Smallholder farmers.

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Assessment of structure and performance of cattle markets in western Kenya.

Onduso R, Onono JO, Ombui JN. Onduso R, et al. Trop Anim Health Prod. 2020 Mar;52(2):725-732. doi: 10.1007/s11250-019-02062-2. Epub 2019 Oct 2. Trop Anim Health Prod. 2020. PMID: 31578668

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national center for biotechnology information

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Assessing actors in rural markets of sheep and goats in the Nyando Basin of Western Kenya: a key to improving productivity from smallholder farms - PubMed

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Livestock traders are a key conduit for incentives in livestock production systems. Their actions affect producer prices, investment decisions, and their livelihoods. However, smallholder farmers in rural communities of eastern Africa often have limited understanding of the marketing process and the ...

# data[].attributes.headline
Paper 5 (Microbiology, Immunology, & Cancer): Gut microbiota modulate T cell trafficking into human colorectal cancer

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Paper 5 (Microbiology, Immunology, & Cancer): Gut microbiota modulate T cell trafficking into human colorectal cancer

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
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Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

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Affiliations

¹ Cancer Immunotherapy, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

² Oncology Surgery, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

³ Institute of Physiology, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.

⁴ Pediatric Surgery, University Children's Hospital, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

⁵ Department of General Surgery, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

⁶ Department of Visceral Surgery, St. Claraspital, Basel, Switzerland.

⁷ Department of Visceral Surgery, Ospedale Civico Lugano, Lugano, Switzerland.

⁸ Department of Surgery, Klinikum Rechts Der Isar, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.

⁹ Infection Biology, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

¹⁰ Applied Microbiology Research, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

¹¹ Institute of Pathology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.

¹² Institute of Pathology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

Free article

Free article

Affiliations

¹ Cancer Immunotherapy, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

² Oncology Surgery, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

³ Institute of Physiology, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.

⁴ Pediatric Surgery, University Children's Hospital, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

⁵ Department of General Surgery, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

⁶ Department of Visceral Surgery, St. Claraspital, Basel, Switzerland.

⁷ Department of Visceral Surgery, Ospedale Civico Lugano, Lugano, Switzerland.

⁸ Department of Surgery, Klinikum Rechts Der Isar, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.

⁹ Infection Biology, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

¹⁰ Applied Microbiology Research, Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

¹¹ Institute of Pathology, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany.

¹² Institute of Pathology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

Abstract

Objective: Tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) favour survival in human colorectal cancer (CRC). Chemotactic factors underlying their recruitment remain undefined. We investigated chemokines attracting T cells into human CRCs, their cellular sources and microenvironmental triggers.

Design: Expression of genes encoding immune cell markers, chemokines and bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA (16SrRNA) was assessed by quantitative reverse transcription-PCR in fresh CRC samples and corresponding tumour-free tissues. Chemokine receptor expression on TILs was evaluated by flow cytometry on cell suspensions from digested tissues. Chemokine production by CRC cells was evaluated in vitro and in vivo, on generation of intraperitoneal or intracecal tumour xenografts in immune-deficient mice. T cell trafficking was assessed on adoptive transfer of human TILs into tumour-bearing mice. Gut flora composition was analysed by 16SrRNA sequencing.

Results: CRC infiltration by distinct T cell subsets was associated with defined chemokine gene signatures, including CCL5, CXCL9 and CXCL10 for cytotoxic T lymphocytes and T-helper (Th)1 cells; CCL17, CCL22 and CXCL12 for Th1 and regulatory T cells; CXCL13 for follicular Th cells; and CCL20 and CCL17 for interleukin (IL)-17-producing Th cells. These chemokines were expressed by tumour cells on exposure to gut bacteria in vitro and in vivo. Their expression was significantly higher in intracecal than in intraperitoneal xenografts and was dramatically reduced by antibiotic treatment of tumour-bearing mice. In clinical samples, abundance of defined bacteria correlated with high chemokine expression, enhanced T cell infiltration and improved survival.

Conclusions: Gut microbiota stimulate chemokine production by CRC cells, thus favouring recruitment of beneficial T cells into tumour tissues.

Keywords: T lymphocytes; bacterial translocation; chemokines; colorectal cancer; immune response.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

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Gavage of Fecal Samples From Patients With Colorectal Cancer Promotes Intestinal Carcinogenesis in Germ-Free and Conventional Mice.

Wong SH, Zhao L, Zhang X, Nakatsu G, Han J, Xu W, Xiao X, Kwong TNY, Tsoi H, Wu WKK, Zeng B, Chan FKL, Sung JJY, Wei H, Yu J. Wong SH, et al. Gastroenterology. 2017 Dec;153(6):1621-1633.e6. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2017.08.022. Epub 2017 Aug 18. Gastroenterology. 2017. PMID: 28823860

Association of Fusobacterium nucleatum with immunity and molecular alterations in colorectal cancer.

Nosho K, Sukawa Y, Adachi Y, Ito M, Mitsuhashi K, Kurihara H, Kanno S, Yamamoto I, Ishigami K, Igarashi H, Maruyama R, Imai K, Yamamoto H, Shinomura Y. Nosho K, et al. World J Gastroenterol. 2016 Jan 14;22(2):557-66. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v22.i2.557. World J Gastroenterol. 2016. PMID: 26811607 Free PMC article. Review.

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national center for biotechnology information

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Gut microbiota modulate T cell trafficking into human colorectal cancer - PubMed

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Gut microbiota stimulate chemokine production by CRC cells, thus favouring recruitment of beneficial T cells into tumour tissues.

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Paper 6 (Biotechnology & Medicine): Design and fabrication of dual-targeted delivery system based on gemcitabine-conjugated human serum albumin nanoparticles

# data[].attributes.subject
Paper 6 (Biotechnology & Medicine): Design and fabrication of dual-targeted delivery system based on gemcitabine-conjugated human serum albumin nanoparticles

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
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Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

² Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

³ Nanotechnology Research Centre, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

² Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

³ Nanotechnology Research Centre, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Dual-targeted drug delivery system has established their reputation as potent vehicles for cancer chemotherapies. Herein, gemcitabine (Gem) was conjugated to human serum albumin (HSA) via dithiodipropionic anhydride to fabricate Gem-HSA nanoparticles. It was hypothesized that this system can enhance the low stability of Gem and can improve its intracellular delivery. Furthermore, folate was applied as targeting agent on HSA nanoparticles for increasing the tumor selectivity of Gem. To evaluate the structural properties of synthesized products, ¹ H NMR and FT-IR were performed. Moreover, HPLC was implemented for confirming the conjugation between HSA and Gem. Nanoparticles have shown spherical shape with negative charge. The release rate of Gem was dependent to the concentration of glutathione and pH. Folate-targeted HSA nanoparticles have shown higher cytotoxicity, cellular uptake, and apoptosis induction on folate receptor overexpressing MDA-MB-231 cells in comparison to non-targeted nanoparticles. Finally, it is considered that the developed dual-targeted nanoparticles would be potent in improving the stability and efficacy of intracellular delivery of Gem and its selective delivery to cancer cells.

Keywords: human serum albumin; conjugate; dithiodipropionic anhydride; dual-targeted delivery; gemcitabine.

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Cancer Targeting and Drug Delivery Using Carbon-Based Quantum Dots and Nanotubes.

Pardo J, Peng Z, Leblanc RM. Pardo J, et al. Molecules. 2018 Feb 10;23(2):378. doi: 10.3390/molecules23020378. Molecules. 2018. PMID: 29439409 Free PMC article. Review.

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Design of the New Closo-Dodecarborate-Containing Gemcitabine Analogue for the Albumin-Based Theranostics Composition.

Raskolupova VI, Wang M, Dymova MA, Petrov GO, Shchudlo IM, Taskaev SY, Abramova TV, Godovikova TS, Silnikov VN, Popova TV. Raskolupova VI, et al. Molecules. 2023 Mar 15;28(6):2672. doi: 10.3390/molecules28062672. Molecules. 2023. PMID: 36985644 Free PMC article.

Polymeric Drug Delivery System Based on Pluronics for Cancer Treatment.

Yu J, Qiu H, Yin S, Wang H, Li Y. Yu J, et al. Molecules. 2021 Jun 12;26(12):3610. doi: 10.3390/molecules26123610. Molecules. 2021. PMID: 34204668 Free PMC article. Review.

A Dual Bioconjugated Virus-Like Nanoparticle as a Drug Delivery System and Comparison with a pH-Responsive Delivery System.

Biabanikhankahdani R, Ho KL, Alitheen NB, Tan WS. Biabanikhankahdani R, et al. Nanomaterials (Basel). 2018 Apr 13;8(4):236. doi: 10.3390/nano8040236. Nanomaterials (Basel). 2018. PMID: 29652827 Free PMC article.

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# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
national center for biotechnology information

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Design and fabrication of dual-targeted delivery system based on gemcitabine-conjugated human serum albumin nanoparticles - PubMed

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Dual-targeted drug delivery system has established their reputation as potent vehicles for cancer chemotherapies. Herein, gemcitabine (Gem) was conjugated to human serum albumin (HSA) via dithiodipropionic anhydride to fabricate Gem-HSA nanoparticles. It was hypothesized that this system can enhance ...

# data[].attributes.headline
Paper 7 (Biodiesel) : Anaerobic co-digestion of leachate and glycerol for renewable energy generation

# data[].attributes.subject
Paper 7 (Biodiesel) : Anaerobic co-digestion of leachate and glycerol for renewable energy generation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Abstract

Anaerobic digestion is a versatile biotechnology that produces bioenergy, biogas, from wastewater. Biogas production and wastewater treatment can be optimized by associating substrates with complementary characteristics. In this context, the aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of the anaerobic co-digestion of different contents of landfill leachate and crude glycerol compared to the organic matter removal and specific biogas production, the effects of the factors (time, glycerol content and substrate/inoculum ratio) and their interactions on kinetic parameters of specific biogas production using the modified Gompertz model. A Central Composite Rotational Design (CCRD) was performed for the experimental variables: time (16.6, 20, 25, 30 and 33.4 days), glycerol content (0.43, 0.70, 1.10, 1.50 and 1.77%) and substrate/inoculum ratio (0.23, 0.30, 0.40, 0.50 and 0.57 g COD/g VSS). From the optimization, it was possible to maximize the efficiency of organic matter removal (90.15%) and specific biogas production (403.15 mL/g VSS) in the conditions of 33.2 days, glycerol content of 1.71% and substrate/inoculum ratio of 0.37 g COD/g VSS. Concerning the modified Gompertz model of the optimal condition performed, an average of 20.3 times higher specific biogas production was obtained when compared to the monodigestion of leachate. Therefore, the association of leachate and glycerol was found to be feasible in terms of stability, biodegradability and biogas production.

Keywords: Anaerobic treatment; biomethane; landfill; modified Gompertz model; optimization.

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Anaerobic co-digestion of industrial landfill leachate and glycerin: methanogenic potential, organic matter removal and process optimization.

de Castro TM, Torres DGB, Arantes EJ, de Carvalho KQ, Passig FH, Christ D, Gotardo JT, Gomes SD. de Castro TM, et al. Environ Technol. 2020 Aug;41(20):2583-2593. doi: 10.1080/09593330.2019.1575915. Epub 2019 Feb 7. Environ Technol. 2020. PMID: 30691349

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Ultrasound assisted biogas production from landfill leachate.

Oz NA, Yarimtepe CC. Oz NA, et al. Waste Manag. 2014 Jul;34(7):1165-70. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2014.03.003. Epub 2014 Apr 4. Waste Manag. 2014. PMID: 24709441

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Cited by

A Recent Progress in the Leachate Pretreatment Methods Coupled with Anaerobic Digestion for Enhanced Biogas Production: Feasibility, Trends, and Techno-Economic Evaluation.

Anjum M, Anees M, Qadeer S, Khalid A, Kumar R, Barakat MA. Anjum M, et al. Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Jan 1;24(1):763. doi: 10.3390/ijms24010763. Int J Mol Sci. 2023. PMID: 36614205 Free PMC article. Review.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
national center for biotechnology information

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Anaerobic co-digestion of leachate and glycerol for renewable energy generation - PubMed

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Anaerobic digestion is a versatile biotechnology that produces bioenergy, biogas, from wastewater. Biogas production and wastewater treatment can be optimized by associating substrates with complementary characteristics. In this context, the aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of the a ...

# data[].attributes.headline
Paper 8 (Bioinformatics & Parasites): Host-parasite interactions and ecology of the malaria parasite-a bioinformatics approach

# data[].attributes.subject
Paper 8 (Bioinformatics & Parasites): Host-parasite interactions and ecology of the malaria parasite-a bioinformatics approach

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Bioinformatics at the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

² Department of Microbial Chemistry at the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Bioinformatics at the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

² Department of Microbial Chemistry at the Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

Abstract

Malaria remains one of the highest mortality infectious diseases. Malaria is caused by parasites from the genus Plasmodium. Most deaths are caused by infections involving Plasmodium falciparum, which has a complex life cycle. Malaria parasites are extremely well adapted for interactions with their host and their host's immune system and are able to suppress the human immune system, erase immunological memory and rapidly alter exposed antigens. Owing to this rapid evolution, parasites develop drug resistance and express novel forms of antigenic proteins that are not recognized by the host immune system. There is an emerging need for novel interventions, including novel drugs and vaccines. Designing novel therapies requires knowledge about host-parasite interactions, which is still limited. However, significant progress has recently been achieved in this field through the application of bioinformatics analysis of parasite genome sequences. In this review, we describe the main achievements in 'malarial' bioinformatics and provide examples of successful applications of protein sequence analysis. These examples include the prediction of protein functions based on homology and the prediction of protein surface localization via domain and motif analysis. Additionally, we describe PlasmoDB, a database that stores accumulated experimental data. This tool allows data mining of the stored information and will play an important role in the development of malaria science. Finally, we illustrate the application of bioinformatics in the development of population genetics research on malaria parasites, an approach referred to as reverse ecology.

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Computational prediction of protein interactions related to the invasion of erythrocytes by malarial parasites.

Liu X, Huang Y, Liang J, Zhang S, Li Y, Wang J, Shen Y, Xu Z, Zhao Y. Liu X, et al. BMC Bioinformatics. 2014 Nov 30;15(1):393. doi: 10.1186/s12859-014-0393-z. BMC Bioinformatics. 2014. PMID: 25433733 Free PMC article.

The Genome of Haemoproteus tartakovskyi and Its Relationship to Human Malaria Parasites.

Bensch S, Canbäck B, DeBarry JD, Johansson T, Hellgren O, Kissinger JC, Palinauskas V, Videvall E, Valkiūnas G. Bensch S, et al. Genome Biol Evol. 2016 May 12;8(5):1361-73. doi: 10.1093/gbe/evw081. Genome Biol Evol. 2016. PMID: 27190205 Free PMC article.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
national center for biotechnology information

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Host-parasite interactions and ecology of the malaria parasite-a bioinformatics approach - PubMed

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Malaria remains one of the highest mortality infectious diseases. Malaria is caused by parasites from the genus Plasmodium. Most deaths are caused by infections involving Plasmodium falciparum, which has a complex life cycle. Malaria parasites are extremely well adapted for interactions with their h ...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
April 5, 2021 | 3 min read

By Natalia Rodriguez

Much of a scientist's work involves reading research papers, whether it's to stay up to date in their field, advance their scientific understanding, review manuscripts, or gather information for a project proposal or grant application. Because scientific articles are different from other texts, like novels or newspaper stories, they should be read differently.

Research papers follow the well-known IMRD format - an abstract followed by the Introduction, Methods, Results and D iscussion. They have multiple cross references and tables as well as supplementary material, such as data sets, lab protocols and gene sequences. All those characteristics can make them dense and complex. Being able to effectively understanding them is a matter of practice.

You can use ScienceDirect's recommendations service to find other articles related to the work you're reading. Once you've registered(opens in new tab/window) , the recommendations engine uses an adaptive algorithm to understand your research interests. It can then find related content from our database of more than 3,800 journals and over 37,000 book titles. The more frequently you sign in, the better it gets to know you, and the more relevant the recommendations you'll receive. Reading a scientific paper should not be done in a linear way (from beginning to end); instead, it should be done strategically and with a critical mindset, questioning your understanding and the findings. Sometimes you will have to go backwards and forwards, take notes and have multiples tabs opened in your browser.

Here are some tips for reading and understanding research papers.
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References

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LennyRhine. "," Research4Life Training portal

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Valerie Matarese, PhD (Ed). "," Supporting Research Writing: Rolesand challenges in multilingual settings," Chandos Publishing, Elsevier (2012)

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Allen H. Renear, PhD, and Carole L. Palmer, PhD. "," Science (2009).

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Mary Purugganan, PhD, and Jan Hewitt, PhD. "," Cain Project in Engineering andProfessional Communication, Rice University

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"How to Read and Review a Scientific Journal Article,"Writing Studio, Duke University

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Robert Siegel, PhD. "," Stanford University

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Infographic: How to read a scientific paper

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Mastering this skill can help you excel at research, peer review - and writing your own papers

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How to (seriously) read scientific papers

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How to (seriously) read scientific papers

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2023 Week 1: Finding Scholarly Information

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2023 Week 1: Finding Scholarly Information

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Introduction & Planning pre-recorded session (with audio)

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Introduction & Planning pre-recorded session (with audio)

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In case you would like to listen to a pre-recorded version or if you missed the first session, here is the presentation with audio:

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Abstract

Active learning methods have been shown to be superior to traditional lecture in terms of student achievement, and our findings on the use of Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) concur. Students in our introductory biology course performed significantly better if they engaged in PLTL. There was also a drastic reduction in the failure rate for underrepresented minority (URM) students with PLTL, which further resulted in closing the achievement gap between URM and non-URM students. With such compelling findings, we strongly encourage the adoption of Peer-Led Team Learning in undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) courses.

Citation: Snyder JJ, Sloane JD, Dunk RDP, Wiles JR (2016) Peer-Led Team Learning Helps Minority Students Succeed. PLoS Biol 14(3): e1002398. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002398

Published: March 9, 2016

Copyright: © 2016 Snyder et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Funding: The data presented herein and the development of this manuscript was funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation; (Award ID# 1352740) EAGER: Enhancing Recruitment and Retention of Underrepresented Populations through PLTL ( http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1352740). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Abbreviations: DFWs, Ds, Fs, or Withdrawing; PLTL, Peer-Led Team Learning; STEM, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics; URM, underrepresented minority

Recent, extensive meta-analysis of over a decade of education research has revealed an overwhelming consensus that active learning methods are superior to traditional, passive lecture, in terms of student achievement in post-secondary Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) courses [ 1]. In light of such clear evidence that traditional lecture is among the least effective modes of instruction, many institutions have been abandoning lecture in favor of "flipped" classrooms and active learning strategies. Regrettably, however, STEM courses at most universities continue to feature traditional lecture as the primary mode of instruction.

Although next-generation active learning classrooms are becoming more common, large instructor-focused lecture halls with fixed seating are still the norm on most campuses-including ours, for the time being. While there are certainly ways to make learning more active in an amphitheater, peer-interactive instruction is limited in such settings. Of course, laboratories accompanying lectures often provide more active learning opportunities. But in the wake of commendable efforts to increase rigorous laboratory experiences at the sophomore and junior levels at Syracuse University, a difficult decision was made for the two-semester, mixed-majors introductory biology sequence: the lecture sections of the second semester course were decoupled from the laboratory component, which was made optional. There were good reasons for this change, from both departmental and institutional perspectives. However, although STEM students not enrolling in the lab course would arguably be exposed to techniques and develop foundational process skills in the new upper division labs, we were concerned about the implications for achievement among those students who would opt out of the introductory labs. Our concerns were apparently warranted, as students who did not take the optional lab course, regardless of prior achievement, earned scores averaging a letter grade lower than those students who enrolled in the lab. However, students who opted out of the lab but engaged in Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) performed at levels equivalent to students who also took the lab course [ 2].

Peer-Led Team Learning is a well-defined active learning model involving small group interactions between students, and it can be used along with or in place of the traditional lecture format that has become so deeply entrenched in university systems ( Fig 1, adapted from [ 3]). PLTL was originally designed and implemented in undergraduate chemistry courses [ 4, 5], and it has since been implemented in other undergraduate science courses, such as general biology and anatomy and physiology [ 6, 7]. Studies on the efficacy of PLTL have shown improvements in students' grade performance, attitudes, retention in the course [ 6- 11], conceptual reasoning [ 12], and critical thinking [ 13], though findings related to the critical thinking benefits for peer leaders have not been consistent [ 14].

In the PLTL workshop model, students work in small groups of six to eight students, led by an undergraduate peer leader who has successfully completed the same course in which their peer-team students are currently enrolled. After being trained in group leadership methods, relevant learning theory, and the conceptual content of the course, peer leaders (who serve as role models) work collaboratively with an education specialist and the course instructor to facilitate small group problem-solving. Leaders are not teachers. They are not tutors. They are not considered to be experts in the content, and they are not expected to provide answers to the students in the workshop groups. Rather, they help mentor students to actively construct their own understanding of concepts.

PLTL and Underrepresented Minorities in STEM Fields

Along with our concern for student success in general, we have been especially focused on closing gaps for underserved groups within our student population. According to the National Academy of Sciences, efforts to increase the participation of underrepresented minorities (URMs) in STEM fields are essential to sustaining America's research and innovation capacity [ 15]. Although members of minority groups have been earning an increasing number of post-secondary degrees since the 1990s, a substantially smaller proportion of minority students choose to pursue degrees in science and engineering than do students from groups that are traditionally well-represented in STEM [ 16]. Increasing recruitment of underrepresented minorities into STEM fields is a necessary effort, but retaining these students in STEM disciplines must also be a priority. Aside from the obvious social justice and equal access imperatives involved, the diversity of background and talent that students from underrepresented minority groups can bring to STEM fields is essential if we are to remain technologically innovative as global economic changes demand greater numbers of STEM professionals.

With high attrition rates of STEM majors in the United States, and even higher rates of underrepresented minorities leaving STEM disciplines at the undergraduate level, there has been a significant amount of research dedicated to interventions intended to increase the recruitment and retention of students in STEM disciplines. The literature reveals several factors that affect retention of underrepresented minorities in STEM, including mentoring [ 17], learning styles and strategies [ 17], earning a passing grade in gatekeeper courses [ 18], social networking [ 18], and reinforcing science identity [ 19].

Students who do not fare well in introductory STEM courses are far less likely to be recruited or retained in STEM majors, and when instruction involves only traditional lecture, there is a tendency for students to feel isolated and hopeless if they are not doing well [ 20]. The PLTL model incorporates a variety of learning styles and strategies, thus creating an environment conducive to social networking and reinforcement of science identity while developing students' own understandings of scientific concepts in more accessible terms. We would therefore expect that URM students, in the context of such an environment, might achieve at higher levels than in traditional settings without PLTL. Indeed, Treisman [ 21] instituted a program based on small group interactions in the context of a large university mathematics course, with a goal of reducing academic isolation for underachieving students. Not only did this enhance learning and achievement, but it also reduced attrition. Among African American students in Treisman's study, only 3% of the small group participants were unsuccessful in the course, compared to 40% of those who did not participate and 33% in the control group.

Our Findings

Our experiences in using PLTL alongside the lecture hall approach in our introductory biology course have yielded exciting results. Among these are that retention in the course was higher for students who enrolled in PLTL, with those who did not attend PLTL sessions being significantly more likely to withdraw from the course ( x ² = 7.194, n = 479, df = 1, p = 0.007).

Perhaps even more encouraging is how PLTL appears to have influenced student achievement in the course, particularly for URMs ( S1- S4 Tables). As shown in Fig 2, there was a dramatic and significant decrease-from nearly 40% down to about 15%-in the number of students earning Ds, Fs, or Withdrawing from the course (DFWs) among URMs who participated in PLTL ( x ² = 9.016, n = 90, df = 1, p = 0.003) and a smaller, but significant, decrease in DFWs for non-URMs as well ( x ² = 5.254, n = 251, df = 1, p = 0.022). The pronounced achievement gap between URMs and non-URMs was closed for URMs who sufficiently participated in PLTL. That is, the DFW rate was significantly higher for URMs than it was for non-URMs among those who did not engage in PLTL ( x ² = 14.157, n = 227, df = 1, p < 0.001), but not significantly different between URMs and non-URMs who did.

Percent of students who earned a D, F, or withdrew (W) from the course. Values represent percent +/- standard error. Chi-square analyses reveal a significant gap between URM and non-URM students (p < 0.001) when these students do not participate in PLTL; this achievement gap is closed when students participate in PLTL (p = 0.272).

The results above are for all students whose URM or non-URM status could be determined (n = 479), regardless of concurrent enrollment in a lab course. There was no significant difference in prior achievement between students who opted out of PLTL or lab and those who engaged in these options (see S1 Text for additional methodological specifics). The laboratory component had been previously shown to be a factor in achievement [ 2]; however, we also found that DFW rates were lower among URMs who engaged in PLTL whether they were enrolled in the laboratory course ( x ² = 5.074, n = 69, df = 1, p = 0.024) or not ( x ² = 4.200, n = 21, df = 1, p = 0.040). Finally, we note that for URMs who did not participate in lab, half of those who did not engage in PLTL earned Ds, Fs, or withdrew from the course, while those who did engage in PLTL all completed the course and earned grades of C or higher.

Conclusions, Recommendations, and Resources

Based on these data and on evidence from prior research, we are convinced that PLTL is effective in improving student achievement in introductory STEM courses, particularly for URM students. The drastic reduction in DFW rates among URM students and the closing of the achievement gap between URM and non-URM students are very compelling reasons to adopt the PLTL model, especially since significant gains were seen among non-URMs as well. The impact among students who are not concurrently enrolled in a lab course is a particularly important finding in the context of the biology program at our university, as several of the second-year courses in the biology major are not directly coupled with mandatory laboratory classes. What have we gained if we retain more diversity among life-science majors in their first year only to risk losing them as sophomores? It may be that a strong first year will help even the playing field when looking toward the second, so our future efforts will include tracking these students into upper-division courses as well as seeking to provide similar peer-interactive learning activities to students in all core courses in biology.

We also encourage other post-secondary educators to consider using PLTL, and many resources exist to help facilitate implementation in introductory biology and other STEM courses. Box 1 includes a number of helpful tools for beginning a PLTL program. We welcome inquiries regarding how we have undertaken these efforts as well as collaborations in research around this and other strategies in biology education.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Beverley Werner for her assistance in the coordination of participant activities and technical skill in data organization and Sarah Hall for assistance with editing figures. We would also like to thank the Biology Department at Syracuse University for their support throughout this project.

References

1. 1. Freeman S, Eddy S, McDonough M, Smith M, Okoroafor N, Jordt H, et al. Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014;111(23): 8410-8415. pmid:24821756

2. 3. Roth V, Goldstein E, Marcus G. Peer-Led Team Learning: A Handbook for Leaders, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall; 2001.

3. 8. Gafney L. Evaluating students' performance. Progressions: The PLTL Project Newsletter. 2001;2: 3-4.

4. 12. Peteroy-Kelly M. A discussion group program enhances the conceptual reasoning skills of students enrolled in a large lecture-format introductory biology course. J Microbiol Biol Educ. 2007;8: 13-21. pmid:23653815

5. 14. Snyder JJ, Wiles JR. Peer led team learning in introductory biology: Effects on peer leader critical thinking skills. PLoS ONE. 2015;10(1): e0115084. pmid:25629311

6. 15. National Academy of Sciences. Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America's Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads. Washingon, D. C.: National Academies Press; 2011.

7. 16. Aud S, Fox MA, KewalRamani A. Status and trends in the education of racial and ethnic groups. (NCES 2010-015). US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office. 2010.

8. 18. Mitchell SK. Factors that contribute to persistence and retention of underrepresented minority undergraduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). [Doctoral Dissertation] Hattiesburg: University of Southern Mississippi; 2012. http://aquila.usm.edu/theses_dissertations/578

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Peer-Led Team Learning Helps Minority Students Succeed

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This study shows that Peer-Led Team Learning drastically reduces the failure rate for underrepresented, minority undergraduate students in an introductory biology course.

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A background to what we will discuss and cover

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A background to what we will discuss and cover

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All topics are covered within this handbook

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How to read scientific papers (Presentation)

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How to read scientific papers (Presentation)

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A research proposal should describe what you will investigate, why it is important to the discipline and how you will conduct your research.

Simply put, it is your plan for the research you intend to conduct. All research proposals are designed to persuade someone about how and why your intended project is worthwhile.

In your proposal you will need to explain and defend your choices. Always think about the exact reasons why you are making specific choices and why they are the best options available to you and your project.

Your research proposal aims should be centred on:

Relevance - You want to convince the reader how and why your research is relevant and significant to your field and how it is original. This is typically done in parts of the introduction and the literature review.

Context - You should demonstrate that you are familiar with the field, you understand the current state of research on the topic and your ideas have a strong academic basis (i.e., not simply based on your instincts or personal views). This will be the focus of your introduction and literature review.

Approach - You need to make a case for your methodology, showing that you have carefully thought about the data, tools and procedures you will need to conduct the research. You need to explicitly defend all of your choices. This will be presented in the research design section.

Feasibility - You need to demonstrate clearly that your project is both reasonable and feasible within the practical constraints of the course, timescales, institution or funding. You need to make sure you have the time and access to resources to complete the project in a reasonable period.

The format of a research proposal varies between fields and levels of study but most proposals should contain at least these elements: introduction, literature review, research design and reference list.

Generally, research proposals can range from 500-1500 words or one to a few pages long. Typically, proposals for larger projects such as a PhD dissertation or funding requests, are longer and much more detailed.

Remember, the goal of your research proposal is to outline clearly and concisely exactly what your research will entail and accomplish, how it will do so and why it is important. If you are writing to a strictly enforced word count, a research proposal can be a great test of your ability to express yourself concisely!

Introduction

The first part of your proposal is the initial pitch for your project, so make sure it succinctly explains what you want to do and why. In other words, this is where you answer the reader's "so what?" It should typically include: introducing the topic, outlining your problem statement and research question(s) and giving background and context. Some important questions to shape your introduction include:

Who has an interest in the topic (e.g. scientists, practitioners, policymakers, particular members of society)?

How much is already known about the problem and why is it important?

What is missing from current knowledge and why?

What new insights will your research contribute?

Why is this research worth doing?

If your proposal is very long, you might include separate sections with more detailed information on the background and context, problem statement, aims and objectives, and importance of the research.

Literature Review

It's important to show that you're familiar with the most important research on your topic. A strong literature review convinces the reader that your project has a solid foundation in existing knowledge or theory (i.e. how it relates to established research in the field).

Your literature review will also show that you're not simply repeating what other people have already done or said. This is also where you explain why your research is necessary. You might want to consider some of the following prompts:

Comparing and contrasting: what are the main theories, methods, debates and controversies?

Being critical: what are the strengths and weaknesses of different approaches?

Showing how your research fits in: how will you build on, challenge or synthesise the work of others?

Filling a gap in the existing body of research: why is your idea innovative?

Research design and methods

Following the literature review, it is a good idea to restate your main objectives, bringing the focus back to your own project. The research design/ methodology section should describe the overall approach and practical steps you will take to answer your research questions. You also need to demonstrate the feasibility of the project keeping in mind time and other constraints.
You should definitely include:

Research type

Qualitative vs quantitative research? Combination?

Will you collect original data or work with primary/secondary sources?

Is your research design descriptive, correlational or experimental? Something completely different?

If you are undertaking your own study, when and where will you collect the data? How will you select subjects or sources? Ethics review? Exactly what or who will you study?

Research Methods

What tools and procedures will you use (e.g. systematic reviews, surveys, interviews, observation, experiments, bibliographic data) to collect your data?

What tools/methods will you use to analyse your data?

Why are these the best methods to answer your research question(s)? This is where you should justify your choices.

Practicalities

How much time will you need to collect the data?

How will you gain access to participants and sources?

Do you foresee any potential obstacles and if so, how will you address them?

Make sure you are not simply compiling a list of methods. Instead, aim to make an argument for why this is the most appropriate, valid and reliable way to approach answering your question. Remember you should always be defending your choices!

Implications and Contributions to Knowledge

To ensure you finish your proposal on a strong note, it is a good idea to explore and/or emphasise the potential implications of the research. This means: what do you intend to contribute to existing knowledge on the topic?

Although you cannot know the results of your research until you have actually done the work, you should be going into the project with a clear idea of how your work will contribute to your field. This section might even be considered the most critical to your research proposal's argument because it expresses exactly why your research is necessary.

You should consider covering at least some of the following topics:

Ways in which your work can challenge existing theories and assumptions in your field.

How your work will create the foundation for future research and theory.

The practical value your findings will provide to practitioners, educators and other academics in your field.

The problems or issues your work can potentially help to resolve.

Policies that could be impacted by your findings.

How your findings can be implemented in academia or other settings and how this will improve or otherwise transform these settings.

This part is not about stating the specific results that you expect to obtain but rather, this is the section where you explicitly state how your findings will be valuable.

Conclusion

This section is where you want to wrap it all up in a nice pretty bow. It is just like the concluding paragraph that you would structure and craft for a typical essay. You should briefly summarise your research proposal and reinforce your research purpose.

Reference List or Bibliography

Your research proposal MUST include proper citations for every source you have used and full references. Please consult your departmental referencing styles to ensure you are citing and referencing in an appropriate way.

Try and avoid these common pitfalls when you are writing your research proposal:

Being too wordy: Remember formal does not mean flowery or pretentious. In fact, you should really aim to keep your writing as concise and accessible as possible. The more economically you can express your goals and ideas, the better.

Failing to cite relevant information/sources: You are adding to the existing body of knowledge on the subject you are covering. Therefore, your research proposal should reference the main research pieces in your field (while referencing them correctly!) and connect your proposal to these works in some way. This does not mean just communicating the relevance of your work, it should explicitly demonstrate your familiarity with the field.

Focusing too much on minor issues: Your research is most likely important for so many great reasons. However, they do not all need to be listed in your research proposal. Generally, including too many questions and issues in your research proposal can serve as a red flag and detract from your main purpose(s). This will in turn weaken your proposal. Only involve the main/key issues you plan to address.

Failing to make a strong argument for your research: This is the simplest way to undermine your proposal. Your proposal is a piece of persuasive andcritical writing. This means that, although you are presenting your proposal in an academic and hopefully objective manner, the goal is to get the reader to say 'yes' to your work.

Not polishing your writing: If your proposal has spelling or grammatical errors, an inconsistent or inappropriate tone or even just awkward phrasing it can undermine your credibility. Check out some of these resources to help guide you in the right direction: Manchester Academic Phrasebank, Proofreading Guide,Essay Checklist and Grammar Guide. Remember to double and triple check your work.

You might also need to include a schedule and/or a budget depending on your requirements. Some tools to help include:

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Advice and guidance on writing a proposal for a student research project.

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Introduction

Reading scientific literature is a critical part of conceiving of and executing a successful advanced science project. The How to Read a Scientific Paper guide can help you get the most out of each paper you read-first, of course, you have to actually get your hands on the paper! That's where this guide comes in. Below you'll find tips and resources for both searching for and acquiring free copies of scientific papers to read.

Academic Search Engines: Resources for Finding Science Paper Citations

When you start your background research, one of the early steps is finding and reading the scientific literature related to your science project (see the Roadmap: How to Get Started On an Advanced Science Project article for more details on project steps). Mentors are a great resource for recommendations about which scientific papers are critical for you to read and you should definitely ask your mentor, or another expert in the field, for advice. But there'll also be times when your mentor is busy or isn't up-to-date on a particular experimental method, in which case, you'll need to be proactive and hunt for papers on your own. It turns out that just plugging search terms into a regular search engine, like Google, Yahoo, or MSN, isn't very effective. The pages you get back will be a wide mixture of websites, and very few will be links to peer-reviewed scientific papers. To find scientific literature, the best thing to use is an academic search engine.

There are many different academic search engines. Some focus on a single discipline, while others have citations from multiple fields. There are a handful of free, publicly available academic search engines that can be accessed online; some of these are listed in Table 1, below. The remainder, like the ISI Web of Science, are subscription-based. Universities and colleges often subscribe to academic search engines. If you can't find what you need using a free search engine, you may be able to access these resources from computers in a university or college library. Consult the school's library webpage, or call the library directly, to find out to which academic search engines they subscribe to and whether or not you'd be allowed into the library to access them.
Table 1: This table provides a list of free, online academic search engines for various science disciplines.
Here are a few tips to help you get started with the academic search engines:

Each search engine works slightly differently, so it's worth taking the time to read any available help pages to figure out the best way to use each one.

When you're beginning your literature search, try several different key words, both alone and in combination. Then, as you view the results, you can narrow your focus and figure out which key words best describe the kinds of papers in which you are interested.

As you read the literature, go back and try additional searches using the jargon and terms you learn while reading.

Note: The results of academic search engines come in the form of an abstract, which you can read to determine if the paper is relevant to your science project, as well as a full citation (author, journal title, volume, page numbers, year, etc.) so that you can find a physical copy of the paper. Search engines do not necessarily contain the full text of the paper for you to read. A few, like PubMed, do provide links to free online versions of the paper, when one is available. Read on for help finding the full paper.

How to Get a Copy of a Scientific Paper

Once you've found the citation for a paper that is relevant to your advanced science project, the next step is actually getting a copy so that you can read it. As mentioned above, some search engines provide links to free online versions of the paper, if one exists. If the search engine doesn't, or if you got the citation somewhere else, like the bibliography of another science paper you were reading, there are several ways to find copies.
Searching for Newer Papers (published during Internet era)

Check the library of a local college or university. Academic institutions, like colleges and universities, often subscribe to many scientific journals. Some of these libraries are free to the public. Contact the library, or look at their website, to see if you may use their resources and if they subscribe to the journals in which you're interested. Often, the library's catalog of holdings is online and publicly searchable.
Note: If you do go to a university or college library to photocopy or print journal articles, make sure to bring plenty of change with you, because they won't have any!

Look for a free online version. Try searching for the full title of the paper in a regular search engine like Google, Yahoo, or MSN. The paper may come up multiple times, and one of those might be a free, downloadable copy. So, if the first link isn't downloadable, try another.

Go directly to the online homepage of the journal in which the paper was published. Some scientific journals are "open-source," meaning that their content is always free online to the public. Others are free online (often after registering with the website) if the paper was published more than a year ago. The Directory of Open Access Journals is also a good place to check to see which journals are free in your field of interest. The website lists journals by subject, as well as by title.

Search directly for the homepage of the first or last author of the paper and see if he or she has a PDF of the paper on his or her website. If so, you can download it directly from there. Generally it is only worth looking up the first author (the one who contributed the most to the paper) or the last author (usually the professor in whose lab the work was done and who supervised the science project).

Look for the paper (using the title or authors) in a science database, like those listed below, in Table 2. These databases contain free, full-text versions of scientific papers, as well as other relevant information, like publicly accessible data sets.

Table 2: List of databases containing free, full-text scientific papers and data sets.

Purchase a copy. Depending on the science magazine publisher, you may also come across offers for purchasing a copy of the paper. This is an expensive option, particularly if you have multiple papers you'd like to read; try some of the other searching methods first
Searching for Older Papers (published pre-Internet era)
Even with all of the above searching methods, you may not be able to find a free copy of the paper online. This is particularly true for older science papers, which were published before online content became routine. In these cases, there are additional ways to get the paper at no or minimal cost.

Contact the author via email. As mentioned above, the first and last authors are your best bets. Briefly explain your situation and request a copy of the paper directly from him or her. If you do this, make sure to be polite and brief in your email.

Check the library of a local college or university. Academic institutions, like colleges and universities, often subscribe to many scientific journals. Some of these libraries are free to the public. Contact the library, or look at their website, to see if you may use their resources and if they subscribe to the journals in which you're interested. Often, the library's catalog of holdings is online and publicly searchable.
Note: If you do go to a university or college library to photocopy or print journal articles, make sure to bring plenty of change with you, because they won't have any!

Contact your mentor and ask if he or she can help you acquire a copy of the paper. Use this as a last resort though, because you may find that your request falls pretty far down on a mentor's lengthy to-do list.

Explore Our Science Videos

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Resources for Finding and Accessing Scientific Papers

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This guide provides resources and tips for finding and accessing scientific papers.

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Using PubMed to Support Evidence-Based Practice

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Get the most out of Google Scholar with some helpful tips on searches, email alerts, citation export, and more.
Finding recent papers
Your search results are normally sorted by relevance, not by date. To find newer articles, try the following options in the left sidebar:

1. click "Since Year" to show only recently published papers, sorted by relevance;

2. click "Sort by date" to show just the new additions, sorted by date;

3. click the envelope icon to have new results periodically delivered by email.

Locating the full text of an article
Abstracts are freely available for most of the articles. Alas, reading the entire article may require a subscription. Here're a few things to try:

1. click a library link, e.g., "FindIt@Harvard", to the right of the search result;

2. click a link labeled [PDF] to the right of the search result;

3. click "All versions" under the search result and check out the alternative sources;

4. click "Related articles" or "Cited by" under the search result to explore similar articles.

If you're affiliated with a university, but don't see links such as "FindIt@Harvard", please check with your local library about the best way to access their online subscriptions. You may need to do search from a computer on campus, or to configure your browser to use a library proxy.
Getting better answers

If you're new to the subject, it may be helpful to pick up the terminology from secondary sources. E.g., a Wikipedia article for "overweight" might suggest a Scholar search for "pediatric hyperalimentation".

If the search results are too specific for your needs, check out what they're citing in their "References" sections. Referenced works are often more general in nature.

Similarly, if the search results are too basic for you, click "Cited by" to see newer papers that referenced them. These newer papers will often be more specific.

Explore! There's rarely a single answer to a research question. Click "Related articles" or "Cited by" to see closely related work, or search for author's name and see what else they have written.

Searching Google Scholar How do I search by author?
Use the "author:" operator, e.g., author:"d knuth" or author:"donald e knuth".
How do I search by title?
Put the paper's title in quotations: "A History of the China Sea".

You'll often get better results if you search only recent articles, but still sort them by relevance, not by date. E.g., click "Since 2018" in the left sidebar of the search results page.

To see the absolutely newest articles first, click "Sort by date" in the sidebar. If you use this feature a lot, you may also find it useful to setup email alerts to have new results automatically sent to you.

Note: On smaller screens that don't show the sidebar, these options are available in the dropdown menu labelled "Year" right below the search button.
How do I search for court opinions?
Select the "Case law" option on the homepage or in the side drawer on the search results page.
What does the "Related articles" link do?
It finds documents similar to the given search result.
Where is advanced search?
It's in the side drawer. The advanced search window lets you search in the author, title, and publication fields, as well as limit your search results by date.
How do I search by specific jurisdictions?
Select the "Case law" option and do a keyword search over all jurisdictions. Then, click the "Select courts" link in the left sidebar on the search results page.

Tip: To quickly search a frequently used selection of courts, bookmark a search results page with the desired selection.
Access to articles
For each Scholar search result, we try to find a version of the article that you can read. These access links are labelled [PDF] or [HTML] and appear to the right of the search result. For example:

Access links cover a wide variety of ways in which articles may be available to you - articles that your library subscribes to, open access articles, free-to-read articles from publishers, preprints, articles in repositories, etc.

When you are on a campus network, access links automatically include your library subscriptions and direct you to subscribed versions of articles. On-campus access links cover subscriptions from primary publishers as well as aggregators.
Off-campus access
Off-campus access links let you take your library subscriptions with you when you are at home or traveling. You can read subscribed articles when you are off-campus just as easily as when you are on-campus. Off-campus access links work by recording your subscriptions when you visit Scholar while on-campus, and looking up the recorded subscriptions later when you are off-campus.

We use the recorded subscriptions to provide you with the same subscribed access links as you see on campus. We also indicate your subscription access to participating publishers so that they can allow you to read the full-text of these articles without logging in or using a proxy. The recorded subscription information expires after 30 days and is automatically deleted.

In addition to Google Scholar search results, off-campus access links can also appear on articles from publishers participating in the off-campus subscription access program. Look for links labeled [PDF] or [HTML] on the right hand side of article pages.

https://example.com/abstract/1

You can disable off-campus access links on the Scholar settings page. Disabling off-campus access links will turn off recording of your library subscriptions. It will also turn off indicating subscription access to participating publishers. Once off-campus access links are disabled, you may need to identify and configure an alternate mechanism (e.g., an institutional proxy or VPN) to access your library subscriptions while off-campus.
Email Alerts How do I sign up for email alerts?
Do a search for the topic of interest, e.g., "M Theory"; click the envelope icon in the sidebar of the search results page; enter your email address, and click "Create alert". We'll then periodically email you newly published papers that match your search criteria.
Do I need a Google account to receive email alerts?
No, you can enter any email address of your choice. If the email address isn't a Google account or doesn't match your Google account, then we'll email you a verification link, which you'll need to click to start receiving alerts.
How do I get notified when my papers are cited?
This works best if you create a public profile, which is free and quick to do. Once you get to the homepage with your photo, click "Follow" next to your name, select "New citations to my articles", and click "Done". We will then email you when we find new articles that cite yours.
How do I get notified when a particular paper is cited?
Search for the title of your paper, e.g., "Anti de Sitter space and holography"; click on the "Cited by" link at the bottom of the search result; and then click on the envelope icon in the left sidebar of the search results page.
How do I get notified of new papers published by my competitors, err, respected colleagues?
First, do a search for your colleague's name, and see if they have a Scholar profile. If they do, click on it, click the "Follow" button next to their name, select "New articles by this author", and click "Done".

If they don't have a profile, do a search by author, e.g., [author:s-hawking], and click on the mighty envelope in the left sidebar of the search results page. If you find that several different people share the same name, you may need to add co-author names or topical keywords to limit results to the author you wish to follow.
How often do you send the alerts?
We send the alerts right after we add new papers to Google Scholar. This usually happens several times a week, except that our search robots meticulously observe holidays.

There's a link to cancel the alert at the bottom of every notification email.
How do I change my alerts?
If you created alerts using a Google account, you can manage them all here. If you're not using a Google account, you'll need to unsubscribe from the individual alerts and subscribe to the new ones.
Google Scholar library
Google Scholar library is your personal collection of articles. You can save articles right off the search page, organize them by adding labels, and use the power of Scholar search to quickly find just the one you want - at any time and from anywhere. You decide what goes into your library, and we'll keep the links up to date.

You get all the goodies that come with Scholar search results - links to PDF and to your university's subscriptions, formatted citations, citing articles, and more!
Library help How do I add an article to my library?
Find the article you want to add in Google Scholar and click the "Save" button under the search result.
How do I find an article in my library?
Click "My library" at the top of the page or in the side drawer to view all articles in your library. To search the full text of these articles, enter your query as usual in the search box.
How do I remove an article from my library?
Find the article you want to remove, and then click the "Delete" button under it.
My library is too big! Can I organize it?
You can use labels (for example: "artificial intelligence") to categorize your articles.

To add a label to an article, find the article in your library, click the "Label" button under it, select the label you want to apply, and click "Done".

To view all the articles with a specific label, click the label name in the left sidebar of your library page.

To remove a label from an article, click the "Label" button under it, deselect the label you want to remove, and click "Done".

To add, edit, or delete labels, click "Manage labels" in the left column of your library page.

Who can see the articles in my library?
Only you can see the articles in your library. If you create a Scholar profile and make it public, then the articles in your public profile (and only those articles) will be visible to everyone.
How is my library related to my Scholar profile?
Your profile contains all the articles you have written yourself. It's a way to present your work to others, as well as to keep track of citations to it.
Your library is a way to organize the articles that you'd like to read or cite, not necessarily the ones you've written.
Citation Export How can I add the full citation of a result on Google Scholar to my bibliography manager?
Click the "Cite" button under the search result and then select your bibliography manager at the bottom of the popup. We currently support BibTeX, EndNote, RefMan, and RefWorks.
I wrote a program to download lots of search results, but you blocked my computer from accessing Google Scholar. Can you raise the limit?
Err, no, please respect our robots.txt when you access Google Scholar using automated software. As the wearers of crawler's shoes and webmaster's hat, we cannot recommend adherence to web standards highly enough.
How do I get bulk access to records in Google Scholar?
Sorry, we're unable to provide bulk access. You'll need to make an arrangement directly with the source of the data you're interested in. Keep in mind that a lot of the records in Google Scholar come from commercial subscription services.
Can I see more than 1,000 search results?
Sorry, we can only show up to 1,000 results for any particular search query. Try a different query to get more results.
Content Coverage What do you include in Google Scholar?
Google Scholar includes journal and conference papers, theses and dissertations, academic books, pre-prints, abstracts, technical reports and other scholarly literature from all broad areas of research. You'll find works from a wide variety of academic publishers, professional societies and university repositories, as well as scholarly articles available anywhere across the web. Google Scholar also includes court opinions and patents.
Do you cover Pubmed? JSTOR? Elsevier?
We index research articles and abstracts from most major academic publishers and repositories worldwide, including both free and subscription sources. To check current coverage of a specific source in Google Scholar, search for a sample of their article titles in quotes.

While we try to be comprehensive, it isn't possible to guarantee uninterrupted coverage of any particular source. We index articles from sources all over the web and link to these websites in our search results. If one of these websites becomes unavailable to our search robots or to a large number of web users, we have to remove it from Google Scholar until it becomes available again.
How complete is your coverage?
Our meticulous search robots generally try to index every paper from every website they visit, including most major sources and also many lesser known ones.

That said, Google Scholar is primarily a search of academic papers. Shorter articles, such as book reviews, news sections, editorials, announcements and letters, may or may not be included. Untitled documents and documents without authors are usually not included. Website URLs that aren't available to our search robots or to the majority of web users are, obviously, not included either. Nor do we include websites that require you to sign up for an account, install a browser plugin, watch four colorful ads, and turn around three times and say coo-coo before you can read the listing of titles scanned at 10 DPI... You get the idea, we cover academic papers from sensible websites.
How come a search for [site:example.gov] returns far fewer results than I expect?
That's usually because we index many of these papers from other websites, such as the websites of their primary publishers. The "site:" operator currently only searches the primary version of each paper.

It could also be that the papers are located on examplejournals.gov, not on example.gov. Please make sure you're searching for the "right" website.

That said, the best way to check coverage of a specific source is to search for a sample of their papers using the title of the paper.
Which specific journals do you cover?
Ahem, we index papers, not journals. You should also ask about our coverage of universities, research groups, proteins, seminal breakthroughs, and other dimensions that are of interest to users. All such questions are best answered by searching for a statistical sample of papers that has the property of interest - journal, author, protein, etc. Many coverage comparisons are available if you search for [allintitle:"google scholar"], but some of them are more statistically valid than others.
Which court opinions do you include?
Currently, Google Scholar allows you to search and read published opinions of US state appellate and supreme court cases since 1950, US federal district, appellate, tax and bankruptcy courts since 1923 and US Supreme Court cases since 1791. In addition, it includes citations for cases cited by indexed opinions or journal articles which allows you to find influential cases (usually older or international) which are not yet online or publicly available.

Legal opinions in Google Scholar are provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied on as a substitute for legal advice from a licensed lawyer. Google does not warrant that the information is complete or accurate.
How frequently do you update Google Scholar?
We normally add new papers several times a week. However, updates to existing records take 6-9 months to a year or longer, because in order to update our records, we need to first recrawl them from the source website. For many larger websites, the speed at which we can update their records is limited by the crawl rate that they allow.
Inclusion and Corrections The description of my article is wrong and I am appropriately irritated. How do I correct it?
We apologize, and we assure you the error was unintentional. Automated extraction of information from articles in diverse fields can be tricky, so an error sometimes sneaks through.

Please write to the owner of the website where the erroneous search result is coming from, and encourage them to provide correct bibliographic data to us, as described in the technical guidelines. Once the data is corrected on their website, it usually takes 6-9 months to a year or longer for it to be updated in Google Scholar. We appreciate your help and your patience.
How do I add my papers to Google Scholar?
If you can't find your papers when you search for them by title and by author, please refer your publisher to our technical guidelines.

You can also deposit your papers into your institutional repository or put their PDF versions on your personal website, but please follow your publisher's requirements when you do so. See our technical guidelines for more details on the inclusion process.

We normally add new papers several times a week; however, it might take us some time to crawl larger websites, and corrections to already included papers can take 6-9 months to a year or longer.
My citation counts have gone down. Help!
Google Scholar generally reflects the state of the web as it is currently visible to our search robots and to the majority of users. When you're searching for relevant papers to read, you wouldn't want it any other way!

If your citation counts have gone down, chances are that either your paper or papers that cite it have either disappeared from the web entirely, or have become unavailable to our search robots, or, perhaps, have been reformatted in a way that made it difficult for our automated software to identify their bibliographic data and references. If you wish to correct this, you'll need to identify the specific documents with indexing problems and ask your publisher to fix them. Please refer to the technical guidelines.
I have noticed an error in a court opinion you are providing. What I can do to help fix it?
Please do let us know. Please include the URL for the opinion, the corrected information and a source where we can verify the correction.

We're only able to make corrections to court opinions that are hosted on our own website. For corrections to academic papers, books, dissertations and other third-party material, click on the search result in question and contact the owner of the website where the document came from. For corrections to books from Google Book Search, click on the book's title and locate the link to provide feedback at the bottom of the book's page.
General Questions What are the results marked [citation] and why can't I click on them?
These are articles which other scholarly articles have referred to, but which we haven't found online. To exclude them from your search results, uncheck the "include citations" box on the left sidebar.
I just found a promising abstract in the Journal of Prosimian Dialectical Reasoning! Can I read the full text of the article for free?
Maybe.

First, click on links labeled [PDF] or [HTML] to the right of the search result's title. Also, check out the "All versions" link at the bottom of the search result.

Second, if you're affiliated with a university, using a computer on campus will often let you access your library's online subscriptions. Look for links labeled with your library's name to the right of the search result's title. Also, see if there's a link to the full text on the publisher's page with the abstract.

Keep in mind that final published versions are often only available to subscribers, and that some articles are not available online at all. Good luck!
How come you're forgetting my settings?
Technically, your web browser remembers your settings in a "cookie" on your computer's disk, and sends this cookie to our website along with every search. Check that your browser isn't configured to discard our cookies. Also, check if disabling various proxies or overly helpful privacy settings does the trick. Either way, your settings are stored on your computer, not on our servers, so a long hard look at your browser's preferences or internet options should help cure the machine's forgetfulness.
Why are you asking us to "Stand on the shoulders of giants"? Are you really giants?
Not even close. That phrase is our acknowledgement that much of scholarly research involves building on what others have already discovered. It's taken from Sir Isaac Newton's famous quote, "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."

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Get the most out of Google Scholar with some helpful tips on searches, email alerts, citation export, and more. Finding recent papers Your search results are normally sorted by relevance, not by date.

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Academic posters are an excellent way to showcase your work at conferences and meetings. They can be used in poster presentations and serve as a summa...

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I went to Physiology 2016 at the end of July, and I presented what I think was definitively my Best Poster Ever.

Poster selfie!
A photo posted by Beth McMillan (@teraspawn) on

I usually make my posters in LibreOffice Impress, but this time I had some trouble with Impress crashing and so finally decided to make the switch to Inkscape, a free vector graphics program which works on Linux, Mac and Windows. I'd used it previously for making some vector graphics, but I still learned a lot of new tricks in making this.

One word of warning - I used the Linux version of Inkscape, and I'm not sure if everything's in the same menus for all versions.
Change page size
First things first: set the page size to your poster size. Mine was A0, which is an option in the list, but you can also enter custom values. Go to File > Document Properties > Page, or Ctrl-Shift-D > Page.
Navigating
I seem to constantly hide the scrollbars by accident. The shortcut to show/hide the scrollbars is Ctrl-B (you can see why I might have this issue...)

There are also some useful shortcuts for different zoom levels - 5 zooms out to show you the whole page and 1 gives you a 1:1 zoom.
Snap to Grid
First, show the grid by going to View > Grid, or #.

Then, tailor the grid to the size you want by going to File > Document Properties > Grids, or Ctrl-Shift-D > Grids. It's a good idea to change Spacing X and Spacing Y to integer divisions of the page size - e.g. I wanted 100 squares across on an A0 page, which is 841 mm, so I set the grid to 8.41 mm squares.

You want your boxes to line up, so select the "snap to grid" button from the top of the toolbar on the far right of the screen. To snap to grid when you're resizing boxes, select the "snap bounding boxes" button, which is the second button on the far right toolbar.
Align & Distribute
This toolbox was very useful for centring the titles of my boxes. Bring it up with Option > Align & Distribute, or Ctrl-Shift-A. Select a box and an element inside it, and then use the buttons to align the element with respect to the box.
Cropping images
To crop an image, create a rectangle the right size and position it over the original picture. Select both objects and go to Object > Clip > Set.
Group and Ungroup
When it comes time to reorganise sections on your poster, it's useful to select a whole area and group all of the objects together, so you can move them as one. If you want to edit an individual component of the group, you can then ungroup the items. Go to Object > Group or Object > Ungroup, or Ctrl-G/Ctrl-Shift-G.
Text boxes
Wrapping text in Inkscape has to be done in a somewhat roundabout way. First, make a box that is the size you want your paragraph to be. Then, select the text and the box and go to Text > Flow into Frame (or Alt-W).

It's a bad idea to resize a text box after you've created it, because you'll end up changing the font size while you do it. I'm not sure how to fix that problem! You can re-flow the text into the box if you need to change its shape.
Fonts
I like to use fonts other than the usual Calibri, Arial, or Times New Roman, just for a bit of variety. We're not talking Comic Sans or anything particularly wacky, but there's enough difference between even fairly conservative fonts to look a little different. Google Fonts is a useful resource for nice, downloadable fonts.

For the A0 poster I made for my latest conference, I was recommended to use a 96 point font for the title, 48 point for the section headings, and at least 26 point for axis labels. I used 32 point font for the body text, and I think it looked right.
Matlab figures
If you use Matlab for your figures, you can export them directly as vector images. I made a Matlab script for printing out an eps and a png of the active figure, given X and Y dimensions in cm and a filename: tidyprint.m
Logos and colours
I would hugely, massively, incredibly strongly recommend that you use vector versions of any logos or pictures that you include in your poster. Pixellation is incredibly noticeable, especially at the large sizes that you're likely to be using. For example, the EPSRC and Oxford both offer vector versions of their logos.

If you want to take some of your colour scheme colours from a logo or picture that you're using, the eyedropper tool (F7) lets you pick up and use a colour from anything in your document.

To make the built-in Inkscape palette a little easier to access, click the triangle to the right of it and select "wrap" so you can see them all at once.

It's important to make your poster colourblind-friendly. I was recommended the ColorBrewer website, which can create you a palette to use. In general, steer clear of rainbow palettes, and replace green-red pictures with magenta-cyan pictures.

I'm really happy with how my poster turned out in the end and I'm sticking with Inkscape for all future posters. I hope that these tips were useful - if you have any more, share them in the comments!

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I went to Physiology 2016 at the end of July, and I presented what I think was definitively my Best Poster Ever. Poster selfie! A photo posted by Beth McMillan (@teraspawn) on Jul 28, 2016 a...

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Scholars often use posters to share their work at conferences, symposia, and other events. A good poster will present your ideas in a clear, concise, and visually interesting manner. It will clearly communicate the important points of your research, while also inviting feedback and conversation.

Poster Templates

The ICUE provides poster templates you may use:

PowerPoint Tips

Creating a research poster in Powerpoint is a multistep process. These tips will help you produce a high-quality poster for the University's undergraduate research event and any other event you attend.

Slide Setup

Your poster will be created on a single slide (ONE). The page size must be your desired print size. You must complete this step before creating the poster. Designing the slide before designating the print size will lead to a low-quality print. To prevent cropping when printing, be sure you have a 1-inch margin around the edges of the poster.

To set the slide dimensions, follow the steps outlined in the Change the Size of Your Slides page (Powerpoint 2016).

Slide Design

Your poster should read from top left to bottom right like you are reading a page. It is important to maintain a good contrast between the background color and the text. Consider using a light color background and a dark text. A gradient color fill background, especially black, will print poorly; it will have thin, visible lines that you will not see on your computer monitor.

Remember the colors you see on your computer monitor will not reproduce exactly the same on a printed poster, as monitor color settings vary. You can expect a color shift of 2 to 3 shades.

Graphics

Images copied from the web are low resolution (72 dpi) and are not proper quality for a printed poster. Limit image resolution to 150 dpi to ensure printability.

All pictures (e.g. tif or gif for transparency, jpg for non-transparent images) should be inserted directly into the Powerpoint, not linked from another program. Jpeg is the preferred image format if you do not need a transparent background.

If you have graphs or charts from Excel, simply copy and paste into Powerpoint.

Do not enlarge images after they have been inserted into Powerpoint. To adjust an image and retain proper proportion, hold the shift key on your keyboard, click, and drag the corners to scale.

Text

It's best to use a cross-platform font to ensure your poster looks the same in every scenario. If you download an operation system-specific font (i.e., only Mac or Windows), you must embed that font in your PDF.

The title should be approximately the entire width of the poster with the main text broken into multiple columns, usually three or four depending on the size of the poster. You may also want to use section headings within the columns.

Sans-serif fonts work best for posters, particularly for titles, subtitles, and headers. The most common fonts are Times New Roman and Arial. Other fonts include Arial Black, Franklin Gothic Heavy, Tahoma, Trebuchet, Verdana, Garamond, Book Antiqua, or Bookman Old Style, just to name a few.

You may need to adjust the font size depending on the font and the amount of text on your poster. For readability, do not use a font smaller than 18 points.

For consistency, make all the headers the same size, and use the same font size throughout the poster for all body text.

If your text is in a different file (e.g., in a Word document), be sure it pastes into a text box in PowerPoint so it can be edited.

Font Sizes by Section

Title: 72-120 pt.

Subtitle: 48-80 pt.

Section headers: 36-72 pt.

Body text: 24-48 pt.

Saving to PDF

University Printing requires a PDF file set to your custom page size for proper printing. To save a Powerpoint to PDF, follow the steps outlined in Saving PowerPoints Presentations as PDF Files.

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Scholars often use posters to share their work at conferences, symposia, and other events. A good poster will present your ideas in a clear, concise, and visually interesting manner. It will clearly communicate the important points of your research, while also inviting feedback and conversation.