Chem/Bio Learning Community: Practice Activities

1. What is the difference between a Google search and a library search?

2. How do you know if a web source is credible?

3. What is a database? What is an article? 

4. What does "peer review" mean? How can you tell if an article, or journal, is peer reviewed? 

5. What are the characteristics of primary or original research articles? How can you tell if an article is a primary original research article vs another type?

6. What are the characteristics of review articles? How can you tell if an article is a review article?

7. What are “predatory publishers” and “predatory journals”? Are there any lists of these types of publishers/journals? Why do researchers need to know about this?

8. What databases are available at Bell Library for doing literature searches in Biology and Chemistry? Which seem like the best bets for your colleagues in this class?

9. What is a DOI?

Practice your research skills! Can you tell if these articles are primary original research articles or reviews?

1. Barboza, L. G. A., Dick Vethaak, A., Lavorante, B. R. B. O., Lundebye, A.-K., & Guilhermino, L. (2018). Marine microplastic debris: An emerging issue for food security, food safety and human health. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 133, 336–348. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.05.047
    
2. Digka, N., Tsangaris, C., Torre, M., Anastasopoulou, A., & Zeri, C. (2018). Microplastics in mussels and fish from the Northern Ionian Sea. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 135, 30–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.06.063
    
3. Gasperi, J., Wright, S. L., Dris, R., Collard, F., Mandin, C., Guerrouache, M., … Tassin, B. (2018). Microplastics in air: Are we breathing it in? Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health, 1, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coesh.2017.10.002
    
4. Li, J., Green, C., Reynolds, A., Shi, H., & Rotchell, J. M. (2018). Microplastics in mussels sampled from coastal waters and supermarkets in the United Kingdom. Environmental Pollution, 241, 35–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.05.038
    
5. Li, L., Li, M., Deng, H., Cai, L., Cai, H., Yan, B., … Shi, H. (2018). A straightforward method for measuring the range of apparent density of microplastics. Science of The Total Environment, 639, 367–373. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.05.166
    
6. Nelms, S. E., Galloway, T. S., Godley, B. J., Jarvis, D. S., & Lindeque, P. K. (2018). Investigating microplastic trophic transfer in marine top predators. Environmental Pollution, 238, 999–1007. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.02.016
    
7. Obbard, R. W. (2018). Microplastics in Polar Regions: The role of long range transport. Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health, 1, 24–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coesh.2017.10.004
    
8. Oßmann, B. E., Sarau, G., Holtmannspötter, H., Pischetsrieder, M., Christiansen, S. H., & Dicke, W. (2018). Small-sized microplastics and pigmented particles in bottled mineral water. Water Research, 141, 307–316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2018.05.027
    
9. Pivokonsky, M., Cermakova, L., Novotna, K., Peer, P., Cajthaml, T., & Janda, V. (2018). Occurrence of microplastics in raw and treated drinking water. Science of The Total Environment, 643, 1644–1651. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.102
    
10. Shamseer, L., Moher, D., Maduekwe, O., Turner, L., Barbour, V., Burch, R., … Shea, B. J. (2017). Potential predatory and legitimate biomedical journals: can you tell the difference? A cross-sectional comparison. BMC Medicine, 15(1), 28. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-017-0785-9
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11. Wang, W., & Wang, J. (2018). Investigation of microplastics in aquatic environments: An overview of the methods used, from field sampling to laboratory analysis. TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trac.2018.08.026
     
12. Zhang, H. (2017). Transport of microplastics in coastal seas. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 199, 74–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2017.09.032